Cooking is a pretty sizeable part of the Monster Hunter series, and a popular food personality and YouTuber has recreated the game’s best known dishes in tasty reality. Andrew Rea, otherwise known as Oliver Babish of the YouTube cooking series Binging with Babish, has recreated Monster Hunter’s Chef’s Choice Platter, with his own personal touches.
Monster Hunter didn’t have quite the popular impact in the European/North American market as it did in Japan when it was originally released in 2004, where it was roundly criticized for its steep learning curve, but was nonetheless critically well-received. In the seventeen years since its initial release, it’s managed to retain a worldwide following (as seen with Monster Hunter Rise‘s Switch sales), and has soared as a franchise to become Capcom’s second most profitable series, behind only Resident Evil. The Monster Hunter series, true to its name, puts players in the role of Hunters, traveling across the land hunting and slaying monsters, while also gathering resources and upgraded equipment to improve their overall effectiveness, all in a low fantasy setting.
One of the aspects of the game is food, where players can cook meat they’ve acquired or buy food from the game’s Canteen for buffs or to complete quests. Of all the available meals in Monster Hunter World, the most well-known is the Chef’s Choice Platter, which is purchased at the Canteen and eaten for a number of positive stat effects. On Binging With Babish, which is centered around recreating recognizable meals from televisions shows, movies, and video games, Rea, otherwise known as Babish, recreates the entire meal from scratch. Because the components of a Chef’s Choice Platter often changes, Babish creates his own bespoke version primarily with a variety of meats prepared using an equally broad number of methods. Check out his process in the YouTube video below:
It’s a meal fit for any red-blooded carnivore: roasted chicken, a paella/bibimbap crossover, skewered and grilled homemade pork and beef sausage, marinated shrimp, and Brazilian picanha, and red Thai curry mussels, with the spread finished off with a giant wedge of Swiss cheese, a flagon of home-brewed ale, and garnish. It’s a protein-packed meal fit for any warrior, covering a number of cultural flavors. Best of all, anyone who wants to take this massive challenge on for themselves can follow Babish’s written instructions.
Even anyone who isn’t keen on the kind of culinary spread Babish put out can appreciate the versatility of the dish, and the variety of techniques he used that would put any Felyne chef to shame. While Babish’s Chef Choice Platter probably won’t make its way onto Monster Hunter World‘s menu anytime soon, well, those who can’t cook, mod.
