One thing about me? I love a theme. Give me a bit, and I’ll commit to it. An excuse to play dress up, I’m there. An inkling of a seasonal direction to send this newsletter in, oh, I’ll give you more fun facts about Halloween than you’ll know what to do with (and make you the most entertaining dinner date there ever was). 

This week’s deep dive is all things Spooky Season—the tricks, the treats, the scary, the sordid, and of course, the sweet.

ICYMI, my name’s Saanya Ali and I’m the founder of SOIRÉE, a platform, supper club, newsletter, and social community dedicated to reviving the “lost art of entertaining” and making food, and the culture around it, FUN…as it should be. Follow along on TikTok, and Instagram for more video deep dives!

Unpacking Common Kitchen Curses & Superstitions

Throughout history, every culture has created its own set of kitchen superstitions. Some are totally absurd, unfounded, and pure gullibility fodder, but others are actually rooted in some pretty logical explanations. To me, these are the equivalent of gastro-ghost stories, and that feels festive, so let’s get busting!

Popular culinary superstitions around the world

• Everywhere: Spilling salt brings bad luck and chucking some over your left shoulder counters it.

  • Verdict: TRUE (kind of)

    1. Because salt was once worth its weight in gold, spilling it was literally like losing money.

    2. In Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper," Judas is depicted spilling salt and that forever linked it with betrayal and bad luck.

• China: If you flip your fish on your plate, a boat capsizes.

  • Verdict: SUPERSTITION

• Korea: If you don’t keep your rice bowl close to your face, you’re inviting poverty and hunger into your life.

  • Verdict: SUPERSTITION

• Japan: Sticking chopsticks upright in rice in Japan, means that you’re disrespecting the dead because it resembles incense at funerals.

  • Verdict: SUPERSTITION

• Eastern Europe: Opening the oven while baking lets evil spirits into your cake

  • Verdict: TRUE (kind of)

    • It may not be the “evil spirit,” but sudden temperature changes can cause cakes to sink and soufflés to collapse.

• France: Never leave bread upside down because in medieval times, the executioner's loaf was placed upside down.

  • Verdict: SUPERSTITION

• Various Asian cultures: If you don’t finish every grain of rice, they will haunt you when you’re dead OR every grain of rice is a fortune that you throw away if you waste it.

  • Verdict: SUPERSTITION

• Russia: Whistling in the kitchen summons evil spirits.

  • Verdict: SUPERSTITION

• UK: It’s unlucky to stir food counterclockwise.

  • Verdict: TRUE (kind of)

    • While it may not have much to do with luck, depending on what you’re making and what vessel you’re cooking in, stirring food in one direction can help it to emulsify.

• Mexico: Sweeping at night sweeps away good fortune.

  • Verdict: SUPERSTITION

• US: Don't let food cool in aluminum foil because it traps the soul of the food

  • Verdict: TRUE (kind of)

    • Bacteria thrive in the warm, moist environment created by sealed foil.

DIY Foodie Halloween costumes

How to make the best spaghetti bolognese

I have been working on perfecting my spaghetti bolognese for the past few years and it is finally the season where all I can think about at the end of a long day is cozying up on the sofa with a hot bowl of pasta smothered in sauce, so I thought it was high time I shared the secret. Click here to check out the recipe on Pepper!