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Chef José Andrés Consults on 'Hannibal,' Premiering Tonight
Photo courtesy of Think Food Group
Chef José Andrés is stepping out of the kitchen at The Bazaar in Beverly Hills and getting into something even more Hollywood. The Catalonian toque is serving as a culinary advisor to the new show "Hannibal" on NBC, which follows around the mad man from “Silence of the Lambs”, who you might remember as having a love of human livers “with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”
Andres says he was approached by producer and screenwriter Bryan Fuller to help illustrate what a big time foodie the cannibalistic psychiatrist was before getting locked up.
The New York Post critic elaborates on José Andrés' role in her review of the first episode:
As an extra bonus, there’s Hannibal’s cooking thrown in, and we get to watch him prepare such gourmet treats as something that looks like human lungs in claret sauce, which is gruesome enough to make a vegetarian projectile-vomit. The series is the most beautifully shot and produced show on network TV, with many scenes simply and literally breathtaking — especially, believe it or not, when they find a field planted with humans to act as mushroom compost.
There will be references to French chef Auguste Escoffier and fine wines, says the chef, and a scene featuring loin — but not pork or beef loin — with roasted apples and Cumberland sauce. Eventually, “every single body part” will factor into the show, says Andres, who adds that his research included eating “a lot of lung dishes this summer.” (Lung, from animals, is popular in Italy and Spain.)
Apparently Lecter was fond of pig parts, too, stating to one of his victims: “You are a pig of a human being and you deserve to become someone’s bacon.”
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The show's episodes are even named for meal courses like “Apéritif,” “Amuse-Bouche,” and so on, making up a 13-course season of seriously disturbed eats.
Sounds pretty offal.
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