Universal Studios Hollywood chefs will roll out 60-plus food and drink items themed to Harry Potter, Star Trek, Back to the Future and Dungeons & Dragons when a new festival dedicated to sci-fi, fantasy, gaming and anime debuts this spring.
The new Universal Fan Fest Nights will run on select nights between April 25 and May 18 at the Hollywood theme park.
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Universal Studios Hollywood’s Executive Chef Julia Thrash hosted the media for a sampling of many of the new items that will be on the menu during the inaugural event.
Here are the seven best things to eat and drink during Fan Fest — one from each of the featured franchises.
1) Fireball
Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep
The spicy and sweet dessert is themed to the fireball spell in Dungeons & Dragons.
“On the inside, the chocolate cake is going to be strawberry and Tajin. We wanted to get that little bit of spicy,” Thrash said. “On the outside, it’s actually buttercream made to look like fire. And on top is Pop Rocks.”
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2) Time Machine Melt
Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley
The basic but tasty pastrami sandwich comes with a Back to the Future twist.
“What we’re going for here is the time period. So this is going to be overlaid at Mel’s Diner,” Thrash said. “We wanted to keep it in that ‘50s time frame of Hill Valley. And then tying in the 88 mph.”
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3) Tribble Truffle Trio
Star Trek: Red Alert
The Star Trek-themed truffles that look grizzled and forbidding on the outside are filled with sweetness and decadence on the inside.
“If you know anything about the Tribbles, all they do is eat and breed. So that’s how we landed on a truffle for them,” Thrash said. “There are three truffles. One is a butterscotch, a white chocolate, and then a semi-sweet chocolate. And there’s little Milk Duds on the inside.”
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4) Hogwarts Meat Pie
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Imagine eating just the top of a pot pie crossed with a puffed pastry and you get the idea.
“It’s loosely translated as a British meat pie,” Thrash said. “There’s braised beef, potatoes and carrots.”
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5) Yuji’s Chocolate Curse
Jujutsu Kaisen: Hunger of the Cursed
The chocolatey dessert is themed to the manga character Yuji Itadori, one of the main protagonists in the “Jujutsu Kaisen” supernatural horror anime TV show.
“This is actually themed to his school uniform. He wears a red hoodie, so that’s where that contrast comes in,” Thrash said. “He does have pink hair. And then the emblem is actually the same as the one on his uniform.”
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6) Chopper Cupcake
One Piece: Grand Pirate Gathering
The fondant icing cupcake is themed to Tony Tony Chopper from the “One Piece” Japanese manga series.
“Chopper’s favorite food is cotton candy. So that’s how it all ties together,” Thrash said. “It is a vanilla sponge cake on the inside with little cotton candy pieces and then it’s a cotton candy frosting that’s on top. His antlers are actually made out of little chocolate cookies.”
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7) Yoshi’s Apple Melon Smoothie
Super Nintendo World
The new smoothie themed to the cute green dinosaur from the Super Mario video games will be available during Fan Fest at the Toadstool Cafe in Super Nintendo World.
“It’s apple and honeydew melon flavors topped with whipped cream,” Thrash said. “It’s not as sweet as you would expect. The fact that it’s frozen actually makes it a little bit less sweet than if you were just drinking it on the rocks.”