The Cheesecake Factory menu is a weighty tome filled with bizarre confections galore and some of the most inventive names in the world of restaurants. This is a masterpiece that deserves a dramatic reading, and who could be better suited for the job than Neil Gaiman? Cult following aside, his mellifluous voice is truly the perfect match for this classic example of American excess.
image from wikimedia commons
The idea was the brainchild of writer, comedian and BUST contributor Sara Benincasa. She told Eater, “Last week I watched an episode of the sublime TV adaptation of American Gods, went on a goddamn elegant date to Cheesecake, woke up, drank coffee, and went into some kind of inspiration blackout. When I came to, I discovered I’d asked Neil if he’d read the entire Cheesecake Factory menu onstage in exchange for a $500,000 donation to a charity of his choice.”
In a rare example of the beauty of Twitter, Gaiman saw the post and was game. From there #Neilcake was born.
Gaiman chose UNHCR, The United Nations Refugee Agency, as his charity, and Benincasa set up a Crowdrise to raise the funds. Sara says they picked Crowdrise because no matter how much money they raise, “It all goes to the United Nations for Refugees.That was important.”
If the excitement on Twitter is any indication, we hope to soon be blessed with a live reading soon.
Cover image via Crowdrise
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