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In the scene that's inspired our starter course, we see Andy at the Runway canteen, serving herself a portion of soup, much to the dismay of Stanley Tucci's Nigel, who judgementally quips “You do know that cellulite is one of the main ingredients in corn chowder”.
As with all the food in this movie, Andy's choice sets her apart, what is normal to her, is a no-no for the glamazons of the new world she he has stepped into. The way she absentmindedly eats whilst standing in the queue, further highlights her otherness. She's not obsessively monitoring each mouthful, as we've seen her fashionable counterparts do earlier, nor does she care about her clothes enough to eat cautiously, even spilling chowder on her infamous cerulean blue sweater.
Mid-mouthful, the duo are called upon to assist Miranda, and Andy is forced to ditch her lunch, to run along and satisfy her bosses needs. Here, we see Andy's surprise at the idea of shunning a meal, and Miranda's power is demonstrated. Miranda's desires are shown to be more important than something as silly as her minions satisfying the basic human need to eat anything other than a cube of cheese.
For the starter course of our The Devil Wears Prada dinner, we're removing the side of symbolism, and serving our soup with another of the film's most iconic foods: grilled cheese.
You'll notice that cellulite isn't one of the main ingredients in our corn chowder, and this veg packed soup is a real crowd pleaser for small children and man children alike. This recipe makes rather a lot but it freezes well, so we like to make the full batch, but we know how valuable freezer real estate is, so scale down things if you wish! We break down the recipe step-by-step in our YouTube video, so if you haven't already, be sure to check it out.
Please note, we recommend eating corn chowder sitting down, so it doesn't get on your jumper, that was selected for you, by the people in that room 👠
CORN CHOWDER
INGREDIENTS (serves 6 as a main course)
5 ears of corn
6 slices streaky bacon - chopped
750 ml chicken stock
500ml whole milk (replace 100ml with double cream for an extra creamy soup)
2 medium potatoes
2 celery stalks
1 onion
1 large carrot
1 green pepper
1 tbsp butter
To serve
Chives - chopped
Soured cream
METHOD
Remove the corn kernels from the cobs. Peel and dice the potatoes to approx 1cm dice.
Dice the celery, carrot, pepper and onion to approx 1cm dice.
Put all the prepared veg aside.
In a large stock pot, fry the chopped bacon until crisp and golden, remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside to drain, leaving the bacon fat in the pan.
Add the butter to the bacon fat, once melted, go in with the chopped celery, carrot, pepper and onion. Fry until tender, about 5 mins.
Add the potato, corn kernels, corn cobs, stock, milk (and cream if using) season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce to a low heat, and simmer gently for 15 - 20 mins until the potatoes are fork tender.
Remove the heat and discard the corn cobs.
For a creamier consistency, remove a third of the soup and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, along with half of the bacon and stir to combine.
Serve garnished with a dollop of soured cream, chopped chives and the remaining bacon.
