Life Day is the Star Wars version of Christmas and now you can celebrate at home! Thanks to Jenn Fujikawa and Marc Sumerak, Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook is full of delicious food and drinks from a galaxy far far away.
Life Day is the Wookie holiday that was first introduced in the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Life Day began on the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk to honor an ancient tree that they believed was the source of all life in the galaxy.
Wookies would decorate the Tree of Life with glowing orbs and dress in red robes to celebrate. But Life Day isn’t just for the Wookies. Like any holiday we celebrate it’s about connecting with our friends and family, as well as our traditions.
The chef in Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook, Strono Tuggs “Cookie”, has described recipes coming from all over the galaxy to represent Life Day. Cookie used to be the head chef at Maz Kanata’s on Takodana.
After the First Order destroyed Maz’s castle Cookie traveled the galaxy and finally ended up on Batuu. He’s been looking to connect with people across the galaxy again through food and the Life Day Cookbook does just that.
Food in Star Wars has always been so interesting to me. There are lots are fun drinks and food you’d hope to find at a bar on Coruscant or something you’d want Aunt Beru to make you for comfort.
Galaxy’s Edge is one of my favorite parks in Disney. I loved how immersive it was, especially the restaurants. The food and drinks were a huge thing and being able to bring Star Wars food home is great. Any Star Wars fan would love this book and the fun traditions from the world that come with it.
The Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook has a galaxy full of food
From appetizers to desserts and drinks, you’ll be all set for a holiday full of delicious food. Each recipe comes with a story behind it and why Cookie felt it was important for Life Day. The recipes are ranked easy to hard so I decided to lean towards the easier ones. It felt like each recipe used the most colorful foods, similar to what we see on screen.
One of my favorite snacks was the Shi-Shok fruit bowls. It was quick and easy to make. The fruit salad is served in a dragon fruit half which reminds me of a meiloorun fruit featured in Rebels. The flavors worked so well together making for a refreshing snack.
There are also many options that everyone would love for the main dish. From ribs to tip-yip (chicken) there’s something for everyone. I love that these recipes feel like classic holiday foods but with that Star Wars twist.
I also loved that each dish came with an in-canon connection. As Cookie said, he’s looking to connect with people through food and story again. On top of the story behind the food, we learn what planet each dish comes from. It feels like we’re learning more about a minor part of the Star Wars universe, that has always been there but was never the star.
Drinks featured in the Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook
My favorite section of the cookbook was the drinks. Drinks in the Star Wars universe have always interested me. From the bar in Attack of the Clones to Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge, I’ve always wanted to try them at home. The drinks have always been so bright and colorful and mysterious to me.
The two drinks that caught my attention were the Joh Blastoh punch and the Batha Milk hot chocolate. The punch was inspired by “Joh Blastoh”, a Huttese Life Day jingle. The refreshing punch is a personal recipe from Cookie and is definitely one to kick back and relax with. And as a fun treat the cookbook also includes the lyrics for “Joh Blastoh”.
In Galaxy’s Edge at the parks, they have blue and green milk. I enjoyed a few cups of blue milk the last time I was there and was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It has a very sweet vanilla taste to it. If you have a sweet tooth you will definitely want to try the Bantha milk hot cocoa, it reminded me a lot of the blue milk in the parks. Hot chocolate is a staple drink during the holiday season and winter months. Making this blue milk drink at home in a hot chocolate version is even better.
Life Day at home on Earth
The Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook also comes with a craft guide toward the end of the book to celebrate the Wookie holiday at home! There are four crafts to help you make your own paper tree, orbs, and robes which are all important elements of Life Day. It’s a nice little section to help you get in the holiday spirit. I highly recommend making the robes because who doesn’t want something comfy and fuzzy?
Overall this cookbook has a great selection of foods from around the galaxy. I love that some of these are familiar treats. Fujikawa and Sumerak have created amazing stories that connect fans to this important Star Wars holiday.
Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook is available on Amazon. Will you try celebrating Life Day at home this year? Have you ever wanted to try a fun drink from the Star Wars universe? If you also tried The Life Day Cookbook let us know which recipe was your favorite on social media. Don’t forget to check out our other cookbook reviews like the one linked below!
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