This article was taken from the March 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
A strawberry-jam, turkey and cereal sandwich is not the most unorthodox entry on a food blog. But when video-games tester Daniella Zelli crafted a real-world version of Deadly Premonitions' "Sinner's Sandwich", she realised how often food popped up in games, and that eating along with characters offered a way to connect with them.
Her blog Gourmet Gaming, where Edinburgh-based Zelli posts recipes and images including Mass Effect brandy and Yoshi eggs, has more than 70,000 followers and caught the attention of Harvey Smith, designer of the Bafta-winning Dishonored. "I made its tarts and he contacted me and said: 'That's amazing, could you make the jellied eels?'," Zelli, 25, says. Her priority is ensuring her recipes resemble their inspiration. The blog launched with the cake from Portal - "iconic game food" - but Zelli's take deviated from the recipe: instead of "fish-shaped ethylbenzene" and "cranial caps", she opted for chocolate ganache. The blog's popularity soared after Minecraft fans found her twist on the game's cake, complete with pixellated cherries. Zelli now receives hundreds of requests every week, including BioShock baked beans.
She hopes to expand into video -- her first film will be the making of the GTA IV Heart Stopper burger: "Ten pounds of meat and cheese" -- and cookbooks. We want a
'shroom that bestows extra life.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
