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SINGAPORE – The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) turns 30 this year and it is commemorating its anniversary in the most unusual and creative way yet, by launching a cookbook.
The visually striking cookbook which is inspired by the orchestra’s live recordings, comes with 30 recipes and accompanying music CDs.
The unique concept was hatched by the SSO Ladies’ League, which consists of 13 volunteers who dedicate their time and efforts to raising funds for the orchestra as well as to raise interest in classical music in Singapore.
And if you are wondering what the food and music have in common, Ladies' League member Viviana Bernard says the foodies' approach to food is "similar to the one that you have for music".
"Many things came up [during the League discussion] and one [idea] that we really grabbed was that of a cookbook, because people love food. And people that love food have an approach to food that is similar to the one that you have for music," said Bernard.
"Either you eat [the food] and you don’t pay attention to it, or you taste it and you go, 'Mmm...' and you want to taste more. And with music, it’s the same thing. You listen to something and you go, ‘Wow! It’s good. I want to learn more.’ So this is what we’re trying to do with it."
Chef Pang Kok Keong, one of ten chefs who contributed recipes to the cookbook, agrees that there is a strong connection between music and food.
"I think music and food go hand in hand. Most of the dining places you go to will always be playing music that will enhance the ambience of eating," said the executive pastry chef at Canele Patisserie Chocolaterie.
In fact, Pang was so inspired when he listened to SSO's music that he "created the dishes at that instant".
The music featured in "A Symphony of Taste" were hand-picked by Bernard and the cookbook also includes contributions from Jason Tan from Julien Bompard, Edwin Tan from Yoyogi Restaurant, and Willin Low from Wild Rocket. The recipes are categorised under the four seasons, and each one is paired with wines recommended by sommelier Timothy Goh from Les Amis Restaurant.
However, creativity and uniqueness is not only limited to the concept of the cookbook, it extends to all other aspects of the book, from the recipes to the intriguing illustrations.
Take one of Pang's creations for example, the Club Mango, a dessert cake deceptively made to look like a regular sandwich.
"This one has a very strong Asian influence. It basically has everything I love about Asian flavours : mango, coconut, gula Melaka. And I thought of making it into something that was a bit quirky," said pastry chef.
All the illustrations for the various recipes have been made very abstract and expressive to inspire those trying them out at home to be creative and put their own spin on it.
"We wanted something that was transparent and not fixed. We leave people to arrange it as they want," Bernard said.
While it took the brilliant minds of some of Singapore's top chefs to come up with these creations, Bernard says the recipes are very detailed and well explained to make it easy for the average person to whip up on their own.
"They’re easy to do at home. Some require more techniques than others, but I think that they’re really very well explained. And you can start with a small thing, an easy recipe. There are lots of recipes that are really accessible, others are a little bit more elaborate. But if you really follow it, I think anyone can do it."
- CNA/ap
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