Recurring characters
- Nero Wolfe— The private investigator and guest of honor for this meeting of Les Quinze Maîtres
- Archie Goodwin— Wolfe's assistant, and the narrator of all Wolfe stories
- Saul Panzer— A free-lance operative, Wolfe's first choice when he can't or won't spare Archie
Members of Les Quinze Maîtres
- Jerome Berin— The originator of saucisse minuit
- Marko Vukcic— Wolfe's oldest and best friend
- Phillip Laszio— A villainous chef who steals others' creations, positions and wives; the murder victim
- Leon Blanc— From whom Laszio stole, by innuendo and chicanery, the position of chef de cuisine at the Hotel Churchill in Manhattan
- Louis Servan— Host of the gathering at Kanawha Spa
- Ramsey Keith, Domenico Rossi, Pierre Mondor, Sergei Vallenko, Lawrence Coyne— Master chefs all
(Of the 15 master chefs, three died since the last meeting and two were unable to attend the gathering.)
Other guests of Les Quinze Maîtres
- Constanza Berin— Jerome Berin's daughter
- Dina Laszio— Wife of Phillip Laszio and ex-wife of Marko Vukcic; daughter of Domenico Rossi
- Lio Coyne— A San Franciscan of Chinese heritage and wife of Lawrence Coyne
Other characters
- Barry Tolman— Prosecuting attorney of Marlin County
- Paul Whipple— A student at Howard University working a temporary job on the wait staff at Kanawha Spa
- Alberto Malfi— A Corsican discovered and groomed by Berin, now Laszio's first assistant at the Churchill
- Raymond Liggett— Manager and part owner of the Churchill
