Elvis Presley's Last Meal Was Actually Dessert

If given a choice of what we wanted our last meal to be, there's those who would choose savory dishes like a big steak, and those who would choose some kind of sweet dessert. Elvis Presley, the king of rock 'n' roll, chose dessert — and a very good one at that. No, it was not Elvis' famous peanut butter-banana-bacon sandwich, or some rumored variation of that. When I was a kid, my dad and I would listen to Elvis songs together. I asked him once what Elvis died from, and he told me it was from eating too many fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. This was of course neither Elvis' actual cause of death, nor what he ate as his last meal (but nice try, dad). Instead, before Elvis' unfortunate cardiac arrhythmia, he delighted in four scoops of ice cream and six chocolate chip cookies.

Elvis' music, in my opinion, still remains as revolutionary as sliced bread. My foodie senses make me think that surely Elvis' taste in food must have been just as sophisticated as his tunes? I imagine he probably liked to keep things simple when it came to ice cream — definitely a vanilla-kind-of-guy — but something also tells me his Southern roots probably made him a die-hard butter pecan fan, too. As for the other part of the meal, I like to think he was a lover of soft, chewy, almost cake-like chocolate chip cookies. I was determined to see if any of my predictions were actually true, so I went to the depths of the internet to uncover any and all ice cream and chocolate chip cookie-related evidence Elvis may have left behind.

My predictions were about 50-50. I was somewhat correct on the ice cream, but very far off for the chocolate chip cookies. According to the book "The Life And Cuisine Of Elvis Presley," the singer had two scoops of vanilla ice cream and two scoops of peach ice cream. These were both by the brand Sealtest, which is no longer made. And just as Elvis' favorite on-stage drink was a modest choice of Gatorade, the singer also took the less-sophisticated route when it came to cookies. He opted for some good ole Chips Ahoy – a brand we all know and love, and probably have in our pantries right now. 

I also speculated whether Elvis was a cookie dipper, or crumbled them on top of his ice cream. Or the wild card: Did he choose homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches? He did love sandwiches, after all. But it turns out he actually dipped his chocolate chip cookies into his ice cream. Smart man.

Although Elvis will forever be known as a music legend, he did have great love for classic comfort foods like meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Whether or not the star knew dessert would be his last meal, or if it was one that he strategically planned as such, is something we'll probably never know. But one thing is for sure, not many people would be disappointed with a final feast of their favorite ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.