epicure November 2017

We all have must-order dishes from our favourite restaurants. You know, the kind that would invite a mini revolt from loyal customers if they were ever removed from the menu. Can you imagine Long Beach Seafood not serving their famous black pepper crabs or Morton’s The Steakhouse declaring it will no longer offer their porterhouse steak? These classics generate revenue for the restaurants and fond memories for their diners. Even fine dining destinations with their seasonal degustations are always remembered for their signature creations. I, for one, am not complaining that Iggy’s still serves its moreish kombu-coated capellini bathed in lobster oil and served with sakura ebi crisps. Therein lies the perennial dilemma for some restaurateurs and chefs: to keep or not to keep these signature dishes permanently on the menu?…

AITOR JERONIMO ORIVE cut his teeth at top tables around the world such as The Fat Duck, Mugaritz and Nerua Guggenheim Bilbao. Last year, he joined Iggy’s as head chef and promptly helped the restaurant garner one Michelin star. Prior to arriving in Singapore, Orive was the head chef of Shanghai’s Barbarossa by Paco Roncero, an avantgarde Spanish restaurant. What’s next for you? “We have more guest chef collaborations in the pipeline, and I’ve also been invited to attend Madrid Fusion Manila. I’m looking forward to work with more local produce such as vegetables and spices from the markets. I’m also keen to introduce more Singaporean influences into Iggy’s dishes, as we’re always sampling new flavours in hawker centres and local eateries.” EMMANUEL STROOBANT kickstarted his culinary journey at 16 and worked…

epicure is available at the following: Onboard Singapore Airlines (SIA) as an inflight magazine Airport Lounges/Airline Offices Air France KLM British Airways Cathay Pacific Airways CIAS DNATA CIP Lounge SATS Premier Clubs SIA KrisFlyer Gold Lounges SIA Silver Kris Lounges Skyview Lounge Thai Airways Deluxe Rooms & Business Centres of Hotels & Resorts in SINGAPORE Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa Amara Singapore Capella Singapore Carlton City Hotel Singapore Carlton Hotel Singapore Concorde Hotel Singapore Conrad Centennial Singapore Fairmont Singapore Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Furama City Centre, Singapore Furama RiverFront, Singapore Goodwood Park Hotel Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Grand Hyatt Singapore Hilton Singapore Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre Holiday Inn Atrium Hotel Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong Hotel Jen InterContinental Singapore Klapsons, The Boutique Hotel Le Meridien Sentosa M Hotel Singapore Mandarin Orchard Singapore Marina Mandarin Singapore Naumi Liora Oasia Hotel Singapore One Farrer Hotel & Spa Orchard Hotel Pan Pacific Orchard, Singapore Pan Pacific Singapore PARKROYAL on Beach Road PARKROYAL on Kitchener Road PARKROYAL on Pickering Raffles Hotel Singapore Resorts World Sentosa Royal Plaza on Scotts Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore Sheraton Towers…

Nomads of the Wild South African chef Elsa van der Nest specialises in high-end catering for corporations and governments, with past clients that include Nelson Mandela and the late Queen Mother. (Her current company, Elsa & Co., is a partnership with Diego Chiarini and Stephane Colleoni of OSO Ristorante.) In her latest project, however, she has set aside the chef’s knife and turned her attention to the camera. Nomads of the Wild, which runs from 24 November to 16 December at Vanilla Home, is her first photography exhibition and the result of six years travelling through the Serengeti and capturing the grandeur of the wilderness. Faced with overwhelming silence and gripping scenes of life and death, she patiently tracked the beasts that roam the grasslands – such as cheetahs, giraffes, zebras,…

The most popular origin story of sandwiches is that it came about when, in the 18th century, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, was too occupied at a gaming table and subsisted on a piece of beef in-between two slices of bread. So novel was this ingenious creation that the ‘sandwich’ was thereafter ensconced in culinary history. Indeed, one of life’s simplest pleasures has to be a classic BLT sandwich oozing with creamy dressing. Over the centuries, the permutations for sandwiches have become endless and gone beyond a humble ham and cheese on a baguette or a standard turkey on rye. The quality of fillings, the freshly baked bread varieties and the condiments and dressing came under scrutiny during our recent review. We scoured the island’s independent cafés and…

Taking place over nine days from 4 to 12 November, AccorHotels Singapore Food & Wine Festival will showcase and allow guests to sample more than 100 of the group’s chefs such as Kirk Westaway of one Michelin-starred JAAN, and executive chef Louis Tay of Swissotel Merchant Court Singapore. Other highlights include a pool party, which will take place across several of the group’s luxury hotels in the city, along with cocktail shaking and baking classes, and the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes into the restaurants’ kitchens. The event is then set to conclude with a Super Sunday brunch at the Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, with signature dishes from all 40 F&B outlets on offer. During this festival, diners who participate will receive a Gourmet Food & Wine Festival passport…