Origin Story
To give credit where credit is due, the concept of the International Butter Club comes from the comedically genius and criminally underrated minds of Bride Wars (2009) writers June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson and screenplay author Greg DePaul (with Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith).
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It is, in fact, a punchline delivered incredulously by Steve Howey's character, as if to imply that the idea of someone, "... sitting around eating sticks of butter from different lands," is in fact so ludicrous as to be impossible.
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I, however, do not live in LA, have no qualms about saturated fat and found myself doing exactly that whilst participating in the global Covid Lockdown of early 2020.
The reality is, I immensely enjoyed the joke (as I did Raphael's and Wilson's bit parts in Bride Wars) but also immensely enjoy butter. I immediately took to the internet to join the International Butter Club. Surely there must be one if is mentioned in a major motion picture!
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Alas, nothing.
Don't worry, I told myself. Someone of Great Knowledge and Expertise will soon found one or get an internet presence for this surely-already-in-existence organisation!
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And yet... nothing. For a decade, I'd check every couple of months but no one ever devoted any significant attention to it. The domain name remained available.
For more than 10 years, the International Butter Club remained an excellent punchline but unestablished organisation. Since the idea had been rattling around in my head for more than a decade, I was literally just sitting around eating butter from different lands and with no one else seriously stepping up, here I am making niche interests and quotable movie snippits a reality.
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Though perhaps the idea may present as frivolity, the International Butter Club is, in fact, an actual organisation of people who enjoy, value and appreciate butter. As our food system changes, we hope to document and preserve butter flavours, manufacturing practices and traditions around the world for posterity and promote incredible food producers who have tasty treats to share.
Also, Raphael and Wilson are the bee's knees and I desperately want 'in' on the joke.
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Let me know your delivery address, ladies.
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*Justine
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