Celebrate Roald Dahl’s 100th Birthday with These Scrumdiddlyumptious Treats

Still from James and the Giant Peach

If you’ve ever wanted to try Frobscottle, the curious delicacy described in The BFG, you’re in luck. This and many other fantastical, fictional culinary oddities immortalized in the writing of renowned children’s author Roald Dahl are being served up all over town this fall as part of the September-long event dubbed “Dahlicious Delights.”

It’s a fitting birthday tribute to the sweet-toothed author who so famously conjured up the chocolate rivers and fizzy lifting drinks of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dahl, born on September 13, 1916, would have turned 100 this month (he passed away in 1990). And while the world has spent the year celebrating this milestone with Roald Dahl 100 events, things are ramping up this month in honor of the centennial—with Boston at the center: A portion of the proceeds from Dahlicious Delights sales are going to local nonprofit Partners in Health, the charity cofounded by Roald’s daughter, Ophelia Dahl.

“My father has supported the work of Partners In Health from the very beginning,” Ophelia says. “He would be very pleased to know that this support to PIH has continued through my stepmother, Liccy Dahl, and other members of the family—so it seemed natural that in celebrating his centenary that we would find a way to connect his imagination to pragmatic solutions in global health.”

Local sweet spots taking part in the scrumdiddlyumptious festivities include Flour, J.P. Licks, and Union Square Donuts. Inspired by James and the Giant Peach, Flour pays homage to the Centipede’s infamous gross-out poem, “I’ve Eaten Many Strange and Scrumptious Dishes,” with a treat called Hornets Stewed in Tar. But instead of scrambled dregs and stinkbugs’ eggs, Dahl fans can gnaw on a glorious confection of chocolate caramel candy with espresso beans and almonds. Meanwhile, Union Square Donuts is taking a page from Fantastic Mr. Fox with their special apple-and-bacon-fritter doughnut with cider glaze. And on September 17, J.P. Licks hosts a phizz-whizzing Wondercrump Weekend, where you can try Frobscottle for yourself.

“It feels very good to have a father whose legacy is celebrated,” Ophelia says. “The books that he wrote seem to transcend time and place, which I think is part of their appeal—and why I hope his stories will be read for at least another century!”

Ophelia Dahl. / Photo by Diana Levine