Salt Salon feels like a very personal and intimate project. can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?

Sarah: It was really borne out of a very simple desire to start cooking for people beyond my friends and family. Sonia did such a good job of documenting my (home) cooking process and dinner parties that friends of friends started expressing curiosity in my food and a wish to taste it. I previously worked in finance and investments, but wanted to transition into something more creative. I think starting this very simple supper club project is an initial articulation of that attempt.

Sonia: We’ve always loved to host and share moments around the dinner table with friends—old and new. I love capturing Sarah and her creations in our home kitchen, and I think that generally got the attention of online acquaintances who got us thinking about starting to host dinners beyond just our friends and family. Beyond just cooking a meal, Sarah and I have always wanted to create an experience or a space where conversation and imagination could thrive in comfort. We love it when people leave our house saying they had a good night together.

can you each describe your creative process, and how you collaborate to bring these gatherings to life, from the initial menu planning to the final setting?

Sarah: One thing I loved about living in New York was the wonderful Union Square Farmers’ Market that corralled and gathered together farmers from neighbouring areas. My weekly ritual of strolling through the market and admiring the ever-changing produce kept me deeply connected to the rhythm of the seasons. I know this concept of seasonality is not as immediate or instinctive here in Singapore, but I try to recreate this little joy by, say, creating a persimmon dish (I recently shared a recipe for a persimmon and napa cabbage kimchi on my Substack) in the fall or a radicchio and shaved ricotta salata salad in the winter at the peak of all this produce. After I conceive the menu, I hand it over to Sonia and she starts conceiving ideas for how it should look visually, complete with her illustrations, etc. The table setting is always consistent in that I don’t own complete, matching sets of tableware. It’s intentional—I never liked anything to look too coordinated or homogenous (it’s the same principle I apply to the way I dress). So in the end, the table scape is always an eclectic arrangement of all the different plates, bowls and cutlery I’ve amassed across all my various travels.

Sonia: I like to give myself a few days beforehand to design the menus and poster, so I usually try to work very closely with Sarah on the menu development prior. I like to know things like what ingredients are going to be used; who’s coming; if there’s an occasion we’re celebrating, etc., so I know what kind of mood or feeling I want the design to have. I’ll share my designs with Sarah and discuss tweaks with her as I’m working, so it’s a fully collaborative process to make sure it’s something that represents the both of us. Even when it comes to dessert, I want to make sure my choice of dessert complements her mains so we’re always in discussion; basically no decision is made in silo!

Sarah, you mentioned feeling a sense of "unmatched achievement" when transforming humble ingredients like eggplant. can you tell us about another ingredient you enjoy working with in this way, and what draws you to it?

Sarah: I love working with vegetables especially, and another is the cauliflower. It’s so versatile—it can be roasted whole (or broken down into its individual florets), steamed and eaten with aioli on the side, puréed into soup, turned into tempura-like fritters…the possibilities are endless! It makes for a great risotto or pasta base as well. One thing I love to do when working with vegetables is create and stack a few layers of it in a single dish, albeit in different forms. It’s like being able to taste the cooked vegetable across a spectrum of flavours and cooking methods. Like a chargrilled cauliflower sitting in a sauce composed of cauliflower and caramelised onion purée.

many people find hosting stressful, especially the prospect of cooking for a larger group. but you both seem to approach it with such ease. what are your secrets for staying relaxed and present while hosting a larger group, even when things don't go exactly as planned?

Sarah: When it comes to hosting a particularly large group (say 8-10 guests), there are some unspoken rules in my playbook I stick by. First, if I’m making pasta—I will almost always opt for a short pasta (as opposed to a long spaghetti/linguine/bucatini etc.)—just because it’s much easier to toss large volumes with the sauce and I find that it holds up much better. Additionally, there are some tried-and-true dishes in my repertoire that my friends often request for me to make for them (like this roast chicken and cabbage dish) that I will slide into the menu instinctively—just because I know it’s scalable and good to feed a large crowd. Rather than fiddle with a new recipe I’ve never made before, of course. Snacking platters are always handy too—like an array of mezze dips paired with Sonia’s homemade flatbread—just so people can keep grazing at the beginning before all the mains come out. But above all, everyone is bound to have a good time! And what could go so wrong when you have good food, company, and music all in order through the night? 

Sonia: I’m in charge of dessert, so when it comes to preparing that, I almost never bake a recipe that I’ve never made before. As much as I love experimentation and spontaneity, there unfortunately isn’t room for surprises when you’re cooking for a big group who are probably already coming with expectations. I’ve had to learn the hard way in the past, so since then I’ve made it a practice to test recipes at least once before I decide to switch up the dessert menu.

food often plays a big role in holiday celebrations. is there a particular recipe that you associate with the festive season, perhaps one that's been passed down in your family or that you enjoy sharing with others?

Sarah: There wasn’t particularly a big tradition of cooking or celebrating holidays within our family but it was something my sister and I gravitated towards when living abroad. We found our own traditions while hosting friends—newly formed and old—in our little apartment in New York come Thanksgiving. The autumn harvest brings with it a cornucopia of squashes large and small, and this means that a roasted delicate squash dish is always a must at my holiday dinner parties! I recently shared a caramelised butternut squash, salsa verde and chickpea recipe on my substack.

Sonia, your illustrations for the Salt Salon menus are like miniature works of art. how do you capture the essence of a dish, and the feeling it evokes, in a visual form?

Sonia: To be honest, my approach to visual art actually comes with very little rational thinking. I always have trouble synthesising what exactly my ‘creative process’ is, simply because the things and the way I create are very much a product of my stream of consciousness. I always believe there is beauty in the everyday or mundane, and I don’t particularly like scenes that are too ‘staged’. When I illustrate for Salt Salon, I typically like to draw or feature ingredients that anchor the menu (like persimmons, which incidentally were served as a thematic ingredient for a Korean menu we did for Salt Salon a few weeks ago) because I like to draw attention to the simple and the overlooked. Sometimes I do draw the final product as well, like a pasta dish that Sarah created for her November menu, and I feel like I’m just drawing what I see. It definitely helps that Sarah is amazing at plating so to me it isn’t hard to draw something attractive, when my subject already feels like a piece of art on its own.

are there any specific artists or photographers whose work inspires your own creative process, particularly when documenting and creating for these gatherings?

Sonia: I toggle between two visual languages—photography and illustrations. Both mediums allow me to give things I see and feel another lease of life, but with different personalities!

Photography has just always been the most intuitive form of expression for me—I generally love documenting people in motion, whether it’s out on the streets, at home, or whatever. Lucia Bell-Epstein is a photographer who really inspires me in this arena—her approach to documenting humans and food in the kitchen is a very naturalistic and almost inviting perspective.

When it comes to illustrations, I like to flip through old art books / old cook books / old menus & posters at the local library or online digital library for inspiration whenever I can. I really really love old cookbooks and feel like I do try to emulate that visual aesthetic when I design my menus for the salon. There are modern artists I actively seek inspiration from when it comes to creating for the dinners—like David Hockney. I admire his work greatly for its really warm and unmissable personality. He’s a master at colour and being able to capture a feeling or the spirit of a person with few strokes, and he’s also extremely versatile across mediums (I don’t think anyone does iPad drawings the way he does!).

could you share what aspects of a brand typically resonate with you, whether it's in fashion, homeware, or any other area? 

Sarah: There is, of course, a lot of chatter and concern that culture is being flattened because of algorithms that feed us a grid of what we should like. But trends, as with people, come and go. Brands that speak to me are ones that carry with it some sort of longevity, timelessness and persistence. I want to know that I will still love and use the piece (be it a plate, a skirt, or a pair of shoes etc.) many years down the road. I’m attracted to things with a story, a narrative, some history — which could explain my obsession with vintage shopping. I have to hit a vintage store or market every time I’m traveling in a new city.

r y e speaks to me on several of these levels. Above all, the pieces at r y e are simple, stylish (to say the least!), timeless and pieces in my wardrobe I turn to when I don’t want to think too hard. My absolute favourite is this white pleated skirt with a front panelled flap that was likely what seeded my friendship with Bessie in the first place because I was badgering her nonstop for when it’ll come back in stock! This must have been at least five, six years ago now.

Sonia: To me, what I look for most in a brand is a sense of intention and also, timelessness. I am someone who is very drawn towards beauty in the everyday, and functional beauty is one example of that. Some of my favourite brands are the ones who do functional beauty really well, such as Building Block—their designs are timeless and with a little playful personality. Similar to Building Block, I was attracted to r y e for its timeless silhouettes. If I could describe r y e's aesthetic, it would be something of quiet beauty. Some of my earliest purchases from r y e go back to their earlier collections in 2017 (my favourite one being these black flowy pants with a contrast stitch all around—they're so classy and it has gotten me so many compliments over the years!), and they are still very much part of my everyday wardrobe—whether it is to work or a night out. They're modular and easy to dress up and down, which is what I love the most!

do you see any connections between your approach to styling in your personal life, say with fashion, and how you might approach styling food or other visual elements?

Sarah: I think about styling (be it food or clothing) by conceptualising layers that I can stack upon one another. I know it sounds counterintuitive and insane to be talking about wearing more than one layer in a country like ours, but there are ways to make it work. A piece like the r y e knitted long vest goes a long way. I’ve worn it in so many different ways—over a pair of pleated trousers and another time over a blush tulle skirt for a much dressier look. When it comes to cooking, I am always thinking about the layers of flavour or texture I can combine to make for the most holistic bite. I know when I can find some sort of equilibrium when I’ve layered things appropriately (it could be an outfit or a plate of food)—it just feels right there and then, intuitively.

Sonia: One thing I learned growing up is that personal style/taste takes time to develop. I would say that I am lucky to have grown up around people like my father, grandmother and my older sister (Sarah) herself, who have had a very sure sense of their own individual taste for as long as I’ve known them, so inadvertently, it’s always been something that I’ve made an effort to nurture growing up. But I also believe that nobody is just born with a keen eye, and it applies all across fashion, art, and even music. It’s the courage to experiment with different styles and, most importantly, a keen openness to new things that will help one develop a personal style that doesn’t necessarily need to be shaken or dictated by what’s trendy.