Mouthing OffHalloween foods are a real horror show: pity the chef who has to make pizza with a monster face and the bartender asked to concoct ghastly looking drinks for Instagram posts
- It’s the time of year when restaurant owners and marketing teams put pressure on their kitchen staff to come up with “something spooky”
- But if you really want food that shocks, try eating grilled fish heads, deep-fried grasshoppers, chocolate-covered ants or blood sausages
I imagine most chefs in the city just hate Halloween. That’s the time of the year when restaurant owners and marketing teams pressure the kitchen to come up with “something spooky” for their “fright night” parties and promotions.
Often that means conjuring visually novel cocktails and gimmicky foods. At the most basic level, it’s making hot dogs with wieners that look like human fingers or pizzas with monster face features made from olive eyes, razor-sharp mozzarella canine teeth and splattered tomato sauce blood for extra gruesome appeal.
Meanwhile, bartenders are expected to use a lot of dry ice for witchy cauldrons of drinks that include bloodshot eyes made from lychees, and chocolate-carved insects. Red- or black-coloured beverages are particularly encouraged because they will make a fun Instagram post for patrons.
The thing is, I’m not so sure anyone over the age of 12 is actually interested in drinking or eating something that belongs on the set of H.R. Pufnstuf (Google it, millennials!)
To be fair, I will admit if I’m with a group of friends and we notice such goofy dishes on the menu, social conviviality dictates somebody at the table will end up ordering at least a couple of the items, for fun if not for gastronomic pleasure.