A Look Back on Prince's Love of Dunk-a-Roos and Mustard

Editor's note: Well, it looks like we've been punked. Unfortunately, the Heavy Table article referenced throughout this post seems to be an April Fools' Day prank. We sincerely apologize for the error. Prince really did love pancakes, though.

What do you imagine an enigmatic figure like Prince—whose untimely death yesterday at the age of 57 saddened us all—would have eaten? Perhaps half a dozen starfish sous vide in a coffee bath brewed from extinct beans? Or a tepid glass of Martian water with a single drop of perpetually hazy purple food coloring? A deliciously ironic serving of roasted Mogwai only to be eaten after midnight?

Turns out, Prince's dietary preferences just so happen to be one of the rare cases in which truth is most clearly stranger than fiction.

Back in 2011, Minnesota-based food publication The Heavy Table somehow managed to convince Prince to allow them to take a peek at the reclusive star's refrigerator for the inaugural run of their "What's In Your Fridge?" column. So, just what did they find upon gazing into the sacrosanct interior of Prince's refrigerator?

How about a panoply of 18 mustards from all around the world? Yes, Prince was a big mustard fan. The array included a raspberry-flavored offering—about which Prince said, "It is the best. You wouldn't expect it but that's how it goes." (This may cause music historians to entirely re-assess "Raspberry Beret," don't you think?)

Also in the fridge: a loaf of challah from Cecil's Delicatessen. Prince explained that the challah wasn't for himself: "Manny loves this stuff, that's why I keep it around. I guess it's good with any of the mustards, he says?!?!" That said, the singer didn't explain who Manny actually was or how often he was stopping by to consume challah and mustard.

The sex lord of guitar music was true to his decade of ascendancy. No less than five pounds worth of Dunk-a-Roos were found, including "vintage varieties." About his Dunk-a-Roos addiction, Prince said, "Don't know what 2 say about Dunk-a-Roos. They're just good! Sometimes you want a food that is comfortable and takes you back. For me, it's those crazy little kangaroo crackers."

Then there was the maple syrup. A gallon of the real stuff was a Prince essential. He said: "People say U can't tell the difference, but U know, it's the real deal. It's a cut above. It's about 100 cuts above. This is the only thing that touches my waffles."

In fact, Prince's fondness for pancakes has long been well known. It was memorialized on a skit on Chappelle's Show back in the day, and on an episode of New Girl more recently. Prince also hosted a "Breakfast Experience Pajama Dance Party" at Paisley Park, his home and studio, in 2013. And guess what was served? Pancakes.

Was it Prince's fondness for breakfast that led Cheerios to believe they could get in on the action? The cereal company tweeted a tribute to Prince following his death—one that many have found to be offensive and tasteless. The tweet, which has since been deleted, contained an all-purple sign reading "Rest in peace" with a singular Cheerio in place of the dot above the letter "i". General Mills, the Minnesota-based company behind Cheerios, told CNNMoney that they wanted to "acknowledge the loss of a musical legend in its hometown." Good thing Prince seemed to be much more of a Chex man himself—although they too are made by General Mills.

Hey guys, Prince died. BUT PLEASE DON'T FORGET ABOUT CHEERIOS! pic.twitter.com/S31hQm7BTq

— Andrew Nicla (@AndrewNiclaASU) April 21, 2016

Prince truly was one of a kind. And it looks as though extraordinary minds truly do require extraordinary food to fuel their greatness.