DINING WITH KINGS, ORPHANS AND MURDERERS

So, 2017 is finally here, and it’s set to be an exciting year. I’ve been working on an idea with my brother, Eric, which blends our two biggest interests – books and food.

The idea is pretty simple: we take some amazing works of fiction and explore the most interesting food ideas in them. Like what exactly is white soup in Pride and Prejudice? What’s the significance of Paprika Hendl in Dracula? The books we select are intriguing in their own right; and the food references in them play important roles by progressing storyline, showcasing character development or revealing history. It’s a different way in to a book.

Once we have a handle on the book, we recreate the recipe. We’ll include step-by-step guides so you can recreate the dishes. We spend more hours than we can count conceiving and testing the recipes. We balance staying as true as possible to the literary reference with the tastiness of the end product.

A BIT ABOUT US

I live in London and am a committed bibliophile. I spent most of my twenties studying languages and literature at New York University and getting a doctorate the University of Cambridge. Then, after graduation, I spent years working at one of the world’s oldest rare book specialists in London. So books are my thing.

Eric lives in New York. He studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York and has chefed at Michelin-star restaurants including Charlie Palmer’s Aureole and Joël Robuchon’s restaurant in Las Vegas. He is currently working on a restaurant startup in NYC. Eric creates the recipes.

WHAT’S NEXT

This month we’ll take a look at Bret Eastern Ellis’s American Pyscho and cruise the bars of 1980s Manhattan with a serial killer. Let’s see what’s on the menu…

Daniella & Eric