Food 'n' Flix Round-Up: Burnt

In November I guest-hosted the Food 'n' Flix challenge and chose the Bradley Cooper film Burnt. The idea is that people watch the film and cook or bake something related to the film in some way - you can see my announcement post here.

The film is obviously full of food references and scenes, ranging from street food and Burger King right up to high end Michelin star dining. I was very impressed at what everyone made - there were some photos sent in that I think wouldn't have looked out of place in Adam's restaurant in the movie! Hosting this challenge also introduced me to lots of blogs I haven't come across before, though I ended up having a very busy month both at work and personally so didn't get to look at the blogs or entries straight away - apologies if you were expecting me to comment on your post immediately, but there just wasn't enough time in the day, and I did manage to visit everyone's blog eventually!

Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm was inspired by the beginning of the movie where Adam is undergoing a self-imposed penance of shucking a million oysters. Wendy only had to shuck eight oysters but said she found a good trick to do it; it was interesting for me to read as I've never eaten an oyster let alone cooked one! According to Wendy these are "mouth-wateringly delicious".

More oysters, this time from Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, who runs the Food 'n' Flix challenge. She was inspired by the same scene from the movie and as it was close to Thanksgiving, she made an oyster stuffing. She said: "Plump oysters, smoky bacon, and chewy French bread mingle happily in this classic Thanksgiving side dish."

For my own entry, I found some recipes on the official movie site for Burnt and decided to make one of those: a mascarpone and orange streusel slice. It was really complicated and took ages! I had to make a mascarpone mousse (which didn't set properly so I had to semi-freeze it), a blood orange gel, honeycomb (which didn't set at all) and a streusel biscuit layer which I overcooked a bit. I drew the line at making ice cream to go with it! It didn't turn out badly despite a lot of the elements not quite working and did taste really good, but it was far too much effort to ever make again!

I've never come across Japanese sea vegetables before so was intrigued by this recipe for Fishless Fish Free Japanese Sea Vegetable and Nori Cakes from Shaheen at Allotment 2 Kitchen. She was inspired by a scene at Billingsgate fish market in the movie but as she is vegetarian found a great way to give her own take on it. Shaheen says they make a fantastic light starter to a meal.

Kimberley from Coffee and Casseroles blended the Burger King scene (comfort food) with the part where Helene cooks her daughter fish over and over again until she gets it right, and came up with a dish of scalloped potatoes. This is one of those dishes that look like they take all day to make but is actually really quick.

Ali from Fix Me a Little Lunch said her favourite part of the film is where Adam suggests adding
chopped sage to a luscious looking bowl of cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper pasta).  Ali said: "I got to thinking about the combination of cheese and black pepper and then even more about food and how it can bring such comfort – whether one is taking care of a chef who has gone on a binge by cooking a simple omelette or if one is just trying to recover from the election hangover." She decided to use the cheese and black pepper to flavour some scones in these Cacio e Pepe Scones.

I'd been very tempted to copy a beautiful cake from the film but at that time had no need for a large cake and wanted to make a smaller dessert for just me and my husband. So I was really glad when I saw that Amy, from Amy's Cooking Adventures, had made this Buttercream Roses Vanilla Cake - it looks perfect! In the film, Adam won't give Helene the day off for her daughter's birthday so she brings the girl into the restaurant, and Adam (who isn't so bad after all) ends up making her a cake that looks a lot like this.

As if other bloggers could read my mind, I'd also wanted to cook turbot as I liked the scene where Helene practises over and over again, even giving it to her daughter for breakfast. But I couldn't find any turbot in the supermarket and don't have a fishmonger I can get to. Luckily Sarah at Chef Sarah Elizabeth was able to buy turbot and she made this fantastic dish: Butter Poached Turbot with Cayenne Mushrooms. The way it's plated up, it looks like it belongs in Adam's restaurant!

That beautiful birthday cake makes another appearance with Katharina from Pretty Cake Machine. She has introduced me to a flavour called 'isaphan' which is a combination of raspberry, lychee and rose, created for the famous macaron house Laduree. Katharina used those flavours in her cake which looks gorgeous, and must have tasted gorgeous as well!

Evelyne from CulturEatz took the title of the film literally and decided to look for recipes which are deliberately burnt. She finally settled on a Charred Broccoli Shrimp Pasta with Peanuts dish and proved that sometimes when food is burnt it can still taste really good!

 

An insult in the film inspired the dish made by Deb from Kahakai Kitchen. Adam disdainfully asks his friend Tony, maitre d' of a hotel restaurant, "You're serving seared tuna. What happened to your self respect?" Deb's Pistachio-Crusted Seared Ahi Tuna on Burnt Eggplant with Feta and Pomegranate Couscous is another recipe that involves charring, and has plenty of self respect!
 

 

Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla watched the movie several times while trying to decide what to make, and was eventually inspired by the fish market. She made Crisped Chanterelles Over Brown Butter-Braised Halibut and said: "This dish is definitely a testament to great ingredients making a terrific dish...and you don't have to be anything close to a Michelin chef to make it." It only uses six ingredients, and two of those are salt and pepper, proving you don't need to over complicate things to create a wonderful dish.

 



 

Debra from Eliots Eats made a luscious cocktail based on a recipe in the Official Burnt Movie Cookbook. Her Pineapple Confit Infused Rum can be drunk as it is, or diluted with tonic water. I know which I'd prefer!

 

 

Finally Elizabeth from the Lawyer's Cookbook made Scallops with Caper Sauce over Veggies, inspired by the various dishes that you can see Adam prepare in the film. This looks like quite a simple recipe where the flavours speak for themselves and is beautifully presented, rather like the food in the film!





 

Interestingly, opinions of those who took part in this month's Food 'n' Flix were divided - some people really enjoyed the film but several didn't like it at all! One thing is sure and that is there was plenty to be inspired by in the kitchen. Thanks to everyone who took part in Food 'n' Flix this month! If you would like to take part in December, Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen has chosen a film called Krampus.