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“THE END IS NEAR, SO... EAT CAKE! 2012, Oil Spills, Pending War, Satanic Rituals, Meteorites, Lustful Indulgences. The manner may be up for discussion, but most people feel that the end is coming soon. If you are feeling anxious about the approaching apocalypse, just laugh in the face of doom, face your fears mouth first, and bake the appropriate cake” 

Shannon O'Malley's disturbingly comic Apocalypse Cakes - Recipes for the End, guides readers through the most suitable cake for 31 different potential events that could lead to the end of the world. The blurb of the text, seen above, sets up the deeply political tones of the book under the guise of a cookbook. O’Malley appeals to a genre that has seen a burst of popularity in the last few years, basing the book on a range of dystopian situations. It is through these apocalyptic events that O’Malley is able to discuss and evaluate the potential shortcomings of contemporary society.

However, O’Malley was certainly not the first author who uses cookbooks or food writing in general for social commentary and transformation. Victorian literature often depicted the eating conventions of spheres of society: women, vegetarians and rural food production to name but a few. Examples can also be found as early as classical Greek epic, as food is directly linked to civilisation and used as a signifier for gentility (or the lack of!).

With this blog I aim to demonstrate the ways in which food writing can be used to construct a moral imperative for readers to digest – I hope you enjoy the feast!

Works Cited:

O'Malley, Shannon. Apocalypse Cakes: Recipes for the End. London: Running Press , 2011. Print.