Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest places. My first cooking experience took place at age nine during a weekly cooking workshop at primary school where we used to prepare stuff like “Flower shaped sausages”, that were basically deep-fried store-bought sausages with some ketchup and lime juice on them. Amusingly, l have fond memories of that dish since I made it on a rare occasion where I got to spend the whole day with only my dad, just the two of us; after my stellar meal, we went to the cinema to see Street Fighter (yeah, that dreadful movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme starring in it as Guile). It was one of my favorite days, ever.
Isn’t it interesting, how many of our most precious memories are linked to food?
Throughout my life, I was involved in different culinary ventures with varying degrees of success, but it wasn’t until I met Guitar Güero that I started getting seriously into cooking, not only as a means to prepare food, but as a way to confection meals that nourish and revitalize both body and spirit. That’s another little fact you should know about Guitar Güero: he is a really good cook, and he pushed me to improve my cooking skills until I was not only able to make food that was edible, but to produce dishes that were truly something special and delicious. With him, every meal is an opportunity to be creative and turn an eating experience into a unique event.
Even if it's just a couple of eggs for brunch...
Furthermore, not long ago, my culinary ventures took an extraordinary leap up in progress, with inspiration originating from an unexpected source: the new Hannibal series starring Mads Mikkelsen. The series explores the pre-Red Dragon days of our favorite cannibal genius killer, but in a present day – not to mention sexier – take, with even more of the refinement, class and sophistication that makes Hannibal Lecter such a controversially appealing character. Hannibal is a Renaissance man, and as such, he is the possessor of the most exquisite culinary skills which he puts to use in a morbidly macabre way to complement his love for killing in a creative manner.
One of the things about this show that made it so appealing to me (besides the ridiculously handsome Mads Mikkelsen, of course) was the focus on the food, which goes from the episode titles – that bear names like “Apéritif”, “Fromage” and “Buffet Froid” –, to the customary dinner scenes at Hannibal’s where he typically delivers some impeccably presented, haute-cuisine dish to his dinner companions, as he gracefully recites his briefing about it: “I have no interest on understanding sheep, only eating them. Kudal, a South Indian curry; made from sheep, of course. Bathed in a coconut coriander chilli sauce.”- Hannibal in Season 1, Episode 10: "Rôti"
“Loin, served with a Cumberland sauce of red fruits.”
I knew something was up when I started noticing that, despite the series having a well-written, engaging plot, the scenes that I looked forward to the most were the ones involving food. I just could not get enough of those wonderful creations, and started to crave developing the talent to produce something similar myself – without the human meat, of course. So, I started looking for Hannibal-esque recipes and cooking, and lo and behold, look what I found!
Feeding Hannibal: All you wanted to know but where afraid to ask about the food in the show!
Nothing less than the personal blog of Janice Poon, culinary stylist and food artist, who is precisely the person – along with Chef Jose Andres – who is responsible for the crafting and creation of all the food and dishes presented in the Hannibal T.V. series. Browsing through her blog, I felt like I hit the jackpot: her posts are fascinating to look at not only because they give you a privileged behind the scenes view into the production of the show, but also because they treat you with a most delectable insight into the creative process that goes into designing and crafting the food to perfectly enhance the chosen scene. And it has recipes as well!
Slightly menacing but deliciously looking and artfully presented food: A typical Hannibal dish.
Each post uncovers the culinary quest of a particular episode of Hannibal, were Janice – who is also gifted with the talent of wit and comedy – describes the unfolding of the process that goes into the development of her wicked food creations for the show. Food sketches, script descriptions, epic adventures to get rare and exotic ingredients and lots of tips and tricks can be found in the blog, making it an incredibly juicy read.
Initial concept sketch: Tongue Baked in Salt served in the Dining Room with Blood Red Summer Pudding for dessert (Taken from Janice Poon's Blog).
Hannibal's versión of Huevos Highlife, shown in episode "Oeuf".
My personal, sausage-free versión of Huevos Highlife, with black beans and feta cheese, thick tomato sauce with a touch of spicy chipotle and avocado to go with it.
Inspiration in action: In season 1, episode 4 "Oeuf", Hannibal prepares some interesting looking eggs cooked inside of braided buns. As usual, I went to Janice's blog to satisfy my curiosity about that particular dish (one of the best things about her blog is that you always get the answer for every "uhm, that looks intriguingly delicious, I wonder what that is..." food moment on the show), and ended up cooking my very own Huevos Highlife for my birthday breakfast! Talk about starting the day right...
Some of my favorite passages are the ones where she writes about making normal food look like human parts, and also everything that goes into imagining what kind of food someone like Hannibal would make, from the recipe to the way it is presented and served. In addition, to satisfy anyone’s needs for celebrity reports, we also get to learn a bit about the dietary requirements and preferences of the actors on the show.
I have been heavily inspired by the food in Hannibal, and I can see it getting reflected in the kind of recipes I choose these days, which tend to be a lot more adventurous and complicated than the ones I used to do before. Also, I have definitely upped my game when it comes to food presentation, and I am learning a lot about it every day.
See? I am not the only one! Image taken from Hannibal Confessional.
I think many of us find the culinary aspect of the series both fascinating and a bit disturbing – but addictive, nevertheless. Cooking is such a fulfilling activity that offers endless opportunities for the free exercise of creativity and imagination, as well as the challenge of conquering new skills and acquiring knowledge about the food prepared. Hannibal, beyond being a high-quality TV show, has wildly suceeded at providing nurturing and inspiration to those of us looking for something special when it comes to the art of cooking.
Thank you for reading!
