Music

'Sweet' Emotion - The Melding of Food and Music

• by Melissa Bobbitt
• Jun 24, 2013

Image by Melissa Bobbitt

Pop culture's hunger for buzzworthy food is now practically on par with its hunger for satiating music. (Full disclosure: This writer blogs at Forks, Knives and 45s, a site that rates restaurants and other eateries by the music they play.) The excited tittering over Eddie Huang's Baohaus making an appearance at Coachella this past year was as deafening as the rumors that Daft Punk were going to perform. (Only Huang obliged, and we can attest that the New York-based bao was out of this world.) The culinary pantheon of Nigella, Anthony, Mario, Wolfgang and other so-hip-they-only-need-mentioning-by-first-name luminaries are currently cooler than Bono, Madonna, RiRi and Justin (Bieber. Timberlake's double-cool because he, too, is a restaurant owner.)

As the epicure exceeds the rocker in popularity, we explore some excellent examples that fuse the music and food worlds:

First, two artists that leaped offstage and into the kitchen...

Photo by Gabriele Stabile for Eater.com

James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem reportedly grew up on processed cheeses and Wonder Bread, but his inner gourmand is loud as a Marshall stack. He's served as honorary sous chef for Le Grand Fooding and Soho House New York, presenting fans with high-brow takes on French and Thai cuisine.

Taking a more down-to-earth approach to the kitchen, rapper Coolio keeps things fiery. His Ghetto Gourmet videos and accompanying recipe book are straight outta his youth and employ everyday ingredients. Check out this infamous clip as he makes a dish for all those "salad-eating bitches" out there.

On the flip-side, we check out some rad food-music fusion blogs and podcasts...

Kitchen Mixtape is the brainchild of photographer Kevin Knight, whose works have appeared in Los Angeles Times and Bon Appetit. His past as a music rep for punk labels such as Fearless and Tooth & Nail makes him a legit expert in bringing together the BBQ pit and the mosh pit. In addition to the traditional restaurant reviews and interviews with notable chefs about their favorite music, KM has a real rocker on staff: Buddy Nielsen of Senses Fail has contributed some sweet and savory how-to's.

The title says it all. Food is the new rock, and recent podcast guest Roy Choi of Chego fame put it bluntly: "I bet a chef could get more pussy than a guitar player right now." Food writer Zach Brooks (Midtown Lunch) and KCRW DJ Chuck P sit down with hip entities from both universes (Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and members of Fitz and the Tantrums have swung by) to whet one's aural and gustatory appetites.

Cookin' couple Kasey and Matthew literally mix food and music with Turntable Kitchen. It's a blog, sure, but it's also a marketplace with artsy merch. The creme de la creme of the site is the Pairings Box, which combines exclusive records and digital mixtapes with creative recipes and dried ingredients. They give you everything you need for a swinging' get-together.

Honorary mention goes to a former editor of mine, Laura Leebove, for her Eating the Beats recipe blog. From pairing beers with particular songs, to culinary creations inspired by bands ("How To Dress Salad Well" is a favorite), ETB is a must-read for music-loving epicureans. Leebove is now part of the Supper Studio team, a pop-up series based in NYC that culls from the ETB playbook to bring tunes and good food to the public.

Who are some of your favorite rockin' foodies? Did we miss any aural-and-oral blogs we should know about? Let us know in the comments.