One might imagine that a cookbook bearing the name of Salvador Dalí would be filled with appetizing dishes like “Shattered Lightbulb In Béarnaise Sauce” and “Crème De Soldier’s Headbone.” But that would probably be too obvious for him, and any crazy meals that we could think up would likely be deemed tediously weird by the surrealist icon.
Instead, when Dalí created Les Diners De Gala some four decades ago, he did it on the level. Kind of. Collected from French chefs by Dalí and his wife Gala over the course of many years of opulent dinner parties, the recipes—such as “Veal Cutlets Stuffed With Snails” or “Bush Of Crayfish In Viking Herbs”—are neither toxic nor intentionally offensive, just a little further to the side of oddball decadence than most people are used to. The cookbook does feature some oblique references to cannibalism and some unsettling artwork, though. It is Dalí, after all.
There are currently only 400 copies of that cookbook still in existence. Soon, though, there will be many more. Maybe even one on your bookshelf: Taschen is about to reissue the collection of 136 recipes, My Modern Met reports.
“We would like to state clearly that, beginning with the very first recipes, Les Diners De Gala, with its precepts and its illustrations, is uniquely devoted to the pleasures of Taste,” Dali explains in the body of the cookbook. “Don’t look for dietetic formulas here. We intend to ignore those charts and tables in which chemistry takes the place of gastronomy. If you are a disciple of one of those calorie-counters who turn the joys of eating into a form of punishment, close this book at once; it is too lively, too aggressive, and far too impertinent for you.”
Les Diners De Gala will be back out later this month, and is already available for pre-order.