A Recollection of Family Recipes

Established in 2017, Family Recipes is one of Taste Library’s core programs which was first envisioned by curator Craig Au Yeung Ying Chai. With Lili Ho on board, Family Recipes takes on a new flavour while remaining faithful to the objective of highlighting special home recipes of valued guests, as well as the stories behind each home-cooked meal.

Life is much like a journey of flavours. The simple staples which are within easy reach are often taken for granted. Sometimes we even fail to notice fleeting moments and let them slip through time without leaving a trace. The flavours of family recipes are a living metaphor for that matter. Regardless of how your family works and who holds the wok, there must be one or two recipes that evoke endless fond memories. Oftentimes, at the odd twists and turns in our lives, we realise what is important and yet overlooked.

Taste Library firmly believes food is not only for nourishment. Aside from appealing to our senses, food recalls tasteful memories. In shining the limelight on home cooking, we are not necessarily seeking for secret recipes but instead rediscovering the simple flavours of home. Without these recipe records, these family favourites will disappear alongside cherished reminiscences. This is precisely why Taste Library continues to host a series of Family Recipes cooking workshops — to share and instil food culture and its recollection of memories in tomorrow’s youth.

Sweet, sour, bitter and spicy — flavours mirror the emotional happenings in our lives. As we experience each flavour, we gain insight and begin to value recipes for more than the mere tastes that it creates.

This exhibition is dedicated to the recollection of family recipes, from flavours to sensory memories. Each of the paintings lent out by artist SiniAmos is complemented with a video of the actual cooking demonstration, as well as a recording from the valued dinner guest. As you wander through this exhibition, try to imagine the tastes and aromas which each painting hopes to encapsulate with every stroke. Rekindle these storied flavours and remember how wonderful it is to instil our tasteful traditions into our daily lives.

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