Scrolling through my Pinterest, I have found a large amount of movie inspired food recipes recently. These recipes come from Lord of the Rings/Hobbit, Harry Potter, and more. I have also seen a multitude of love for Studio Ghibli and its cinematic food. This flood of food inspired me with a thought which may sound a bit strange. I think that it would be interesting to trying cooking a meal as if it were to be in a movie. Now some may view this concept as daunting and possibly overwhelming but I think that it would be a very fun and inspiring way to cook.
Lets just stop and think about some of people’s favorite movies and the foods you can find in them. In Beauty and the Beast, we hear of a food called “gray stuff.” As far as I am aware, the Disney Park version is a sweet dessert dish while the movie version appears to be more of a savory hor d’oeuvre as it is next to what looks to be a piggy-in-a-blanket (i.e. hotdog in pastry) and a mini sandwich with an olive (seriously, Google ‘Disney grey stuff’). Another adventure into cinematic cuisine includes Lord of the Rings with lembas bread and cram. I am not going to even attempt to delve into the world of food available with Studio Ghibli. Regardless, all of these foods exist in a world that is not the one we live in. They are bits of life from fantastical settings and therefore are not meant to be everyday foods.
Sometimes when cooking, people can feel like they have to make the most perfect food imaginable. It has to be perfect for social media consumption or we have to buy just the right item for it. One of the beautiful things about cooking as if it were for a fantasy world, is that it can include some weird ingredients, whatever you have on hand, or look completely ridiculous. It is from a world of magic; it doesn’t have to look like it was made by a five star chef. If it looks awful, an ogre or dwarf made it, depending on your favorite character types. Fantasy foods are weird by definition; embrace that fact. Pretend that the food you are eating/cooking has some fantastic story-line behind it. Play with your food.
One of the best benefits of playing pretend when cooking is that you can excuse away any awful taste (to yourself at least). It doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect and if you really don’t feel like cooking, see what cold foods you have that can make a platter. The limitations with the food is only your creativity in playing pretend. Some cheese, crackers, and veggies could be used in entertaining Gandalf. If you wish to experiment with ingredients you aren’t familiar with, try some historical recipe, especially from WWII rationing advertisements. Such recipes are designed with substitutions and wacky ingredients (comparatively speaking). Perhaps you are entertaining the Pevensies after their adventures in Narnia, and wish to give your best display (within ration limits). Fantasy and food often go together but rarely do we decide to cook as if we are in a world of fiction. If you could cook for or from any fictional film or world, what would you cook or who would you cook for? Please comment below with your answers and thanks for reading.
unknownclimate 