FOOD

Elvis Presley’s tastes in food may have been simple but were laden with carbs and cholesterol, writes Hilary Biller

What would Elvis eat?

TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI

Born to parents Gladys and Vernon Presley in 1935, Elvis grew up in Mississippi, and it was his Southern upbringing that instilled the love of the Southern food his mother and grandmother made, the comfort food he loved and hankered after. Think meat loaf and creamed potato (mash), fried chicken, mac n cheese, cornbread and greens — although vegetables weren’t his favourite. Life was tough and money was tight and at times the family relied on handouts from neighbours and it is said in desperate times they ate squirrel. When it came to food, Presley was a creature of habit and unlike his musical talents his tastes remained constant, so much so he would become obsessed with certain types of food, eating it every day until he become bored with it. One of his great favourites was his mother’s meat loaf served with mash, which at times, it is said, he ate daily for four to six months.

ELVIS’S MEAT LOAF SERVES 6-8

1kg ground beef (beef mince)

250ml (1 cup) finely chopped onion

250ml (1 cup) peppers — a mix of green, red and yellow

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 packet of cream crackers, crushed

½ x 400g can chopped tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper Tomato sauce:

½ x 400g can chopped tomatoes

125ml (½ cup) tomato sauce

1 Combine all the ingredients for the meat loaf in a large bowl. Season generously and shape into a loaf on a greased baking tray.

2 Bake in a preheated oven of 180°C for 45 minutes.

3 Combine the chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce. Remove the meat loaf from the oven and pour over the tomato sauce. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes. 4 Serve sliced with some sauce and mash on the side. — Recipe: Elvis Kitchen

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

The family moved to Memphis in 1948 where the teenage Presley completed high school. It was during this time he discovered his musical talent and the delights of soul food — BBQ ribs, brisket, pulled pork, steak, cheeseburgers, fries, corn and cookies — the term used in the Southern and South Midland states for the sweet treat with a hole in the middle, the doughnut. And another famous cookie, the choc chip cookie.

CHOC CHIP COOKIES

MAKES 12 LARGE OR 24 SMALLER COOKIES

250g butter or baking margarine

150ml white sugar

150ml brown sugar

2 extra large eggs

5ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence

280g (2 1/3 cups) cake wheat flour

Pinch of salt

5ml (1 tsp) baking powder

5ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda

125ml (½ cup) oats

250g milk chocolate, roughly chopped, or use chocolate chips 1 Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well. Beat in the vanilla essence.

2 Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and add to the creamed mixture.

3 Add the oats and chocolate and mix well. Place balls of dough onto greased baking tray and flatten slightly.

4 Bake at 180°C for 10-15 minutes until light golden brown. Place on cooling rack to cool.

GRACELAND, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

In 1957, following a year of stardom when Presley was 22, he bought Graceland, a mansion and sprawling estate which was his home until his death. It was here that Mary Jenkins Langston came into his life.

She started working as a maid at Graceland in 1963 and three years later, when Priscilla arrived as a new bride, she promoted Langston to the role of cook as she said they had a similar preference for Southern homestyle cooking. It was a role she had for 14 years, her loyalty meant she was available to the “king” around the clock and she became pivotal and a constant in his life. He rewarded her loyalty by buying her a house and four cars.

In a documentary released in 1996, Langston said of Presley that in the latter part of his life food was the only thing he got enjoyment out of. “And he liked his food real rich,” she said. He didn’t like vegetables and enjoyed high cholesterol food. One of Presley’s great favourites was a peanut butter and banana toasted sandwich, the star was very particular about how it was made, which Langston perfected — two slices of white bread toasted then spread with peanut butter and topped with thin slices of banana. In a frying pan

Langston would melt a “large” amount of butter and fry the sandwich in the “grease” on both sides. And it had to be cut in a certain way, first in half to create a rectangle and then in half again to create four squares.

In a similar vein there are references to his love of Fool’s Gold Loaf — a French loaf hollowed out and filled with a mountain of crispy bacon, up to 500g, topped with peanut butter and grape jelly (jam). Presley loved it so much that one time he flew guests from Memphis to Colorado to enjoy his favourite sarmie.

When it came to breakfasts he dined like a king — scrambled eggs, his favourite, with lots of black pepper, bacon cooked until it was so crispy that no fat was visible, and sausage patties, which Langston would deliver to his room on a tray. “This is good, Mary, he’d say, with grease running down his arms,” recalled Langston. He enjoyed orange juice out of a bottle, the famed Nesbitt brand, and his favourite drink, Pepsi Cola, and other fizzy drinks.

Towards the end of his life, Presley was hospitalised when his weight ballooned and was put on a strict diet. He’d call on Langston to smuggle in bags of his favourite snack — hot dogs and kraut — a vienna topped with a heap of pickled cabbage in a hot dog roll.

ELVIS’S FAVOURITE CORN BREAD SERVES 8

5ml (1 tsp) oil

500ml (2 cups) cornmeal (maize meal) 120g (250ml) cake wheat flour

15ml (1 tsp) baking powder

20ml (4 tsp) sugar

625ml (2½ cups) buttermilk

3 eggs

60ml (¼ cup) oil

1 In a 25cm non-stick pan sprinkle in the oil and a little of the cornmeal and heat to toast the cornmeal but taking care not to burn it.

2 In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together and pour into the pan and cook over low to medium heat until golden brown and cooked through. — Recipe Mary Jenkins Langston