The Guacamole That Inspired a Generation of Musos

Another possibly true story from The Avocado Cookbook’s Famous Avocados. Maybe not ? 

Some of the greatest music of the 1960s was supposedly inspired by love, rebellion, freedom, heartbreak and the desire to change the world.

That is the official version.

The less official — but considerably tastier — version suggests that an entire generation of musical genius may have been inspired by a bowl of gently spicy guacamole.

That legendary recipe was known as Guac Side of the Spoon.

Long before it appeared in a take-home jar with an avocado-green lid, Guac Side of the Spoon had already become part of musical folklore. It was passed quietly between rehearsal rooms, recording studios, basement parties and backstage snack tables, where some of the most creative musos of the era gathered in search of inspiration.

They arrived looking for a new sound.

They stayed for the guacamole.

The Mysterious Beginning

Nobody can agree on exactly where Guac Side of the Spoon first appeared.

One account places its creation in a dimly lit London rehearsal room in 1966. Another claims it emerged from a beachside party where the performers had forgotten to bring dinner but had somehow remembered three guitars, two tambourines and a box of avocados.

The most widely accepted version involves an avocado guitarist and chef named Davo Guacamour.

Davo was already respected throughout the underground music scene for his long guitar solos, dark sunglasses and refusal to perform without a fully stocked snack table.

He believed that food and music were closely connected.

“A song without rhythm,” Davo once explained, “is like guacamole without lime. Technically possible, but why would anyone do it?”

One evening, while waiting to perform at a small and slightly disorganised music festival, Davo discovered that the backstage catering consisted of three ripe avocados, half a lime, some red onion and an unopened jar of harissa paste.

Most musicians would have complained.

Davo saw an opportunity.

He mashed the avocados gently, added the lime, folded through the onion and then stirred in a small spoonful of harissa.

Not enough to cause panic.

Not enough to frighten the roadies.

Just enough to give the guacamole a warm, smoky edge and a little rock-and-roll attitude.

The first musician to taste it reportedly stopped tuning his guitar and stared silently into the distance.

The second immediately wrote down three new chord progressions.

By the time the bowl reached the drummer, the band had decided to abandon its original set list and begin an experimental twenty-minute instrumental.

A culinary legend had been born.

The Guacamole That Changed the Sound of the Sixties

Word spread rapidly through the musical community.

Bands began requesting Guac Side of the Spoon on their backstage riders. Recording engineers kept jars beside their mixing desks. Songwriters reportedly carried emergency corn chips in their instrument cases.

Its effect on creativity was said to be remarkable.

Musicians who had been stuck on the same chorus for weeks suddenly discovered an additional verse. Guitarists began finding notes that had apparently been hiding between the other notes. Percussionists, already an unpredictable group, became even more enthusiastic.

Some artists claimed the smooth avocado helped them relax.

Others credited the lime with sharpening their musical instincts.

The more dramatic among them insisted that the harissa opened “a gently spicy doorway into the infinite architecture of sound.”

Nobody knew what that meant, but it sounded impressive, so it was repeated frequently.

Soon, Guac Side of the Spoon was appearing at parties across the music scene. The bowl would be placed in the centre of the room with a spoon resting inside and a pile of triangular corn chips nearby.

It became more than food.

It became a ritual.

Before recording, the musicians dipped.

Before performing, they dipped.

After performing, they dipped repeatedly until someone noticed the bowl was empty.

The Image That Became an Icon

The famous Guac Side of the Spoon image was created almost by accident.

According to legend, a single triangular corn chip had been standing upright beside the guacamole bowl during a late-night recording session. A narrow beam of white stage light struck the chip and appeared to burst from the other side in several brilliant shades of green.

Everyone in the room stopped talking.

Someone took a photograph.

Someone else suggested it should become the cover of something important.

Davo immediately recognised its potential. The mysterious chip, the green beams and the bowl with its proud silver spoon seemed to represent everything the recipe stood for: creativity, flavour, fun and the remarkable ability of musicians to make a simple snack appear deeply philosophical.

The image became synonymous with Guac Side of the Spoon.

Posters appeared in fruit shops, music venues and kitchens. Copies were pinned to studio walls. For a short period, triangular corn chips became so fashionable that several round crackers reportedly developed self-esteem problems.

From Famous Recipe to Take-Home Jar

As the recipe’s reputation grew, fans began asking how they could enjoy it at home.

Davo initially resisted commercial production. He regarded every bowl of guacamole as a live performance.

“No two avocados are exactly alike,” he said. “You must respond to the avocado that is standing before you.”

Eventually, however, he agreed that the world deserved easier access to gently spicy inspiration.

The fresh Guac Side of the Spoon Take-Home Jar was released with its unmistakable black label, avocado-green screw-top lid and the celebrated image of the chip, the green rays and the guacamole bowl.

The jar was promoted as being:

Available in local supermarkets, on Amazon, and wherever great Guac concerts have snack bars.

It became an immediate success.

Music fans bought it because of the story. Food lovers bought it because of the harissa. Musicians bought it in the hope that inspiration might be hiding beneath the lid.

A few customers simply liked the jar.

The Recipe That Inspired an Album

The success of the guacamole inspired Davo Guacamour to return to the recording studio and create a full musical celebration of his famous recipe.

The resulting album was titled Guac Side of the Spoon.

No ordinary album launch would do. Davo unveiled it at a combined concert, guacamole tasting and fruit-market awards ceremony attended by musicians, chefs, greengrocers and several people who had simply followed the smell of fresh corn chips.

Rock Side of the Spoon became an extraordinary success.

It remained in the Fruit Shop Top 10 for an unprecedented number of years, surviving changes in musical fashion, seasonal produce shortages and the brief but highly competitive rise of electronic hummus.

Every time commentators predicted that the album would finally leave the charts, another generation discovered it near the avocado display and sent it climbing again.

Its staying power became legendary.

Some said it was the music.

Some said it was the artwork.

Most suspected it was the free guacamole tasting held every Saturday morning.

Make Your Own Guac Side of the Spoon

Gently Spicy Harissa Guacamole

Ingredients

• 3 ripe avocados
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon harissa paste, with more added carefully to taste
• 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
• 1 small tomato, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
• Corn chips, to serve

Method

Scoop the avocado flesh into a bowl and mash it gently with a fork, leaving a little texture.

Add the lime juice, harissa, red onion, tomato, coriander, cumin and smoked paprika. Season with salt and pepper, then stir gently until combined.

Taste before adding any extra harissa. The idea is to produce a pleasant warmth and smoky depth rather than a guacamole capable of setting off the venue’s fire alarm.

Serve with corn chips and place a spoon proudly in the bowl.

For additional inspiration, play some music while eating it.

Inspiring Musical Genius, One Spoonful at a Time

Whether Guac Side of the Spoon genuinely inspired the musical revolution of the 1960s remains a matter of debate.

Music historians have found no reliable documentation.

Fruit historians, however, remain strangely confident.

What cannot be denied is that the recipe has everything a creative muso could ask for: freshness, character, harmony, a little spice and a chorus of people asking whether there is any more.

Perhaps that was its real influence.

Guac Side of the Spoon reminded musicians that the most memorable creations often begin with simple ingredients, combined with imagination and a willingness to try something unexpected.

Sometimes that creates a great song.

Sometimes it creates a famous album.

And sometimes it creates a bowl of guacamole so good that it inspires both.

This Famous Avocados story is a work of humorous fiction and parody. Any resemblance to actual musicians, albums, fruit-shop charts or spiritually awakened percussionists is entirely coincidental.