Elephant Size me is a scientific, gastronomic, geographic, cosmogonic and self-ironic experiment with the aim of observing and documenting the vanishing of a local food culture in the Elephant&Castle area, south east of London.
(In memory of Jenny Savage)
Thanks to Marianna Miller and Daniel Wolfman
D'Orazi.
King Size Omelette.
“Jenny’s Burger” is one of the best places in Elephant&Castle for experiencing gigantic omelets. At Jenny’s, Pop Art meets traditional english food. It is where Physics meets Social Science. Here I started my personal tour in the Elephant’s flavors. Exactly here from the stronghold of british taste.
Colors are fundamental for a good digestion.
Colors help salivation.
There is no salvation without salivation.
Iron Curtain.
Reminiscences of Red Russia on my russian salad.
Traces of liberalism in the shiny Green peas.
Rouge a lévres.
My personal Ketchup Lipstick.
Extreme make up.
Still Life with Antimatter.
Antimatter is matter that is composed of the antiparticles of those that constitute ordinary matter. If a particle and its antiparticle come into contact, the two annihilate. Antimatter is not found naturally on Earth. There is considerable speculation both in Physics and Natural Science as to why the observable universe is apparently almost entirely matter, and whether other places are almost entirely antimatter instead. In the early universe, it is thought that matter and antimatter were equally represented, and the disappearance of antimatter requires an asymmetry in physical laws called the Charge Parity Violation. At this time the apparent asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the visible universe is one of the great unsolved problems in physics.
Geography is the most imaginative science. “La Brasserie” is a French café with a dash of Bollywood drama. The owner of this yellow and cozy place is a Bangladeshi potbellied man, who runs three restaurants in the area of Elephant & Castle, including a Thai Take Away. Food is the ultimate colonization, spices and curry are the only weapons of mass destruction to be found in the kitchen.
Pondicherry Echoes. Residues of cherry blossoms on my rice. Puducherry is the largest urban agglomeration in Puducherry District. The city was previously known as Pondicherry. Its structure is similar to that of a city-state, derived from the historic French influences. It is the only place in India where people carry Naan bread under their armpit.
Onions will tear us apart. I cried all my tears for you.In India some sects do not eat onion due to its alleged aphrodisiac properties. Onions are a true menace for monogamy. Onions are for sinners.
The Curry Empire strikes back.
Ramadan is not just a religious cleansing practice for muslims. According to Vogue India, it has now come into use in Catholic Rites as a fancy punishment for fat westerners who hate veggie people.
Kali’s Holy Shroud.
Kali is considered the goddess of time and change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence on popular culture.
Cinematic Food.
Fritz Lang’s younger brother was a great cook. During the Twenties he fled to Poland and opened a fashionable restaurant in Warsaw. “Mamuska” is a polish café on the second floor of Elephant & Castle shopping mall. It is a tribute restaurant to the German Expressionism Movement and it is also devoted to Horror B-Movies from the Seventies.
Dish of the day: Count Orlok pancakes, in memory of Max Schreck.
Spectral mushroom shadows forward menacingly, while radioactive potatoes nest between butter and sunflower oil. For Vampires only.
Big Close Up.
At a closer look, the enemy is less frightening.
Guess who’s coming for dinner?
Dreaming of Michelangelo Antonioni’s masterpiece La Notte. Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau and Monica Vitti, unfortunately they drink just Italian wine.
Dr. Mabuse’s DNA on my meal. Genetic instruction to catch a Master of disguise.
It’s 5 o’clock in London. It’s midday in La Havana. It’s the day before today in Polynesia.
The Brits have great traditions. Drinking black tea with a lot of milk and two teaspoons of sugar can help you to hide from your south Italian origins. The Grab and Go café in the first floor of the Elephant & Castle shopping centre is a non-lieu or a multi-lieu. You can find Italian espresso and Spanish churros. You can relax and feel home anyway, while old Cuban men are playing cards in the table right in front of you and a Philipino waitress is singing the French National Anthem.
Tea Dance with fork.
Paradox of Bon-Ton.
Liquid Modernity.
Postcards from the Post-Fordist era.
Waiting for the Sun.
And getting older.
E.Tea.
I drink too much.
