





Universal Studios Hollywood chefs will roll out 60-plus food and drink items themed to “Harry Potter,” “Star Trek,” “Back to the Future” and Dungeons & Dragons when a new festival dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, gaming and anime debuts this spring. The new Universal Fan Fest Nights will run on various nights April 25 to May 18 at the Hollywood theme park. Universal Studios Hollywood Executive Chef Julia Thrash hosted the media for a sampling of many new menu items during the inaugural event. Here are the seven best things to eat and drink during Fan Fest — one from each of the featured franchises.
Fireball
The spicy and sweet dessert is themed to the fireball spell in Dungeons & Dragons.
“On the inside, the chocolate cake is going to be strawberry and Tajin. We wanted to get that little bit of spicy,” Thrash said. “On the outside, it’s actually buttercream made to look like fire. And on top is Pop Rocks.”
Available at Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep.
Time Machine Melt
The basic but tasty pastrami sandwich comes with a Back to the Future twist.
“What we’re going for here is the time period. So this is going to be overlaid at Mel’s Diner,” Thrash said. “We wanted to keep it in that ‘50s time frame of Hill Valley. And then tying in the 88 mph.”
Available at Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley.
Tribble Truffle Trio
The “Star Trek”-themed truffles that look grizzled and forbidding on the outside are filled with sweetness and decadence on the inside.
“If you know anything about the Tribbles, all they do is eat and breed. So that’s how we landed on a truffle for them,” Thrash said. “There are three truffles. One is a butterscotch, a white chocolate, and then a semisweet chocolate. And there’s little Milk Duds on the inside.”
Available at Star Trek: Red Alert.
Hogwarts Meat Pie
Imagine eating just the top of a pot pie crossed with a puffed pastry and you get the idea.
“It’s loosely translated as a British meat pie,” Thrash said. “There’s braised beef, potatoes and carrots.”
Available at Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Yuji’s Chocolate Curse
The chocolatey dessert is themed to the manga character Yuji Itadori, one of the protagonists in the “Jujutsu Kaisen” supernatural horror anime TV show.
“This is actually themed to his school uniform. He wears a red hoodie, so that’s where that contrast comes in,” Thrash said. “He does have pink hair. And then the emblem is actually the same as the one on his uniform.”
Available at Jujutsu Kaisen: Hunger of the Cursed.
Chopper Cupcake
The fondant-iced cupcake is themed to Tony Tony Chopper from the “One Piece” Japanese manga series.
“Chopper’s favorite food is cotton candy. So that’s how it all ties together,” Thrash said. “It is a vanilla sponge cake on the inside with little cotton candy pieces, and then it’s a cotton candy frosting that’s on top. His antlers are actually made out of little chocolate cookies.”
Available at One Piece: Grand Pirate Gathering.
Yoshi’s Apple Melon Smoothie
The new smoothie is themed to the cute green dinosaur from the Super Mario video games.
“It’s apple and honeydew melon flavors topped with whipped cream,” Thrash said. “It’s not as sweet as you would expect. The fact that it’s frozen actually makes it a little bit less sweet than if you were just drinking it on the rocks.”
Available at Super Nintendo World’s Toadstool Cafe.