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There is a game my boyfriend and I like to play at dinner parties. It is called: What They Serve in Hell. The concept is pretty simple. During a break in conversation, preferably while people are scanning the menu making final decisions, throw out the question, “What food do you think they serve in Hell?”
For those lacking irony, this is meant to be a hypothetical question. No one really thinks torturous creatures are force-feeding mayonnaise to the eternally damned. However, it can be illuminating to go around a group and discover your friend’s sometimes unusual food dislikes.
It is my boyfriend who envisions an inferno of food smothered in mayonnaise. For me, the idea of an eternity of baked or mashed potatoes is enough to send a shiver down my spine. From our friends we have heard everything from fried fish to sea urchin to the ever-polarizing cilantro.
Once the hellfire question is out of the way it is then fun to go back around and ask what food they serve in Heaven. Oysters, chocolate sorbet, steak, this game is equally enlightening if a bit less fun, minus the cringe-inducing imaginings.
After having played this game a dozen time with different groups of people, what becomes apparent is how wildly different our tastes are as humans. One man’s Heaven--sea urchin, Marmite, salmon, curry--is another man’s Hell.
These profoundly different tastes can be particularly challenging when planning a dinner party. Not that you need to serve Heaven food for everyone, but more importantly, you don’t want to serve anyone’s Hell food.
I try to keep a mental list of my close friends' likes and dislikes just for that reason. There is the friend who breaks out in hives from any curry, and another who will start dripping sweat like a leaky tap with the slightest taste of chili. There are the vegans and pescetarians, and those who prefer their plates monotone, as in the color of meat, with nary a green in sight.
If I am well versed in the Hell Foods of guests I can usually come up with a menu to please all. However, if there are some newcomers, I try to make sure there is enough variety in the menu that if say, sautéed kale is not one’s thing, maybe the wild rice will be. And there are always foods for noshing pre-meal, from cheese to charcuterie to olives and bread. If the main course fails it should be totally possible to fill up on the starters.
On a recent visit from my boyfriend’s parents we decided to make Vietnamese food, a bit of a risk considering their rather basic palate (Hell Food: fish, Heaven Food: beefsteak). To start we served salt and pepper shrimp, coated in a light crust of Wondra flour and liberally seasoned with salt and pepper. For the mains we pushed the envelope a bit with Bun Bowls, rice vermicelli with lemongrass grilled pork, herbs, and pickled carrots. This was perhaps not the most daring Vietnamese menu but it still had all the distinctive flavors of the cuisine: fish, lemongrass, pickled carrots, Thai chili. If the Bun Bowls were left only about half eaten, that is only because the shrimp were such a hit his parents filled up before the main course.
Which leads us to the final lesson of Hell foods: sometimes they are not what they seem. If an older eater who hates fish and loves meat so fills up on fried shrimp that he doesn’t have room for pork, then maybe, just for a moment, the lines blurred between the two realms. That is what we call Food Nirvana.
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/1361-heaven-and-hell-foods/
What They Serve In Hell
There is a game my boyfriend and I like to play at dinner parties. It is called: What They Serve in Hell. The concept is pretty simple. During a break in conversation, preferably while people are scanning the menu making final decisions, throw out the question, “What food do you think they serve in Hell?”
For those lacking irony, this is meant to be a hypothetical question. No one really thinks torturous creatures are force-feeding mayonnaise to the eternally damned. However, it can be illuminating to go around a group and discover your friend’s sometimes unusual food dislikes.
It is my boyfriend who envisions an inferno of food smothered in mayonnaise. For me, the idea of an eternity of baked or mashed potatoes is enough to send a shiver down my spine. From our friends we have heard everything from fried fish to sea urchin to the ever-polarizing cilantro.
Once the hellfire question is out of the way it is then fun to go back around and ask what food they serve in Heaven. Oysters, chocolate sorbet, steak, this game is equally enlightening if a bit less fun, minus the cringe-inducing imaginings.
After having played this game a dozen time with different groups of people, what becomes apparent is how wildly different our tastes are as humans. One man’s Heaven--sea urchin, Marmite, salmon, curry--is another man’s Hell.
These profoundly different tastes can be particularly challenging when planning a dinner party. Not that you need to serve Heaven food for everyone, but more importantly, you don’t want to serve anyone’s Hell food.
I try to keep a mental list of my close friends' likes and dislikes just for that reason. There is the friend who breaks out in hives from any curry, and another who will start dripping sweat like a leaky tap with the slightest taste of chili. There are the vegans and pescetarians, and those who prefer their plates monotone, as in the color of meat, with nary a green in sight.
If I am well versed in the Hell Foods of guests I can usually come up with a menu to please all. However, if there are some newcomers, I try to make sure there is enough variety in the menu that if say, sautéed kale is not one’s thing, maybe the wild rice will be. And there are always foods for noshing pre-meal, from cheese to charcuterie to olives and bread. If the main course fails it should be totally possible to fill up on the starters.
On a recent visit from my boyfriend’s parents we decided to make Vietnamese food, a bit of a risk considering their rather basic palate (Hell Food: fish, Heaven Food: beefsteak). To start we served salt and pepper shrimp, coated in a light crust of Wondra flour and liberally seasoned with salt and pepper. For the mains we pushed the envelope a bit with Bun Bowls, rice vermicelli with lemongrass grilled pork, herbs, and pickled carrots. This was perhaps not the most daring Vietnamese menu but it still had all the distinctive flavors of the cuisine: fish, lemongrass, pickled carrots, Thai chili. If the Bun Bowls were left only about half eaten, that is only because the shrimp were such a hit his parents filled up before the main course.
Which leads us to the final lesson of Hell foods: sometimes they are not what they seem. If an older eater who hates fish and loves meat so fills up on fried shrimp that he doesn’t have room for pork, then maybe, just for a moment, the lines blurred between the two realms. That is what we call Food Nirvana.
Salt and Pepper Shrimp
Made with green onions, fresh cilantro, vegetable or canola oil, shrimp, Wondra flour, salt, black pepper
Made with green onions, fresh cilantro, vegetable or canola oil, shrimp, Wondra flour, salt, black pepper
Serves/Makes: 4
- vegetable or canola oil
- 1 1/2 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
- 3/4 cup Wondra flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- chopped fresh cilantro
- green onions, green part only, julienned
Heat 2-inches of oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium-high heat until it is 375 degrees F.
Combine the flour, salt, and half the pepper in a shallow bowl.
Rinse the shrimp but do not dry. Working in batches, toss the shrimp in the flour mixture and add to the hot oil. Cook for about 90 seconds until crisp and firm. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Repeat with remaining shrimp.
Arrange the cooked shrimp on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the remaining black pepper. Garnish with cilantro and green onion. Serve immediately.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/1361-heaven-and-hell-foods/