As a master sommelier, past host of WTTW’s “Check, Please!” and current owner of two hot, hot, hot Chicago restaurants (The Boarding House, Seven Lions), Alpana Singh understands the importance of bringing food, wine and people together.
So it’s no surprise to learn that Singh is the guiding force behind Culinary Complete Works, the special restaurant-themed tie-in to Shakespeare 400, a yearlong, international celebration that commemorates the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 1616. Chicago alone has planned more than 850 events utilizing at least 1,000 artists and 120 different sites, which makes our fair city Shakespeare central for all of 2016. Naturally, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is the mastermind of this quadricentennial celebration, with leading funding provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, and the Julius Frankel Foundation.
For the Culinary Complete Works, Singh — working closely with CST’s Creative Producer Rick Boynton — has curated and pulled together 38 of Chicago’s leading chefs and paired each with one of Shakespeare’s 38 works. Every chef interprets the assignment in their own way, translating the essence of the work as they interpret it into a special dish or menu for the event. It’s a brilliant marketing idea for the restaurant community, and a fun one at that. The restaurants involved run the gamut of Chicago’s melting pot, from New American and Italian to Japanese and Ethiopian.
It’s clear that all of the chefs are having a ball with the pairings. Take, for instance, Nicole Pederson of Evanston’s Found Kitchen & Social House, who has been paired with Shakespeare’s masterpiece of mistaken identity and lost love, “Twelfth Night.” Pederson is offering Viola’s Lost Twin, a cocktail of bourbon, muddled spring fruit and locally made meade; The Trencher, a pub-centric offering of Hewn bread, bandaged English cheddar, chutney and pickled asparagus; and A Page’s Disguise, a hearty spring dish of braised lamb shank and lamb loin, foraged ramps, fiddlehead ferns and morels. These dishes will be available through June.
James Beard Award winner Carrie Nahabedian of Naha and Brindille chose to interpret “Measure for Measure” as a three-course tasting menu (available during July) featuring Hudson Valley Foie Gras with a Tarte Tatin of Rhubarb, Fennel and Preserved Cherries; Young Chicken with Root Vegetables, Cipollini Onions, Young Herbs and Flowers with Yukon Potato Gnocchi; and a sweet ending of Oeufs à la Neige, aka Floating (Meringue) Island with Summer Fruits. According to the website, the menu “showcases the battle between the temptation of vice and the purity of the heart, and its broad impact on our society.”
Singh’s own chef, Tanya Baker of The Boarding House, opted for an August menu with “The Taming of the Shrew.” Baker combines traditional ingredients from Padua and Venice — where the play’s action takes place — to create the Foie Gras-Basted Poussin, Creamy Polenta with Grana Padano, Charred and Pickled Asparagus and Sour Cherry Sauce.
These three dishes are just a sample of what Singh has planned for the Culinary Complete Works; the special offerings are staggered over the rest of the year, so there will always be something new to experience. For a complete listing of chefs, restaurants, paired Shakespearean works and menus, visit Culinary Complete Works.
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