Arrietty
Culinary Movie Night Guide
Difficulty Level: Easy
Table of Contents
Equipment
Here is a list (with links) of all the equipment and decorations I used for my Secret World of Arrietty Culinary Movie Night. I would be incredibly grateful if you used my links. I will make a little commission, and that would really help with the cost of the website and related expenses. You can find my full Amazon List here!
To decorate the serving tray, I bought fake moss, a wooden stump, and fake leaves from Michaels (my local craft store). I wanted to create an environment that Arrietty would thrive in. 😊
Tips
- Personalizing the Menu– When planning your menu for your movie night, don’t feel pressured to serve exactly what I chose to serve. Feel free to remove/add/replace dishes so it makes sense for you and your guests. I’ve included an editable menu in this guide to make it your own!
- Managing Your Time– These movie nights can take a lot of time to prepare, especially if you plan on doing everything yourself. If you are planning a culinary movie night with a group, I suggest doing a potluck style. Have each person contribute a dish or two, and it’ll be very manageable. If you are planning on preparing everything yourself, here are some things I’ve learned while doing these often:
- Make A To-Do List– I can’t stress this enough! It’s very easy to forget simple things like opening a bottle of prosecco before you start the movie so you aren’t fumbling with the seal before serving. I have done this so many times! Your to-do list should include absolutely everything you need to do leading up to pressing play.
- Start Early– I learned this after a few very long days of trying to cook, prepare, and host all on the same day. Anything that can be done in advance should be done during the days leading up to the movie night. Some examples include pre-mixing cocktails, making desserts and other foods like soup that hold up well in the refrigerator, and pre-making any handmade decorations. Hosting is stressful enough without having to make a multi-course meal in one day, so get as much done as possible before.
- No Pausing– The question I get asked the most is “Do you pause the movie to bring out the next dish?”. It’s important to me that I don’t disrupt the flow of the movie, so I do not pause. It’s also important to me to enjoy the movie with my guests. Setting up everything I need before the movie helps me bring out each dish efficiently. The setup usually includes plating each dish and storing it in the refrigerator, so all I have to do is quickly microwave it before serving. I set out any garnish or decoration on my kitchen counter so it’s easily accessible. I even pour the cocktails into their cups and store them in the refrigerator, so all I have to do is add ice and any finishing touches before serving. Always think about how you can do the bare minimum during the film. I always include the setup in my to-do list as well, so I don’t forget about any aspect of the preparation.
- Optional– If your budget permits, I recommend ordering food that you may not be confident in cooking or food that may take a lot of time to cook. I do this occasionally, and it helps cut down the preparation time and supports local businesses. Win Win!
- Decorations- Have fun and decorate your space and serving tray! Add elements from the theme of the movie, but make a budget and stick to it! I usually use things I already own because these movie nights are DIY, and I don’t need to spend a fortune to make it fun. If I do buy decorations for the movie night, I try to find cheap or reusable things. If you are curious about some of the things I’ve used during the movie nights, here is a link to my Amazon List. All these items are things I bought with my own money and enjoyed using.
- Manage Stress- Culinary Movie Nights are fun and a great way to show your friends and family you love them. Sometimes, things you envision in your head will not come out perfectly. When this happens to me, it can be discouraging and stressful, but the people I do these for have NEVER expressed anything but appreciation. Go easy on yourself and remember that your guests are just happy to be there and to experience something you put so much thought and time into making.
Menu
I have created a free, editable, and printable menu for all the dishes I served for this Culinary Movie Night! Feel free to change it to what will work for you and your guests.
Cues
These are the cues I used during the movie night so I knew when I had to get the next dish ready to serve.
Please note: Each cue describes a scene that happens a few minutes before I have to serve the dish. It does not describe the scene the dish is based on. Some people get confused with that, so I thought I should specify. Because the cues only give you a few minutes to prepare the dish, it’s very important to have everything cooked and set up before the film starts. Review the “Tips” section above for ways to make this seamless.
I often get asked why I don’t use time stamps to keep track of when to serve the next dish and the simple answer is, I don’t find those helpful. If I used timestamps, I would have to have a separate timer going or keep disrupting the movie to check the timestamp. It makes much more sense to have cues to indicate when the next scene is about to happen. This allows me to enjoy watching the film with my guests.
Below is the link to the cues I used. This document is editable, so you can make updates if you decide to take out or change dishes.
Recipes
Homily’s Tea
For this first tea, I chose to serve Masala Chai. The dark brown color of Homily’s tea reminded me of that tea but you can serve whatever tea you want. Just make sure it a darker color like a black tea.
Serving Tips: I suggest making this tea when all your other prep is done so you can serve it fresh right before you start the film. To remain on theme and add to the immersive experience, I also recommend serving your tea with a teapot and cup set. It plays a massive role in the film, so it would be a really cute touch to your movie night.
Homily’s Cream Stew
This is the recipe for Homily’s Japanese Cream Stew. The only thing I did differently was add frozen broccoli at the end to add that extra green touch to match the film.
Serving Tips: I had the soup in a pot on my stove, keeping it warm. When it was time to serve, I just had to ladle it into the small bowls. Like in the film, I also served the soup with a wedge of bread that I bought from the bakery at my grocery store.
Sho’s Hamburger Steak Dinner
For this meal, I got inspiration from this Video. The video shows how to cook it, and she has the full recipe in her video description.
Serving Tips: I suggest making each part of this dish earlier and storing them in an airtight container in your refrigerator. To save time, you could plate the dish minus the sauce and pasta. Store the plated dish in the refrigerator. The pasta will harden if it’s not stored in an airtight container, and the sauce will splatter if you microwave it on top of the steak.
When it’s time to serve, plate the dish, minus the sauce. Microwave the plate and the sauce (in a separate container), and then pour the sauce on top of the hamburger steak before serving.
A Borrower’s Afternoon Tea
For this Afternoon tea, I serve mint and green tea with thumbprint cookies. My original plan was to serve this recipe for Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jelly Thumbprint cookies, but my batch did not cook right, so I used leftover snickerdoodle cookie dough I had from the holidays.
Serving Tips: The cookies can be made ahead of time, and you can have them plated before you start the movie, so they are easy to grab. For the tea, I had the mugs set out with the tea bag in them, as well as the water in the electric kettle, so all I had to do was press a button to heat the water. I let the tea steep for a few minutes and then served it with the cookies.
Spiller’s Cricket Legs
This dish was a simple one to throw together. All you need are dates and melted chocolate. I cut a date into 4-lengthwise pieces. I then squished each quarter date to lengthen them a bit and bent the ends to make them look like cricket legs. If they start falling apart dont worry. just squish it back together.
Place parchment paper on a plate and dip the date legs in melted chocolate. Place each chocolate-dipped date on the plate, and when all of them are dipped, place the plate in you refrigorator. When the chocolate is completely hardened (15-20 minutes), you can plate the cricket legs so they are ready to serve.
Pod’s Cheesy Toast
I have seen many versions of this cheesy toast online. Everyone has their own take, but I decided to keep it very simple for movie night. I cut small squares of the same bread I used for the stew (bread I bought at the bakery in my grocery store).
For the cheese, I used brie that I rolled into a ball. I placed the cheese on top of the bread before I started the movie, and placed it in the refrigerator. When it was time to serve, I broiled the cheesy toast for only about a minute. Just to start the melting process, but not enough to have the cheese lose its ball shape. Keep an eye on it so you take it out at the right time.
Spiller’s Offering
I think the berry Spiller gives Arrietty is a Salmonberry, but I couldn’t find those at the grocery store, so I went with a more easily accessible berry, raspberries.
I served a Raspberry Cheesecake Parfait recipe. I added a mint leaf on top to tie in all the herbs they use as borrowers as well.
