SECOND SCREENS: Foodie Edition is a virtual cinematic and culinary experience that celebrates food in film. It brings the popular pastime of “Dinner and a Movie” into your own home, for you to enjoy anytime

Follow FotoFocus on social media for weekly updates every Tuesday, for free downloadable recipes, pre-recorded chef interviews to learn more about the films and recipes, and take-out specials and offers from the restaurants. 

Spirited Away (2001)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 125 minutes. Japanese with English Subtitles
Chef Pairing: Hideki Harada, Kiki
Recipe: Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls) (announced March 2, 2021)
Watch Spirited Away and join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook.

In Spirited Away, a young Chihiro moves to a new town with her parents, where she discovers that they have been turned into glutenous pigs by the sorceress Yubaba. She takes a job in a bath house in order to survive, and to free herself and her parents from the curse. Chihiro realizes that food represents power and survival in this fantastical world, when her new friend Haku explains that “unless you eat something from this world, you’ll vanish.” 

Winner of the Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards, this masterpiece from Studio Ghibli, realistically depicts authentic food from varying cultures, like Japanese rice balls, Chinese steamed buns, and konpeito (a Japanese hard candy introduced by the Portugese).

Chef Hideki Harada’s recipe for Onigiri looks to Japan, where he trained as a sushi chef, for his culinary interpretation of Spirited Away. Hideki and his wife opened Kiki, a Japanese pub-style restaurant in College Hill, inspired by the concept of Japanese izakaya, where dishes aren’t necessarily held to strict tradition but are a delicious cultural mash up.

Not only does this iconic film bring food center stage, it also celebrates its 20th Anniversary in 2021—making it the perfect time to rewatch this old favorite or discover it for the first time.

Second Screens: Foodie Edition