It was a feast for the senses in Madrid when the Singapore culinary scene delivered an imaginative presentation at the opening night of the prestigious gastronomy summit, Madrid Fusion. Singapore’s celebrated chefs Ryan Clift and mixologist Matthew Bax from Tippling Club, Janice Wong from 2am: dessert bar, Kevin Cherkas from Blu at Shangri-La and Andre Chiang from Restaurant Andre, had all flown in to show their distinctive Asian take on Spanish tapas.
SPICE: Singapore International Culinary Exchange
The evening was also the first in a series of events under the Singapore International Culinary Exchange or SPICE for short. SPICE is about promoting Singapore as a culinary capital that thrives on creativity. It’s a major global initiative to showcase the innovation, high quality and depth that continues to develop, on the Singaporean culinary scene. It’s also a chance to put the faces and figures, the restaurants and bars in the city, firmly on the world gourmet map.
Forthcoming events under SPICE include Singapore Takeout – an innovative pop-up restaurant that will traverse the world and the Global Chef Exchange - a culinary immersion programme designed to facilitate the exchange of culinary ideas between local and foreign chefs and restaurateurs.
In Madrid, the chefs showcased their culinary innovation and vibrancy by recreating an authentic Singapore dining experience with a meticulously crafted soiree of cuisine and cocktails epitomizing the country’s exhilarating food scene.
Tippling Club
At this innovative restaurant, mixologist Matthew Bax works with Chef Ryan Clift to pair designer cocktails with specially created dishes. Tapas on offer were:
- Coffee cured ocean trout with smoked yogurt, 5 textures of green apple, compressed fennel and dill.
- Clams in a hot fluid gel of dashi with konbu, cucumber, basil seed and samphire.
The cocktails were just as impressive:
- Tippled Herb Tea.
- Bax Beet Pinot.
- Smokey Old Bastard.
Blu at the Shangri-La Hotel
It was almost a homecoming for chef Kevin Cherkas as he’s done time at some of the world’s most outstanding Spanish restaurants, including Arzak and El Bulli. He was in a playful mood with his creations:
- BBQ chicken with spice powder, cotton candy and “chicken bone”.
- Liquid passion fruit, apple, mango and cassis.
Restaurant Andre
Andre Chiang is one of the most exciting chefs working in Singapore right now and he didn’t disappoint:
- Black truffle porcini galette.
- Smoked tomato capsules.
- Spicy Chinese tea consommé in tea bags.
2am: dessert bar
The name of Janice Wong’s restaurant tells you all you need to know – although it doesn’t just serve deserts, it’s only open from 4pm to 2am:
- Laksa dumplings.
- Lemon, lemongrass explosion.
- Popcorn magnums.
- Salted egg custard eclairs.
All the dishes were served in bite-sized portions and, of course, all were delicious. I was particularly impressed with Andre Chiang’s smoked tomato capsules and Janice Wong’s Laksa dumplings exploded with flavour. During the following days, three of the chefs wowed the delegates at Madrid Fusion with presentations showing how they prepare their food – I think I’ll be content just to eat it.
For more information:
Spanish Tourist Office
Rupert Parker - Rupert Parker is journalist, photographer, cameraman and TV Producer. He specializes in factual programming and has worked for the BBC, ...
