An Offal Good Dinner - The Hero's Journey

Our men’s Offal Good Dinner was a transparent excuse for eating and drinking while sharing tall tales. It’s the hosts’ responsibility to choose the menu and I featured parts of meat referred to as offal. These could make you a little squeamish if you aren’t familiar with them, but these are my favorites. I presented dinner as part of a theme titled “The Hero’s Journey”. The menu was secret and the only clue given attendees was the invitation. Most thought I misspelled “awful” but were kind enough to keep that to themselves and arrived blissfully ignorant.

What is a Hero’s Journey?

Philosopher Joseph Campbell documented the stages of a recurring theme in tales of literary fiction. Ancient writing, from Homer’s Odyssey to contemporary film examples like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings illustrate this theme. In these tales, also called monomyths a protagonist or hero embarks on a journey, encountering trials and tribulations along the way. They overcome the obstacles and eventually return to reality transformed from the experience. I thought it a perfect metaphor, because my guests would taste these for the first time and I in my role as their mentor, would lead them. I bestowed a protective amulet, pictured above, upon each Hero and with some liquid courage, we began the journey.