20 Characters

Murder at Peppermint Palace is a foodie murder mystery game set at the most glamorous — and most deadly — book launch in culinary history, and the only culinary murder mystery game that puts the world’s most opinionated food lovers in the same room and asks them to solve a murder. Culinary artist and Michelin star restaurateur Lorenzo La Grasse is hosting an exclusive evening to introduce some of the world’s top foodie celebrities and pop culture influencers to his latest publication and signature dishes. The table is exquisite. The menu is extraordinary. The guest list is electric.

Then Lorenzo turns up dead — and suddenly nobody is thinking about the food.

With a room full of culinary celebrities, influencers, and industry insiders, everyone at the table had access, everyone had opinions, and more than a few had motives. Was it a rival chef protecting their territory? An influencer with a score to settle? Or someone whose grudge with Lorenzo ran far deeper than a bad review? As the evening unfolds and the secrets emerge, the picture of what really happened to poor Lorenzo becomes increasingly complicated — and increasingly delicious.

“What a great evening for our end of year office celebration! I had doubts about the likely participation of some of my team members, but was thrilled to see how every individual was drawn into the game and slipped easily into their new personas. Lisa is an excellent host, skilled at fueling the conversations, and bringing an element of humor and joy to our dinner party. She even filled in (brilliantly) for a guest who could not attend at last minute. Thank you for this gem that we have added to our corporate memory box.” – Lisa Schermbrucker

This is not a passive experience. Every guest arrives as a character with a backstory, a secret, and a motive — and the interrogations begin the moment Lorenzo’s body is discovered. Each player takes turns revealing another guest’s suspicious secrets over the dinner table, building a web of intrigue that tightens with every course. The beauty of this game is that the drama unfolds from your guests, not from a script — the more they lean into their characters, the more outrageously entertaining the evening becomes.

The game caters for 20 guests (10 female characters, 9 male characters, and 1 undefined character) of varying ages.

The fully designed printable kit includes everything you need to host a seamless evening: an Invitation to set the scene before the night, a Character List, Place Cards and Name Tags for the table, Clue Cards to drive the investigation, the Order of Events to keep the evening on track, exclusive Cookbook Covers to dress your table in true Peppermint Palace style, Lorenzo’s Speech, and the Murder Note to deliver the evening’s pivotal twist.

Murder Mystery Guide games are conceived and designed in Cape Town, and played everywhere — from living rooms to luxury venues across South Africa and beyond. Every game in our collection is an original production: fully designed, largely improvised, and built for real people, not trained actors. No scripts to memorise, no experience required — just great company and a willingness to have fun. Whether you’re hosting a foodie dinner party, a milestone birthday, or a private celebration with a culinary twist, we give every guest a role, a secret, and a reason to stay at the table.

View photographs from the first-ever group to enjoy this Murder Mystery Guide Experience.

The stories, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in these productions are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred. Please note that all event, décor, catering, printing, venue hire and hosting services are not included in this purchase; the downloadable PDFs alone are the product. Please note that Murder Mystery Guide Experiences are not suitable for children and contain themes, scenarios, characters and references that may be inappropriate for sensitive persons.