As feelings go, horror and hunger have a lot in common. They are expressions of our most primordial instincts, we experience them in our gut, and they are capable of inspiring great art. Case in point, Horror Caviar, a new cookbook that features terrifying and tantalising recipes inspired by cult horror movies.
Horror Caviar: horror movies on a plate
’Sack of Skin & Bones’ bone & pork dumpling with black angel hair pasta. Recipe by Lexie Smith, inspired by Takashi Miike’s Audition (1999).
The first cookbook from independent film company A24, Horror Caviar feeds your physical, aesthetic, and intellectual appetites with exuberantly ghoulish imagery photographed by Justin J Wee, and recipes from the likes of food stylist Laila Gohar and artist Chloe Wise, alongside essays examining the role of food in horror movies.
Highlights include a recipe by Yardy founder DeVonn Francis for an ‘Aspic Tower Studded with Insect Candy’, inspired by Suspiria, the 1977 horror about a witchy Berlin ballet school. Or chef Jen Monroe’s ‘Watermelon Sake Gelée Goldfish Pond’, inspired by the Japanese classic House (1977) and featuring jelly fish sculptures swimming in a pool of watermelon juice and cucumber garnishes.
’Falling into the Well’ watermelon sake gelée goldfish pond. Recipe by Jen Monroe, inspired by Nobuhiko Obayashi’s House (1977).
Finish things off with some ‘Brain Cake’ for dessert and indulge in a cocktail inspired by the stomach-busting creature in Alien made from warm vegan horchata, amaro and instant coffee.
All these recipes sit alongside essays from a series of singular writers. Film critic AS Hamrah uses one of the most absurdly brilliant lines in horror movie history – ‘I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubblegum’ – to kick off an examination of the horror genre’s complex portrayal of American consumerism.
’Brain Cake’ with Biscuit Joconde with Red Berry Sauce & Cream Cheese Mousse. Recipe by Ayako Kurokawa, inspired by Jackie Kong’s Blood Diner (1987).
Carmen Maria Machado pens a tribute to the many terrifying guises a seemingly innocuous kitchen appliance – the refrigerator – can take when captured on film.
Horror Caviar is an inventive take on the traditional cookbook that is well suited to movie fanatics and foodie fiends alike. As director Ti West says in the book’s introduction, ‘in the same way that a good meal brings people together, the best horror movies take our collective fears and turn them into a shared cinematic experience’.
’The Nostromo’ warm vegan horchata, amaro and instant coffee cocktail. Recipe by Arley Marks, inspired by Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979).
‘It’s a rare treat to find pleasure in the macabre. Where else do we have the privilege of being scared in a safe environment? But if there’s one thing horror movies have taught us over the years, it’s that just when you think you’re safe, there’s always something waiting to spring from the shadows and take a bite out of you.’ Dig in, if you dare.
’What are you hungry for?’ meat pithivier. Recipe by Nokx Majozi, inspired by Julia Ducournau’s film Raw (2016).
’A Shadow in the Dark’ sorghum-stuffed beef heart with glazed carrots & crispy duck fat potatoes. Recipe by Krystal Mack, inspired by Bill Gunn’s Ganja & Hess (1973).
’Forbidden Fruiting Bodies’ soy mushroom aspic. Recipe by Phyllis Ma, inspired by Ishiro Honda’s Matango (1963).
INFORMATION
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