To celebrate the ninth installment in the White House Chef Mystery series, I’ve come up with nine all-new trivia questions. Test your knowledge about Ollie and the gang for fun and bragging rights (answers below).
- In STATE OF THE ONION, the First Lady must decide who to name as executive chef when Henry retires. There’s no doubt that Henry prefers Ollie succeed him, but who else is in the running for the top job?
- Martha Stewart
- Laurel Anne Braun
- Julia Child
- Buckminster (Bucky) Reed
- HAIL TO THE CHEF is the second book in the White House Chef series, but many readers pick it up mistakenly believing it to be the first in the series (meaning: they haven’t read State of the Onion). What is the number one comment/complaint I’ve received via email from this group of readers?
- New readers don’t believe that an underground bunker exists in the White House
- New readers think that Marcel’s gingerbread White House is too big
- New readers have an issue with (fictional) President Campbell
- New readers don’t immediately realize that Ollie is female
- Which members of Ollie’s family do we meet for the first time in EGGSECUTIVE ORDERS?
- her brother and father
- her mother and nana
- her sister and cousin
- her twin nephews
- There is an “oops” moment in BUFFALO WEST WING that occurs near the end of the book. While there is a logical explanation for the reappearance of a formerly lost item, that explanation isn’t provided on the page. What is the item in question?
- Ollie’s cell phone
- Ollie’s diary
- Ollie’s house keys
- Bucky’s favorite knife
- Peter Everett Sargeant despises Ollie, yet he’s required to work closely with her in AFFAIRS OF STEAK. Someone close to the persnickety fellow plays a key role in the story. What’s the character’s name and how is he related to Sargeant?
- Doug, Sargeant’s cousin
- Ferdinand, Sargeant’s dog
- Milton, Sargeant’s nephew
- Frank, Sargeant’s son
- What about the story line made FONDUING FATHERS unique?
- Ollie investigated a personal matter
- The story opened in Chicago
- Ollie took some vacation time
- All of the above
- What’s unique about the cover of HOME OF THE BRAISED?
- It’s the first book of mine to feature the words “New York Times Bestselling Author”
- It’s mostly red
- There are four words in the title
- It’s a different size
- What absolutely awful title was suggested for Book #8 before Berkley settled on ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MENUS?
- Plate of the Union
- War and Peas
- Need to know Basil
- Star Spangled Banana
- Speaking of titles, although I really like FOREIGN ECLAIRS, I’d originally suggested something else entirely – a title I thought fit the storyline nicely. Berkley disagreed. What was my suggestion?
- White House Dressing
- A Bombe in Nation
- Bread of State
- A Salt on Freedom
ANSWERS:
- b – Laurel Anne Braun is Ollie’s nasty (and sometimes comical) nemesis in this first book
- d – I had quite a few people write to let me know that they believed Ollie to be male for the first chapter or so of the book
- b – Ollie’s mom and nana make their first appearance in EGGSECUTIVE ORDERS
- a – Ollie’s cell phone gets flushed but then later, she (miraculously) receives a text. What actually happened (though not explained in the book) is that the White House quickly replaced her lost cell. Oops!
- c – We meet Milton in AFFAIRS OF STEAK. He’s Sargeant’s adult ne’er-do-well nephew.
- d – All of the above. I loved this storyline because we got to know more about Ollie’s family and especially her deceased father. Most readers seemed to love it, too, though there were a handful who voiced their disappointment that Ollie didn’t spend more time at the White House during this installment.
- a – Yay!!
- d – The original title for this book could have been (ugh!!) STAR SPANGLED BANANA. Doesn’t that sound silly and slapstick? I despised the idea so much, I begged Berkley to drop it. Fortunately, they did. Whew!
- b – As much as I lobbied for A SALT ON FREEDOM for several other installments (including Book #8), I believed A BOMBE IN NATION would have made an ideal title for :::ahem::: explosive Book #9. Berkley disagreed, but that’s okay. FOREIGN ECLAIRS is a great title, too.
Thank you so much for your interest in Ollie and the gang! I truly appreciate all your wonderful support over the years.
As you may know by now, FOREIGN ECLAIRS, the ninth White House Chef Mystery, will be the last one in the series that I write. Whether the series continues without me is anyone’s guess, but if you’re curious as to why I’m stepping away, I invite you to visit my blog
Best always,
Julie
About Julie Hyzy
Julie Hyzy‘s first experience with food included flipping burgers and chopping onions at a neighborhood hot dog stand. She traded that experience for a job as a singing waitress at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour — but gave that up when she started college (and because she couldn’t carry a tune).
Over the years, she’s acted in community theater productions, appeared in television commercials, and crashed a previously all-male fraternity to become one of the first female brothers in Loyola University’s Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi.
Julie had dreams of becoming a writer, but family, friends, and frat brothers convinced her otherwise. Having held positions as junior officer at a downtown bank, office manager at an architectural firm, and financial advisor at a prestigious wealth management company, she realizes that the business degree was probably a good choice — but fiction is truly her passion. Now, with some well-earned life experience behind her, she’s delighted to finally be able to make writing a priority in her life.
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About FOREIGN ECLAIRS
White House executive chef Ollie Paras has served plenty of meals to foreign dignitaries from around the world. But someone is ready to serve her an ice-cold dish of revenge. . .
Things are about to really heat up for Ollie. News of a bombing and attempted breakout at a federal prison reveals that the brother of a terrorist she helped defeat is back with a vengeance. And after she gets mugged on her way home from work, the Secret Service won’t leave her side, fearing that she is now a target.
When a White House staff member is murdered, officials rush into action over a possible security breach. It may be time for Ollie to trade in her apron for a bullet-proof vest as she becomes part of a bold strategy to make sure this terrorist gets his just desserts. . .
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