Flavored Raven’ is a love letter to Poe and love grows with good food! As an Edgar Allan Poe fangirl and a foodie, this book gets me so excited. I get to experience Poe through my stomach as I explore dishes and cocktails inspired by Poe’s influence in literature, pop culture, science fiction, horror, surrealism, and Poe places, not to mention a feast fit for the Red Death! This cozy cookbook checks so many boxes. It’s a cookbook and a novelty item while also being educational in the very best way. ‘Flavored Raven’ is a must have for any Edgar Allan Poe fan looking to experience Poe in an all-new way. The Pit and the Pendulum charcuterie board will be a staple at my parties for now on! I live by Poe, die by Poe, and now I am going to eat by Poe, and so should everyone else worth eating with!

—Holly

This is an immensely entertaining book for Poe fans everywhere. It’s a collection of recipes (mainly cocktails and comfort foods) inspired by 46 stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The ingredients are cleverly selected to reference various aspects of the stories or Poe himself. (For example, poppyseeds are included in Hans Pfaall’s muffins because poppies are mentioned in the Poe’s “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall.”) Now, seeing as I’m useless in the kitchen, I couldn’t tell you anything about the quality of the recipes per se. But, for me, that’s not the point. Instead, this book excels as a celebration of Poe and his writings, and each recipe is accompanied by back-stories, trivia, illustrations, and other miscellanea that bring Poe to, er, “life.”

The driving force behind this book are the two creators of “The Six Degrees of Edgar Allan Poe,” which is a website and a YouTube channel and, indeed, a movement among Poe fans. Their passion for Poe is remarkable, and suffuses all that they do, including this book. The recipes are arranged around the six “degrees” of Poe (literature, pop culture, science fiction, horror, surrealism, and Poe places). It’s astounding how many links to Poe they identify within those facets of art and culture. Fully making sense of the “degrees” angle requires more Poe insight than I possess, but it lends a playful puzzle quality to the book, in the manner of the cipher at the center of “The Gold Bug.”

I should also point out that the graphic design is witty and whimsical and engaging. The book is bound in a large format printed in full color, with splashy, eye-catching graphics that lend to the mood of the tales under consideration.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in Edgar Allan Poe, cooking, or cocktails. And surely you must fall into at least one of those categories??

—Steve