Hannibal DVD Exclusive: Creating Art Good Enough to Eat

When it comes to the food used on NBC's Hannibal, executive producer Bryan Fuller puts as much thought into those gorgeous spreads as he does the characters who eat them.

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When he's not killing people, Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) is an excellent cook. (Though sometimes, his two hobbies overlap!) In order to make Hannibal's dinner party scenes come to life, Fuller teamed with chef Jose Andres."I'll be in the middle of a scene," Fuller says in our exclusive first look at a bonus feature from the Hannibal Season 1 DVD/Blu-ray. "I'll email Jose and I'll say, 'I am writing a scene where Jack Crawford is sitting down with Hannibal Lecter and they have this event hanging over their heads. So, we need some sort of a dish that can provide a metaphor ... that can apply to the greater story.

How to cook a human with Hannibal's Bryan Fuller and chef Jose Andres

"Jose is a storyteller," Fuller continues. "I think great chefs are all storytellers because the food has to have a beginning, a middle and an end — and a crescendo. That's how he works, so he's the perfect partner on this show for me."For more on how the show uses food in its storytelling, watch the first-look video below. Hannibal Season 1 is available on DVD and Blu-ray beginning Tuesday, Sept. 24. Season 2 is slated to return to NBC at midseason.