Our Family Dinner Book Club selection for the month of April is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Here you’ll find a menu that can be prepared with the help of your children, and will hopefully be a fun and interactive activity for the whole family. Head over to Growing Book by Book for some talking points to get the conversation started. Then visit Enchanted Homeschooling Mom for a fun craft to decorate your dinner table. We invite you to share a picture from your dinner with us anytime during the month on our Family Dinner Book Club Facebook page. Click the menu below for a free printable version!
“The one thing he longed for more than anything else was… Chocolate.” Considering this one quote alone, it comes as no surprise that this book resonated with me in such a way that I consumed copious amounts of chocolate during my recent reading. Really, how can one read all about the magnificence of Willy Wonka and his wonderful confections without a constant craving?
Our hero, Charlie Bucket, lives in a small wooden house with his two parents and four grandparents. They are very poor and so they eat the same meals day in and day out. “…bread and margarine for breakfast, boiled potatoes and cabbage for lunch, and cabbage soup for supper.” Charlie only got chocolate once a year, on his birthday, and he made that chocolate bar last for more than a month by taking only the tiniest nibble each day.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Menu from ChefSarahElizabeth.com
Mr. Wonka’s chocolate factory is wondrous and delightful, so I pulled out my prettiest and most colorful tablecloths, placemats, napkins, plates and cutlery to adorn our dinner table. Actually, I told the girls to take anything out of the kitchen they loved and wanted to use.
As homage to Charlie, I thought I would begin our dinner with a humble cabbage soup, but you are allowed a second helping, as this is a special occasion. To enjoy alongside our meal, we have Honey-Wonder Candied Carrots and Naturally Delectable Sweet Fruits because you can’t possibly dine in Wonka’s factory without some sweet things to nosh.
The main course is inspired by Mr. Wonka’s Chewing Gum Dinner which Violet Beauregarde was the first to sample. This is something similar to an English pasty with all the flair and flavor of a Willy Wonka creation. Tomato soup, roast beef, buttery potatoes, and blueberry pie. Don’t worry, this dinner will not turn you into a gigantic blueberry. What we have here is finely chopped roast beef with buttery mashed potatoes and sun-dried tomatoes enrobed in a savory blueberry balsamic sauce all wrapped up in a flaky pie crust. Serve extra blueberry sauce and/or tomato soup for dipping. Of course, you can serve all these elements as their own dish: Creamy Tomato Soup, Sliced Roast Beef with Potatoes, and a Blueberry Pie for dessert, but where is the fun in that?
We have Fizzy Lifting Drinks created by Willy Wonka himself. Just don’t forget to “do a great big long rude burp, and up comes the gas and down comes you!” Of course, our table is set with a river of “hot melted chocolate of the finest quality” to enjoy sipping throughout dinner. Don’t drink it all at once! Save a few sips to enjoy with Charlie and Grandpa Joe’s favorite Wonka Bar: Whipple-Scrumptious Fudge-mallow Delight.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory menu -free printable, created by Elyse Anne Maria.
Now take a short trip down the Chocolate River to visit Growing Book by Book for some fun conversation starters, and Enchanted Homeschooling Mom for a few table crafts!
Chewing Gum Dinner Pockets
Blueberry Balsamic Reduction
Ingredients
Instructions
This looks like a wonderful meal. My son would love almost everything. The cabbage might not go over big.
What a super cute and fun menu! I can’t wait for dessert!
What a super fun and delicious menu! I definitely be making a few of your recipes for my family 🙂
Yum! And you get bonus points for using the word “Enrobed”. I love the photos on this one 🙂
Hello! I love your ideas! My class is reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. My students really want to try cabbage soup. Do you have a recipe for it?
Thanks!
Mrs. Woodruff
I have a question on the recipe for the chewing gum pockets,is the blueberry mixture a sauce? It says to bake the pockets then you make the blueberry mixture. I thighs that would go in the pocket as well.
Hello
Is there a way to make the links on this page work again?
Thanks