Edible Cinema is a Treat for the Tastebuds, Eyes, and Ears

The next immersive installment in Edible Cinema’s series of sensory adventures will feature a unique menu corresponding to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Multi-Sensory Adventures

Edible Cinema is a series of movie screenings enhanced with treats for the tastebuds as well as the eyes and ears. The multi-sensory adventures were first thought up by Soho House’s members events manager Zoe Fletcher and Polly Betton from the unusual event specialists Teatime Production. A cinematic food experience was created, providing audience members with trays of small numbered containers that hold a canapé-sized serving or a mini cocktail.

Edible Cinema’s bite-sized tasting menu brings to life what happens on the screen, with the various food items corresponding to different scenes. The film is shown to the audience after a short introduction, and at certain moments they are instructed to open a container. These moments are signalled by a screen-side light box, which illuminates the container number that should be opened and consumed. Edible Cinema’s menu consultants, experimental chefs Blanch & Shock, work with the team to devise and develop a menu for each movie.

Rather than focusing on literal interpretations of the food shown on screen, the menus relate to the environment, specific words and overall feelings.

In a screening of Pan’s Labyrinth, during a scene where characters ran through a pine forest, the audience was treated to Pine Smoked Popcorn, giving a pine aroma and flavor while also delivering the ‘crunch’ of feet on the forest floor.

A screening of Beetlejuice marked the appearance of caseworker Juno with a serving of lavender-infused smoked mutton jerky. The lavender for an older lady’s perfume, the smokiness for her smoking habit and the mutton jerky for Juno’s throat, through which smoke pours out.

The next immersive installment of Edible Cinema will be another Tim Burton film, this time a multi-sensory Charlie and the Chocolate Factory experience. It will be the first outing within the Science Museum’s on-site IMAX cinema, which seats over 400 and boasts a 408sqm screen.

Eclectic Tasting Menu

Taking place on September 30, audience members should expect an eclectic tasting menu with both sweet and savory items that correspond to specific scenes in the film, such as gum that tastes like a three course dinner and Augustus-flavored chocolate-covered Goop. Those watching in the screening room will feel like they’ve taken a trip to the chocolate factory themselves and are tasting all of its delights. You can check out a video promo for Edible Cinema below:

Edible Cinema

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Emma Hutchings