Jennifer "Jenny" Dalby was a former wardmate of Horace, George, Alyss, and Will.
History[]
Jenny grew up in the ward in Redmont Castle and developed her talent for cooking after being taught by her grandmother. She grew up to be a pretty young woman and developed a fantastic reputation as a cook, rivaling her mentor Master Chubb, one of the best chefs in the kingdom.
The Ruins of Gorlan[]
Jenny has always loved cooking, and come to Choosing Day, she immediately asks to be put in the kitchen with Master Chubb, who is her hero, though everyone else seems to find him a bit intimidating and someone to be wary of due to his skill with a ladle, which he uses to crack people over the head. After interviewing her, Chubb agrees to accept her as an apprentice which delights her.
She is later seen at Harvest Day when she bakes pies for her group of friends. It is said that her talent for baking and cooking had already spread through Redmont Castle by that time and her pies had become something of a byword.
At the end of the book, she joins Will, Horace, Alyss, and George in celebrating Will's success after he kills the Kalkara. She and Horace share a dance with one another, Horace beating Will to asking her.
Erak's Ransom[]
When Halt and Pauline are sorting out official roles for the wedding they decide that Jenny should be a bridesmaid alongside Gilan who acts as a sort of "secondary best man".
Jenny promptly falls in love with the tall, handsome Ranger, who had arrived prior to the wedding. They had clearly been spending time with each other, learning the dances.
At the wedding, she wears a yellow dress which reflects her happy, bouncy nature.
The Kings of Clonmel[]
By the eighth book, Jenny has set up her own restaurant in the village of Wensley, just outside of Redmont Castle. She caters there for Crowley, Halt, Pauline, Will, and Alyss when the group is discussing what to do about The Outsiders.
She is shown to have developed a great skill with the ladle, using it to crack unfortunate kitchen staff over the head if they don't meet her high standards, a trait she had learned from her mentor Master Chubb. One of the members of staff who gets cracked over the head quite often is Rafe, who she is training to be her head waiter but he has an unfortunate tendency to mix up his right and left hands when setting the tables, which greatly exasperates Jenny.
Halt's Peril[]
In Halt's Peril, Jenny and Master Chubb compete in the catering for Will and Halt's welcome home food feast after they return from northern Araluen and Hibernia. In the end, the honors are declared equal between the both of them. She is focusing all of her attention on Baron Arald and the Rangers until Gilan arrives, and she instead focuses on offering her choice foods to him.
The Lost Stories[]
Dinner for Five[]
In Dinner for Five, Jenny and Gilan arrange to have dinner together, but a band of ruffians comes and attacks Jenny. She beats them, but at the cost of the carefully prepared supper of lamb and a plum tart.
And About Time, Too...[]
In And About Time Too... Jenny and Gilan are present at Alyss and Will's wedding. The two are holding hands and it is strongly hinted that they will be getting married in the not-too-distant future.
The Bridal Dance[]
Will questions Jenny about the two Toscans going through the area and she says that they liked eating at her restaurant more than the inn at which they were staying.
A New Beginning[]
Jenny makes a few brief appearances and is not married to Gilan. She warns Will that while he isn't giving Maddie any privileges, he isn't going too far in the other direction.
Description[]
Jenny is very pretty though a little on the plump side, which befits her calling as a cook. She loses a lot of weight by book eight and comments that being a chef she has less time for eating.
She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bouncy, warm personality that is instantly likable. However, Jenny also has a fiery temper and is willing to go to great lengths to protect those she loves as shown in Dinner for Five when she takes on three robbers and defeats them all with lemmings.
Relationships[]
Gilan[]
Jenny is dating Gilan
Jenny first meets Gilan in Erak's Ransom and immediately falls in love with him. It is unknown whether or not Gilan instantly developed feelings for her but he does often talk about her, as shown in the Kings of Clonmel when Will remembers how Gilan spent quite a bit of time asking him about Jenny.
Gilan asks her to marry him every time they see each other, but she turns him down every time, saying that she is not going to go all the way over the country to do it.
Master Chubb[]
Jenny always looked up and admired the chef of Redmont Castle despite others often being a bit afraid of him due to his skill with the ladle. Jenny is delighted when the chef accepts her as his apprentice and she quickly learns and starts to rival her mentor.
When her apprenticeship finished she spent some time helping out Chubb but then decided to move on. Master Chubb was disappointed to see her go but often visited her restaurant and was very proud of what his apprentice accomplished.
The two often compete with their culinary skills which provides a great source of enjoyment for those being served. They competed in Halt's Peril, at the party when Will and the others came back, and in The Bridal Dance.
Trivia[]
- She is known to be a good dancer.
- Like her mentor, Chef Chubb, she carries around a ladle which she uses to crack unfortunate kitchen staff over the head with.
References[]
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