A24 Releases A Cookbook Inspired By Its Movies' Most Unhinged Meals
You've seen recipes that mimic film history's most iconic, delicious-looking food, but what about the wacky, bare-bones meals scrounged up by characters in their most desperate, feral moments? In a new cookbook called "Scrounging," A24 breaks down and photographs some of the most iconically bizarre meals in movie history — including some from the studio's own portfolio. "Scrounging" is true to its name in that it is more of an ode to weird cinematic kitchen behavior than a collection of viable recipes you'll be eager to make yourself — unless you're genuinely craving spaghetti on a tennis racket (from "The Apartment") or with maple syrup (like "Buddy's Breakfast Spaghetti" from "Elf").
Some of these recipes are so simple — like "The Man's Last Coke on Earth," from "The Road" — that their recreation is more about context and imagination than anything close to stovetop cooking. In the Appetizers & Snacks section, the loser-y milieu of "Brennan's Just-Cheese Nachos" from "Stepbrothers" and "Kip's Just-Cheese Nachos" from "Napoleon Dynamite" is equally important as the nachos in question. That said, the book features everything from drinks to dinners and desserts, giving you enough material for a dawn-to-dusk menu of unhinged fare.
The 54 absurd recipes were developed by Sue Li and beautifully photographed by Wade and Leta. The book can be bought online for $38 dollars on the A24 website, and it ships by July 7th.
It celebrates the art of scrounging
A handful of A24's films are featured in the book for their own chaotic food moments. The sad microwaveable Thanksgiving from "Lady Bird", the delicious-looking oily cakes from "First Cow," and the gross mush (Salt Cod Slop) from "The Lighthouse" all get their moment in the sun here.
Unlike A24's first cookbook, "Horror Caviar," which spun scary movie themes into highbrow fare like a "Rosemary's Baby" leg of lamb and an "Alien"-inspired amaro cocktail, the recipes in "Scrounging" seem more destined to be enjoyed on the page than brought to life in your own kitchen. In fact, some of them — like the Vicodin baked potato from "The Martian" and the poisonous omelet from "Phantom Thread" — could be deadly when brought to life.
Half instruction, half meticulous recreation of the cinematic scene they belong to, the recipes in "Scrounging" are an homage to how much we can learn about a character based on what they eat and how they make it. Whether you attempt to cook the recipes from "Scrounging" or not, the book is certainly proof that some of cinema's most memorable, character-driven moments have taken place in the kitchen.