Diana Ault has been crafting stories, conducting kitchen experiments, and cozying up with anime since she was very young. She began her blog, Fiction-Food Café, focusing on food found in books, movies, TV shows, and video games, in early 2013. Her recipes have been included in Easy Eats: A Bee a Puppycat Cookbook, Hyrule: Taste of the Wild fanzine, and several other fandom food projects. The author of Cook Anime, Diana currently resides in Germany with her husband and daughter.
"Ault serves up Japanese cuisine that she either discovered or saw
depicted in anime in this dutiful collection. Recipes begin with a
brief story line synopsis and a mention of how the dish figures
into the plot. A typical example, based on the Tokyo Ghoul series,
begins, “In an alternate Tokyo, ghouls live secretly in society and
survive on the flesh of humans,” before describing the comforting
power of the stewed meat and potato dish, nikujaga, which is
served at one point to an ailing character. Recipes are peppered
with cultural and culinary facts; cream stew, readers learn, was
created to aid Japanese school children in their dairy intake after
WWII and turns up in more than 15 anime series. Difficulty levels
run the gamut from a simple spaghetti with ketchup sauce to a much
more involved miso chashu ramen made with a flavorful braised pork.
There is a handy chart for composing bento boxes, as well as an
insightful chapter on street food options, like the pancake and
octopus balls, takoyaki, that turn up in Mob Psycho 100. But,
while many of the main dishes are lovingly photographed, there is
not a single illustration to showcase any of the hundreds of anime
tales that are referenced. It’s a no-brainer for anime buffs, but
those less well-versed in the genre will likely feel left out of
the picture."—Publishers Weekly
“’The food in anime can act as a window into Japanese culture and
history …’ so begins Cook Anime, which re-creates dishes found in
popular anime series like Sailor Moon, Kill la Kill, and Dragon
Ball. Each recipe is paired with history, culture, and cooking
tips, along with the episode’s backstory and other series in which
the food appears. If this is your first foray into Japanese
cooking, you’ll appreciate the glossary of common Japanese
ingredients, and where to find them (hint: online). Buy this
for: anime enthusiasts and Japanese culture aficionados of all
ages.”—The Atlanta Journal Constitution
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