Andrew Zimmern Created A Spinal Cord Dish Inspired By The Menu
In the film "The Menu," chef Julian Slowik invites 12 guests to join a $1,250-a-head tasting at his exclusive restaurant Hawthorn, which is situated on a secluded island. Participating in this kind of luxurious private gastronomic experience initially delights the wealthy and privileged patrons, but as they dine on dishes with increasingly sinister backstories, such as a finale-foreshadowing amuse-bouche course, it becomes clear that the night is taking a dark turn.
As the satire veers into horror, it's hard not to wonder what actual chefs might think of the movie and its commentary on fine dining culture. Fortunately, Andrew Zimmern has afforded us a glimpse with his own culinary interpretation of "The Menu," which is itself inspired by a real dining experience. The chef's dish could fit right in at Hawthorn, where Slowik and his staff serve courses like "The Mess" — an entrée that features "pressure cooked vegetables, roasted fillet, potato confit, beef jus, [and] bone marrow," as described in the film, and is introduced to the diners in a shockingly bloody way.
Andrew Zimmern's spinal cord dish looks delish
"I loved the movie 'The Menu,' and I was inspired to make a dish by it," Andrew Zimmern says at the start of his Twitter video promoting the film. The dish is aguachile, which leverages the acidic properties of lime to "cook" raw seafood — typically shrimp or tuna. Zimmern uses the spinal cord of a tuna, one of his "favorite ingredients," he confesses.
With a Slowik-like clap, Zimmern starts prepping — first slicing onion, radish, and cucumber into slender discs, then using a blender to pulverize serrano pepper, cilantro, radish, cucumber, and other ingredients into a bright green vinaigrette and to liquify beets, carrots, and ginger into a blood-red sauce. Halfway through the video, we finally get to see what the tuna spine is all about. Zimmern scoops out some of the gel-like spinal fluid and replaces it with the red sauce, then plates the bone segment with a pool of green sauce and garnishes. The result may not look like "The Mess" exactly, but it has a similarly chilling — but admittedly appetizing — effect.
Indeed, Zimmern's spinal cord aguachile looks scrumptious — perhaps even "worth dying for," as the chef points out. If this Vice video is any indication, there's something utterly magical about tuna spinal fluid. So magical, in fact, that it seems entirely possible to spoon it up with relish.