Singapore is no stranger to award-winning and Michelin-starred chefs hosting four-, six-, and even eight-hands collaborations. However, in perhaps the first of its kind, Michelin-starred Art di Daniele Sperindio was the backdrop for a recent extraordinary convergence of culinary genius, where seven award-winning chefs came together for a one-of-a-kind celebratory dining experience.
“We’ve been planning this evening for a while now and it's the perfect closing celebration of 2023 for us,” said Chef Daniele Sperindio fondly, chef-owner of his eponymous, neo-Italian restaurant located on the roof deck of National Gallery Singapore.
Only for one evening on 22 November 2023, diners experienced seven distinct culinary perspectives at play through nine beautiful plates, each one a representation of the chefs' personal and professional culinary experiences over the years.
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The star-studded line up of chefs consisted of Chef Daniele Sperindio; Chef Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida of Hashida Singapore; Chef Lewis Barker of Michelin-starred Sommer; Chef Michael Wilson of Michelin-starred Marguerite; Chef-Partner Matthew Orlando of upcoming Air in Dempsey Hill (and of the now defunct Amass in Copenhagen); and chef-partners Michelin-starred Chef Francisco Araya (previously of 81 Restaurant in Tokyo) and Fernanda Guerrero of Araya.
Priced at $298++/person for food only (or $498++/person, which included beverages and after-party access on Art’s Padang Deck), the menu kicked off with Chef Hatch’s creation featuring Japanese Omelette with his signature Ankimo (steamed monkfish liver) rolled together with celeriac and squid in a persimmon leaf.
Chef Lewis presented the next course of Botan Ebi from Toyama Bay, atop smooth crustacean jelly, with preserved kombu and kaffir. This was followed by Chef Michael’s gorgeous Ebro Delta Smoked Eel course. The sustainably sourced glass eels from Spain were accompanied by an oyster pearl, sea succulents, Oscietra caviar, lovage, and finished with a broth made of smoked eel bones and smoked eel skin.
And keeping to his Italian roots, Chef Daniele’s moreish, homemade Saffron Cappelli stuffed with poached crab in an octo-tomato broth with fig leaf oil were no disappointment either.
As the name suggested, Chef Matthew’s ‘Whole’ Coral Grouper featured the whole fish, complete with the fish bones cooked down into a pressure cooker to be the base of his fish bone noodles. The main star of the course was the confit fish fillet itself, in a buttery aromatic broth, accentuated by roasted koji, and topped with caviar that Chef Matthew personally sourced from a fish farm just outside of Kuala Lumpur.
Chef Francisco showed off his proud Chilean heritage with his Empanada de Pino, Picaña and Pebre Sauce, with the latter made from three different types of peppers. The main star of the course was Chef Francisco’s multi-layered 85-day aged Equatorial Cacao Sauce for his Bresse Pigeon, with earthy notes that beautifully complemented the bird.
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Once more, Chef Hatch kicked off the pre-dessert course with his Small Vegetable Parfait, featuring a shot glass comprising a refreshing, three-layered tomato, Japanese eggplant and mascarpone cream creation, topped with lemon zest.
As with her exquisite bread course for the evening, Chef Fernanda’s Crystal Ball dessert indeed lived up to its name, with a clear sugar crystal ball encasing Dulce De Leche Espuma, Sponge Cake soaked in three types of milk, and topped with Milk Meringue.
And finally, in the spirit of Christmas and conviviality, Chef Daniele brought the evening to an end with his festive, homemade Chocolate Panettone studded with sour cherries.
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