20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Hannibal

Part of the appeal – and part of the horror – of Hannibal is the elaborate, gourmet meals Dr Lecter makes of the people he kills. Sure, it's upsetting to think that that's a human lung, not a slab of lamb steak, that he's cutting into. At the same time, it actually looks sort of tasty. Wait, does thinking that mean you might have cannibalistic tendencies too?

Don't panic: the food is supposed to look delicious. And obviously, in reality, they're not using the vital organs of humans to film the show. All the meals are intended to be tasty-looking, and Hannibal actually has a “food stylist” on its crew whose job is to ensure that. Her name is Janice Poon, she's 62-years-old, and she is a magician.

Amongst her numerous inspired creations was the aforementioned lung Hannibal dined on early during the show's run, which Mads Mikkelesen had to film several takes of. Which meant the actor had to be eating something that wasn't gag-worthy, but also still looked like raw human lung. It was actually a mortadella, though she considered other substitutes.