Geronimo (Hickory Dickory Dock)

In the novel Hickory Dickory Dock, Geronimo is a cook at the hostel at Hickory Road owned by Mrs Nicoletis. Both Geronimo and his wife Maria, also a cook, are Italians. They are immensely proud of their cooking and Italian cuisine and do not think much of English cooking. Hence the food served at the hostel frequently consisted of Italian dishes such as pastas and rissoto. They also apparently have frequent run-ins with Mrs Nicoletis, after which the warden, Mrs Hubbard, has to spend time calming them down. The reason for the disputes is not stated although it can be inferred that this was probably because Mrs Nicoletis thought the cooks were spending too much on ingredients. Mrs Nicoletis often complained to the warden Mrs Hubbard about why the students were being served so much food. The residents apparently enjoyed the cooking. On one occasion, a student Akibombo ate too much of a dish of macaroni and needed bicarbonate of soda. This eventually led to a sting of events which yield a major investigative break for Inspector Sharpe.