A Gothic Cookbook
Hauntingly Delicious Recipes Inspired by 13 Classic Tales
A feast for the senses: an illustrated cookbook inspired by classic and contemporary Gothic texts.
This literary inspired cookbook is composed of thirteen divinely delicious chapters, each focusing on a different story and discussing its edible motifs before bringing them to life – and to your table – with approachable, easy-to-follow recipes and hand-drawn illustrations.
Inspired by Alessandra Pino’s academic studies into how food manifests itself on the pages of Gothic literature, and combining her knife-sharp analysis with Ella Buchan’s experience as a food writer and recipe developer, A Gothic Cookbook pays homage to the most appetising cuts of the genre, featuring over sixty original recipes illustrated by Lee Henry.
Dracula lulls protagonist Jonathan Harker into a false sense of security with cold cuts and a spicy, smoky, peppery stew. Frankenstein’s 'monster' starts out as a benign vegetarian, while Mrs Poole’s overindulgence in Mother’s Ruin triggers Mr Rochester’s downfall in Jane Eyre – and a bitter tangerine signals a sharp, yet unheeded, warning against marriage and Manderley in Rebecca. Notice, too, how a ghostly presence craves sugar and burnt bread in Toni Morrison’s Beloved...
In this interplay between supper and the supernatural, you’ll learn to pick your desserts carefully: chocolate mousses foreshadow impending doom, yet the humble seed cake is a gesture of kindness.
With a foreword from acclaimed writer, editor and academic, Leone Ross, A Gothic Cookbook is the perfect culinary companion for those of you who enjoy a slice of the macabre with your dinner.
Ella Buchan is an award-winning travel, food and drink journalist – and geeky gourmet – who regularly contributes to publications including National Geographic Traveller and Food, the Times, the Independent and the Telegraph. Based in North East England, she spends most of her time digging into the stories behind the cuisines and culinary traditions of places around the world, from cabbies’ shelters in London to the bodegones or traditional taverns of Buenos Aires. Ella also has experience in recipe development and a First Class degree in English Literature from Newcastle University – and is thrilled to at last be able to bring all these strands together in one beautifully bound book.
Dr Alessandra Pino is an expert on how the Gothic, food and cultural memory intersect. Alessandra was born in Hampstead, London, to an Italian mother and Venezuelan diplomat father, and grew up in several different countries. She holds university degrees in English Literature from Naples 'L’Orientale', Translation Studies from the University of Westminster and a PhD in Food, Cultural Memory and the Gothic. She worked with a Michelin-starred chef for nearly ten years before entering the world of academia. Alessandra brings to A Gothic Cookbook her deep academic knowledge, digging into food themes and motifs in a series of classic and contemporary novels from the 19th century to the present day.
Freelance graphic designer and artist Lee Henry creates the hand-drawn illustrations that bring the cookbook’s themes and recipes to life in a suitably dark and enigmatic style. Specialising in branding for the hospitality industry and with clients ranging from Borough Market traders to gastro-pubs, he combines a passion for food with some pretty impressive draughtsmanship.
Leone Ross is a fiction writer and editor. She was born in England and grew up in Jamaica. Her latest novel is the New York Times’ Editor’s Choice This One Sky Day (FSG, 2021). Described by the Times Literary Supplement as ‘a master of detail’, her fiction has been nominated for the Women’s Prize, the Goldsmiths award, the RSL Ondjaate award, and the Edge Hill Prize, among others. Her short stories, Come Let Us Sing Anyway are published by Peepal Tree.
