Paton first put the human-food party together three years ago in her home, and last year, Gorinto creator Corey Elbin asked her to bring the idea to his Wednesday night gathering. This year, they teamed up with chef and fellow Gorinto participator Mark Shusterman, and trio built a savory body menu that includes over ten feet of local pickled produce, fresh baked bread and a Jeffrey Dahmer-inspired frozen banana dessert.
There will be several "heads" (complete with red pepper tongues) and replications of various limbs, so that there is plenty of food to go around. Paton also says the vegetarian-friendly dishes will be separate from those containing meat, like the forty or so pounds of it that will go into the meatloaf legs.
This evening's corpse-themed meal will be followed by a screening of cult zombie film Dead Alive, along with a monster-inspired drawing contest with a chance to win some prizes. Paton says this year's gory movie choice (last year's was the 1922 silent feature Nosferatu) was all in fun, picked to encourage diners to "hoot and holler and scream, and make the night a little campy." Gorinto's The Edible Cadaver begins at 8 p.m. tonight at the Mercury Café, is open to all ages and is $10 at the door.