Why Andrew Zimmern Wouldn't Watch The Menu A Second Time

The satirical horror-comedy "The Menu" features multiple mouth-watering dishes. Its very premise also prompted a response from many people in the food and restaurant community, including celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern. The reason? According to Zimmern, its satire hinged almost entirely on insider knowledge of the food industry and had the potential to distance viewers without an in-depth knowledge of the culinary world.

For the uninitiated, "The Menu" follows a couple who get a chance to visit an island and dine at an ultra-exclusive restaurant called Hawthorne — but dinner (and the movie) ends with a murderous twist. As the title might suggest, there's an assortment of dazzling, eye-catching dishes brought out to patrons at the fictional Hawthorne. (This, in part, is thanks to a sense of authenticity imparted to the production by Michelin-star chef Dominique Crenn.) However, despite the film's delicious attention to detail, the author and "Bizarre Foods" host had some misgivings.

Zimmern, who often shares tips and thoughts with fans, had a seemingly mixed review of the film. Though he admitted it was a "very good satire" in a YouTube AMA with fans in July 2023, he also stated he "had no plans to rewatch the film" due to its food culture-related insularity. 

Though Andrew Zimmern believed "The Menu" captured the essence of fine dining, he also felt it was to the film's detriment, as it alienated the average viewer. After he was asked about his opinion on the movie by a fan during his July YouTube AMA, Zimmern mentioned how several of the specific food references were esoteric to those outside the industry. "I watched that movie with like six friends, several of whom are foodies, none of them know what an Arpege Egg is," Zimmern said about the film, referring to an elevated egg dish mentioned many non-foodies wouldn't necessarily clock. 

He also cited a scene in the movie that referenced a famed canvas dessert offered at Grant Achatz's Michelin-starred Chicago restaurant Alinea. "There's a part where a sous chef commits a horrific act on a gray mat. And no one that I knew [actually] knew that [the scene] was poking fun at Grant Achatz's brilliant dessert dish," he added. 

That was not the only time Zimmern shared his thoughts on "The Menu" with fans. Months earlier, he posted a more favorable — albeit shorter — review on Twitter in January, calling it a "Michelin-starred version of 'Saw.'" Even though Zimmern later voiced his problems with the movie, he enjoyed the discussion it provoked. "A critique that wants to know how we relate to restaurant culture. What are our values as diners?" he wrote on his Substack in January. Around that same time — and surprisingly, considering Zimmern's later thoughts on the film — Zimmern also created a dish inspired by "The Menu." 

Months before Andrew Zimmern's opinions on "The Menu" seemed to go from positive to more or less mixed, the chef actually aided in promoting the film's digital release in January 2023. Paying homage to both the movie's genre and its haute cuisine aesthetics, Zimmern concocted a culinary tribute to "The Menu": A play on the ceviche-like dish aguachile featuring one of his favorite tuna cuts, the spinal cord.

Beware of sharp tastes and sharp blades. Searchlight Pictures’ @TheMenuFilm is now on Blu-ray & Digital. Have you seen it yet? Are you with US or Them? https://t.co/1zu0gA89Pm #TheMenuFilm #ad pic.twitter.com/FiyENYsKl4

— Andrew Zimmern (@andrewzimmern) January 19, 2023

Zimmern started off the video by chopping lime and red onion, then thinly sliced some radish and English cucumber. He prepared a green sauce by adding lime, radish, and cucumber to a blender along with serrano pepper, cilantro, white vinegar, and olive oil. Next, Zimmern made a red sauce out of beet juice, carrot juice, and ginger.

Once the aguachile base was fully blended and other components ready for plating, the celebrity chef scooped out a portion of the jelly found in the tuna spinal cord and added the red sauce, giving the dish a bloody look. The spinal cord was plated center, with green sauce spooned around and the chopped radish, red onion, cucumber, and tuna jelly added last. Zimmern presented the finished product to the camera: "Spinal cord aguachile. A dish perhaps worth dying for."