I thought everyone knew to not eat the food in Faerie. Unless Mr. Valabar prepares it, of course. Eating food is something everyone does, and is an important

I thought everyone knew to not eat the food in Faerie. Unless Mr. Valabar prepares it, of course. Eating food is something everyone does, and is an important cultural indicator in the real world. When your book is essentially a travelogue of the hero's journey, of course you're going to describe the food. For the rest of the age, tourists are going to just show up in Mordor and order a bowl of authentic Master Samwise's coney stew. And they'll visit Lonely Mountain to order lakemen's cram, whether the locals still eat it or not. It'd be like going to Mexico and never eating a taco.