CULTLINARY
Who
He swapped his flight attendant uniform for an apron when his love for food blossomed with his travels. The more he ate and the more people he met through food, the more he loved it. His trigger for getting behind the stove is his exasperation at being unable to find the authentic version of a dish he’s craving in Singapore. “I decided that if I cannot buy it, I may as well try to cook it.”
But it wasn’t all that smooth-sailing for the amateur cook. When Alvin Lee first started cooking, he almost burnt the kitchen down. The still-blackened ceiling in the kitchen of his parent’s is testament to his tenacity.
What
It’s an all-encompassing food-centric portal where foodies may gather to forage tips, recipes and ignite discussion regarding a burning cooking question. Lee likens Cultlinary to a community brought together by a common passion: food. He also organises monthly themed cook-offs and potlucks for Cultlinary’s members; the last theme being “Febulous Spring”, where home-cooks brought homemade dishes that embodied the fresh, zesty flavours associated with the idea of Spring.
Why
“I’ve met lots many amazing individuals through my travels and food journeys and always found it tiresome not having a proper outlet to share my recipes and discussions on,” Lee explained. “There are a couple of food forums on Facebook but it’s a pain trying to manoeuvre around that and forget about trying to dig up an interesting topic from five months ago”. He started dreaming up of a proper portal where like-minded foodies would be able to discuss, share cooking tips as well as recipes with one another.
A popular discussion on Cultlinary’s forum is a topic on searching for the best technique for poaching eggs. Seems like this basic culinary skill still has some of the country’s best home-cooks stymied.
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