In The Hobbit food is abundant, from hobbit larders to troll caves. The hobbit society is based around food and drink as much as fellowship, and trolls bond over food as well. Other havens within The Hobbit, such as Beorn’s home, are also. marked by abundant food. Every culture in Middle Earth depends on food, but none more than the hobbits.
The hobbits cherish food like no other race, as demonstrated by Bilbo. Food is more than a life need. It is the fuel of their very society. It brings them together at the table, multiple times a day as they engage in the mannerly ritual of eating.
Trolls, on the other hand, are far less polite with their eating habits. Trolls generally eater whatever they can get. In The Hobbit, the three trolls that we encounter are having a supper of mutton (sheep meat). But trolls find man flesh the most delicious. In the story, they took a very long time to decide how to cook their food once they had caught it. The appetite of a troll is humongous.
Another humongous eater of Middle-earth was Beorn. Beorn is regarded as a good cook and host. Beorn collects most of his food, like milk and honey, from his animals. Beorn’s honey cakes are famous in Wilderland and loved by many. But Beorn seldom gives them to travelers.
Food throughout Middle-earth is cherished and loved, and hobbits, trolls, and Beorn all used food in their own way. The hobbits enjoyed cozy meals with tea and sharing conversation, the trolls scavenged for whatever they could find, and Beorn’s relationship with his animals provided bountiful food whenever it was needed. In every world, food should bring fellowship and friendship.
-A.L. SPEARS
Inkling Investigation 