Eating in the Dark: How Fomo Cinemas Perfected the Movie Menu

As head chef at Fomo Cinemas, Chloe Saffron Belle spends a lot of time thinking about the best food to eat with the lights off. Movie dishes can’t be too sloppy or crumbly, she tells Broadsheet. Or too loud – the occasional crunch is okay, but any noise nearing the annoyance levels of chip-packet rustling is a hard no.

The trick, Belle says, is stimulating senses that are available in the dark: texture and taste. And keeping things simple. “I mean, the last thing you want is a knife and fork and dribbles on your shirt,” she laughs.

The UK native spent her formative years cheffing in tourism hospitality, turning out crowd-pleasing fare at luxury ski chalets in Austria, France and (more recently) Mount Buller. Cinema dishes aren’t too different, she says: punters want “comfort food” they can easily munch while watching a film.

Fomo’s food offering is made in-house and cooked fresh in the cinema’s kitchen – you can order dishes to your seat via app or pre-purchase when buying tickets. As well as the traditional movie-house offerings – popcorn, choc tops, soft drink – guests can choose from an extensive booze list (including seasonal cocktails) and bites such as burgers, pizza, nachos, corn dogs and many, many potato-based treats (fries, wedges, poutine).

While the menu leans into “guilty pleasures”, Belle says it’s definitely not fast food. “Everything’s made in-house. We make our own corn dogs. We make all our own sauce. We do pizzas with fresh dough. We have our arancini. And we cater towards our demographic as well, so we have vegan options and gluten-free options.”

What’s the most popular cinema snack? “Burgers, hands down,” Belle says. “Burgers make up 60 per cent of our sales, give or take.” Another 30 per cent is pizza. Cinema- specific pizza.

“People would think comfort food is pretty easy. But, for example, with pizza dough, you want a certain temperature cook on it so that the mozzarella is not dripping, so you don’t have oils that someone might drop on their shirt,” she says.

“Also trying to get a really good dough can be difficult … we’re constantly adapting and changing our recipe and it’s something that we’re really proud of.”

This constant menu tinkering is no surprise to Fomo Cinemas general manager Jennifer Saa. “Food is half our identity,” she says. “We’re not just a cinema – Fomo stands for ‘Food and Movies’ – we’re an immersive culinary experience … Our menus are designed for eating in the dark and often themed to pair with films.

“And we still love popcorn, in fact we’re the only cinema serving sweet, colourful, playful popcorn every day alongside the traditional buttered kind.”

For Belle and Saa, Fomo’s menu is part of the movie house’s broader mission statement: to provide an immersive cinema experience where people can come together and bond over great flicks.

“All films look better on the big screen,” Saa says. “And when paired with a good plate of food, laughter, gasps, even applause at the end, it brings the atmosphere to life. It’s an occasion, a break from everyday routine. In my view, this is what is needed these days to step away from the couch and those forgettable streaming moments.”

Access held an exclusive screening of The Smashing Machine at Fomo Cinemas on October 8. For more invites to events like this, join Broadsheet Access today. It’s only $12 a month.