Food in TV and movies usually isn’t even real, and yet it somehow looks so much more appetizing than food IRL. Seeing delicious fictitious food on my screen always makes me think there has to be a way that I can replicate that food at home.
I have a few food dupes I’d like to share that I think could allow everyone to recreate movie magic in their own kitchens. Now when you hear the dreaded phrase “we have food at home,” you can actually get excited.
Courage the Cowardly Dog Flantasy Flan = Goya Flan
As a child, when I wasn’t watching Pokemon, I was probably watching Courage the Cowardly Dog on Cartoon Network. In “The King of Flan” episode, a hypnotizing commercial turns people into flan fiends who will do anything to get their hands on some flan. Prior to watching this episode, I’d never had any run-ins with flan. But as an adult with adult money and freedom, I now realize that: 1.) Flan exists (yay), and 2.) Flan can indeed be mine. Goya makes a flan mix that comes with a little caramel packet that looks just like the “Flantasy Flan” from the show. Goya has ensured that everyone can now live their midnight snack flantasies, and I appreciate them for that.
Matilda Chocolate Cake = Costco Chocolate Cake
I know the chocolate cake in Matilda is fed to a child as punishment, but while the punishment looks painful, the cake looks damn good—chocolatey and fudgy and truly top tier. I think a good dupe for this fudgy cake would be the famed chocolate cake from Costco that Sporked staff writer Jordan Myrick so adores. Like the Trunchbull’s chocolate cake, it’s pretty sizable and could feed a group of people. Not to mention, it is multilayered just like the one from Matilda. If you catch me at Costco purchasing this cake, you can be sure that it is just for me to recreate my Matilda dreams (minus the public humiliation).
Mandy Cheddar Goblin Mac & Cheese = Kraft Mac & Cheese
“Nothing is better than cheddar,” says the Cheddar Goblin before projectile vomiting macaroni and cheese all over the children in the fictional commercial in the 2018 horror movie Mandy. I can’t help but notice that the Cheddar Goblin’s mac and cheese has long hollow noodles just like another famous mac and cheese brand we know and love—Kraft Mac & Cheese! If you’ve ever wanted to be covered in cheesy Goblin vomit, I would cook up a big pot or two of Kraft and then start replacing my eyebrows with noodles, Cheddar Goblin style.
Teletubbies Tubby Custard = Ambrosia Strawberry Devon Custard
I never find myself wanting custard more than when I think of Teletubbies. Tubby Custard is the pink goo that the Teletubbies ate (when they weren’t eating Tubby Toast, of course). This goo is so pink and looks so sweet and inviting. The excitement was palpable every time the Teletubbies lined up to get a bowl of their Tubby Custard, and I remember wishing they’d save a bowl for me (they never did). I mean, even the vacuum got in on the custard action! Thankfully now as an adult, I can stop being salty and run over to World Market to grab some Ambrosia Strawberry Devon Custard to form a custard line of my own at my house. Everyone is invited, minus the Teletubbies for not sharing.
Futurama Popplers = Kroger Popcorn Chicken
I know this one will more than likely be frowned upon since the Futurama episode in question centers around not eating Popplers, but….I really want to eat a Poppler. They just look so crunchy and golden brown, and you just know they’re salted to perfection. I’m sure all the people who zoom up to the Tube-Thru window are happy customers before, ya know, finding out that Fresh Popplers are actually little aliens. To me, the little alien nuggs look like popcorn chicken. Of all the popcorn chickens on the market, I notice that Kroger’s popcorn chicken looks the most similar to a Poppler—it is bumpy, golden brown, and crunchier than a chicken nugget.
