Recreate Cinema’s Greatest Struggle Meals With A24's New Cookbook

Even if they’re not dining in the restaurant from Ratatouille (2007), the characters in our favorite films still have to eat. Depending on their circumstances, that could mean pouring cereal in water, or straining spaghetti with a tennis racket. Now there’s an entire cookbook dedicated to the most memorable struggle meals from cinema. 

As Mashed reports, A24’s Scrounging: A Cookbook highlights the food moments in film that are less than aspirational. Last-ditch meals include the Pixy Stix sandwich from The Breakfast Club (1985), baked potato with Vicodin from The Martian (2015), and tennis racket spaghetti from The Apartment (1960). 

Some recipes consist of one or two ingredients. To make Craig Jones’ cereal with water from Friday (1995), all you need is a box of sugary kids' cereal (the more artificial ingredients, the better). For The Man’s last coke on Earth from The Road (2009), the recipe calls for—you guessed it—a Coke. 

The dishes are ideal for late nights when your kitchen resembles an apocalyptic wasteland. But even if you don’t plan on making the recipes, Scrounging is a worthy addition to any cinephile’s bookshelf. The food photography captures the same gritty vibe of many of the movies being honored. The recipes cover 54 films in a variety of genres. With decades-old classics as well as titles in A24’s catalog, the table of contents doubles as an anti-food porn watchlist. 

You can preorder Scrounging today for $38 from A24’s website. The first copies are expected to ship by Friday, July 7.