FAVA-RITE: José Andrés is food consultant for the “human” cuisine featured in upcoming “Hannibal” (inset). (
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It takes a strong stomach to hire a “food consultant” for a TV show about cannibalism.
But one of the most delicious parts of the upcoming TV version of “Hannibal” — the series based on Anthony Hopkins’ 1991 big-screen chiller “Silence of the Lambs” — is that it makes cuisine a major character in the drama.
”Hannibal” is set to debut Thursday night (10 p.m., Ch. 4).
But when review copies of the new series arrived last week, it was discovered that famed Spanish chef José Andrés — owner of famed The Bazaar in LA and Minibar in Washington, DC — was listed in the credits as “food consultant.”
The series is set around a high-strung criminal profiler named Will Graham (played by Hugh Dancy) who is hired to help the FBI (Laurence Fishburne plays the agent) to help track down a canny killer.
For help, Graham consults an expert shrink, Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). Of course, no one on the show realizes that Lecter is actually the killer.
The master manipulator Lecter charms the cops with — what else? — elegant cuisine and fine wines.
The catch: they’re parts from his victims.
That’s where Andrés come in.
The Spanish chef says his native cuisine includes some body parts Americans might not be used to — like lung or kidney — as well as the more recognizable loin and rib roast.
NBC incidentally plans to post Andrés’ recipes from the show online after each episode — using cuts of meat more readily available at your local supermarket.