It premiered at the Electric Cinema in London last weekend, with a special screening of Pan's Labyrinth. The audience loved it. Now edible cinema looks set to be the next big thing, bringing a new dimension to the filmgoing experience.
Many of you will already have experimented with scratch n'sniff cinema, if not with the Odorama that John Waters debuted with Polyester. If edicble cinema becomes a hit you may never want to see a John Waters movie again. But just what is this new phenomenon, and how does it work?
The Electric Cinema's approach was aimed squarely at the gourmet crowd. It involved a series of numbered packages which viewers were instructed to eat when an usherette held up a sign. One of these contained a gin cocktail, another a specially prepared red grape. All the foods used were designed - by specialist chef Andrew Stellitano - to create flavours that would linger in the mouth. Some were matched to moments when characters in the film eat. Others were intended to conjure up more nebulous sensations in keeping with the environments depicted onscreen.
Just how edible cinema will take off in other areas remains to be seen. Some cinemas may not like the idea of having to clean up after enthusiastic audiences, but in many cases it may be possible to package flavours in capsule form for a less messy experience. Some films would seem to be crying out to be celebrated in this way - from Tom Jones to Tampopo, Planeat to Babette's Feast. Though scratch n' sniff cinema has never become part of the mainstream, its repeated reinvention suggests that there's a real hunger out there for filmgoing experiences with a difference.
