London-based fans of The Walking Dead chomping at the bit for the start of season five are in for a treat today.
To sate the appetite of those unable to wait a fortnight for the first episode, FOX UK has launched a pop-up restaurant offering them tastes of a most macabre nature.
From midday, fans heading to Corbet Place at The Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch will be able to sink their teeth into a free ‘human flesh’ burger.
That’s right – if you don’t mind indulging in a little cannibalism, there will be such a thing as a free lunch.
Last night OnTheBox donned its best food critics hat to sample the burger, and found it to be surprisingly tasty (more on that in a moment).
If this all sounds alarmingly grisly and not in the slightest bit legal, fear not – you won’t actually be devouring your fellow man and woman.
FOX UK has teamed up with food art duo Messhead (Michelin-trained chef James Thomlinson and culinary creative Miss Cakehead) to create a burger that only tastes of human flesh.
Researching historical instances of cannibalism, they came up with a recipe that combines veal and pork.
And so to put it to the test. Despite knowing the ingredients were definitely non-Homo sapiens, it still took OnTheBox a little while to embrace our inner zombie and chow down on the burger.
Once we did, the flavour that greeted us was reassuringly familiar: very burger-like, succulent and pleasingly light in taste and texture.
It wasn’t until we examined the meat we were devouring halfway through, realising it looked distinctly more ‘human’ than ‘beef’, that any concerns about ‘simulated cannibalism’ disrupted our enjoyment of the product.
Not enough to stop us finishing the whole thing, though. Overall, this could easily catch on at any one of the growing number of on-trend burger joints springing up on gentrified high streets nationwide.
When you see your friends, family and colleagues going missing, suspicious-looking meat being served for Sunday lunch and shuffling hordes a little too happy to take a bite out of you on the daily commute, however, you’ll know exactly who to blame.
And if things get apocalyptic, remember: your attackers can only be stopped by removing the head or destroying the brain….
The ‘human flesh’ burgers will be given away for free at Corbet Place in The Old Truman Brewery, East London, until none remain. You can keep up to date by following the #terminustavern hashtag on Twitter.
The Walking Dead Season 5 premieres on Monday October 13 at 9pm on FOX.
Follow Nick Norton on Twitter @OnlyForKoolKids
