"Music and food both have the ability to transport you"

Aaron Middleton and Sophie Ellis-Bextor discuss the connection between food and music, her go-to restaurants, and her book Love Food Family: Recipes from the Kitchen Disco.

In this week’s episode of Grilled by The Staff Canteen, Editor Cara Houchen was joined by co-host Aaron Middleton, Chef and social media influencer, and his guest, singer and foodie Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

During the episode, the pair discussed everything from their guilty food pleasures to their most unnecessary and expensive purchases.

Sophie Ellis Bextor is dancefloor diva who not only rules the charts but also tantalises taste buds. With her chart-topping music and her passion for all things culinary, Sophie has become a force to be reckoned with in both music and food & drink.

From her early days as a pop sensation, Sophie showcased an insatiable appetite for creativity. But it wasn't just confined to the music studio; she discovered a whole new world of flavours in the kitchen.

With her innate sense of style and a dash of culinary flair, Sophie has seamlessly merged her love for music and food, creating a deliciously irresistible combination.

Ventured into the world of food authorship, Sophie has collected her favourite recipes and culinary inspirations in her book ‘Love Food Family: Recipes from the Kitchen Disco’.

CONNECTION BETWEEN FOOD AND MUSIC

During the podcast, Aaron and Sophie talked about the connection between music and food with, with the pair both seeing connections between the two art forms.

"I'm not very musically gifted at all, but a lot of my friends are. A few chefs that I know play piano or they still have that intrinsic thing of creating a song, understanding nuances of flavour, and how they all fit together," explained Aaron.

Discussing her connection between music and food, Sophie talked about the nostalgia between certain tastes and flavours.

"Music and food both have the ability to transport you and to have a nostalgia to them and memories attached. I can hear a song and it'll take me back to a summer holiday but I could also think of a meal I had on that holiday," Sophie said.

Talking about how these themes developed in her cookbook Love Food Family: Recipes from the Kitchen Disco, Sophie said: "When we were doing our cookbook, Richard my husband, was talking about how you layer music, which is similar to how you might layer a song."

LOVE FOOD FAMILY: RECIPES FROM THE KITCHEN DISCO

In 2022, Sophie released her book Love Food Family: Recipes from the Kitchen Disco following her successful kitchen discos where Sophie, her husband Richard, and their five children brought joy to millions throughout lockdown showing that the kitchen is the heart of the home.

Explaining how the book came to be, Sophie revealed that a cookbook had been in the works long before lockdown was even a reality.

"The book was something we wanted to do ages ago. I think it was 2017 when I was making my last studio album and I was working with friends who are musicians. I was cooking for everybody in the evenings and making a nice supper that we could all sit around the table and enjoy. Whilst we were chatting about it, we started thinking wouldn't a cookbook be fun, so we started writing down recipes,” she explained.

Sophie added: "I had a pitch of how I thought the cookbook could be and at the time no one was really very interested in a cookbook from us, but after we did the kitchen disco we were approached about doing the cookbook and I think it surprised them a little bit that we were like, 'not only would we love to, but here's our list of 80 recipes we'd already thought of'. I wanted it to have that real family feel because that's how we eat. We're a food obsessed in my family."

IS SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR A VEGETARIAN?

Discussing her family’s eating habits, Sophie admitted she wasn’t a vegetarian but confirmed her husband Richard was a vegetarian when they both started dating.

"When we first got together Richard was vegetarian and I just thought I wonder if I can change that. He would eat fish so pescatarian strictly, and I decided my gateway meat was duck because I was like it's on the water. From that I got him into eating duck and it's just nice that we can enjoy the same things together," she explained.

Sophie revealed her favourites restaurants include; London’s seafood institution J Sheekey, the Bib Gourmand accredited Brutto in East London, as well as Anna Haugh’s Myrtle in Chelsea.

“We went to Myrtle for our last wedding anniversary, and oh my god it was so lovely, really special. For our anniversary we always take it in turns to book the restaurant, so that was my one last year,” explained Sophie.

WHAT IS SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR’S FAVOURITE FOOD?

As well as her favourite restaurants Sophie was asked what foods are unconditionally on her rider when touring on the road as musician. Sophie revealed: "I'm going to bring the tone down a little bit basically because it's gherkins. I have gherkins on my rider, I absolutely love them."

She added: "The rider is not very extensive with stuff, so I'll have like some nuts, some almonds, they're quite good for a bit of energy, maybe some chopped up veg with some hummus or something like that so that you can kind of keep me going if you're kind of between meals or you need a bit of energy for the gig."