In New York City Wednesday night, Amazon Studios prepared a special feast inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Middle-earth and the streaming service’s about-to-debut The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
At the helm of the event was Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, who was tasked with transporting guests gastronomically to the Second Age, and into the dining halls of the respective kingdoms of Dwarves and Elves and men.
On the menu was a fried chicken dish inspired by the realm of the Ñoldorin Elves called Eregion; a spiced lamb shoulder that could have been found within the stone walls of the Dwarf kingdom of Moria; and an almond cake to celebrate the establishment of Númenor, the human Kingdom of Man.
ABC Audio caught up with Samuelsson after the feast, and he said it was a thrill “just to be asked, being such a fan of the show and the books, to the films.”
He added, “You know, coming from a Nordic background like it was, like foraging: some of the foods — I really felt like, ‘OK, I’m inspired by this, I can do this, let’s have some fun with this!'”
“It was super fun,” he continued. “You’ve got to kind of, like, put your ‘serious chef hat’ away and just be like, ‘I’m going to go for it.'”
Those who use Amazon Echo devices can now ask Alexa for all of Samuelsson’s Middle-earth recipes.
“Alexa also gives you just sort of [a] tool to really engage,” the chef said.
“And now food is really part of pop culture, right? Because this is entertainment, technology and bringing people together, what can be better than that?”
The Rings of Power debuts September 2 on Amazon Prime.
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