When Singaporean entrepreneur Christina Ong’s COMO Hotels and Resorts brand expanded from Burgundy to Bhutan — so did her network of chefs, all having contributed to the COMO approach to what good food stands for. From these far-reaching relationships, Ong distills her own ‘COMO’ approach, now articulated in a new cookbook, COMO Simple.
With an introduction by Ong, it features her favourite recipes simplified for homecooks by COMO’s VP of Culinary Daniel Moran, and Culinary Director Amanda Gale, both of whom trained under Neil Perry at Rockpool in Sydney, with photography by Lisa Linder.
The delicious confluence of influences, flavours and family-friendly classics acknowledge places, traditions and culinary masterminds. In the last ten years, those culinary influences include eight Singapore-based restaurant collaborations with leading chefs, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Massimo Bottura, Osaka- born tempura master Masaru Seki, and the champion of Michelin-starred Peranakan and Straits Cuisine, Malcolm Lee.
With selections also available on COMO Hotels and Resorts’ menus, the repertoire features salads, soups, meats and fish dishes, sharing platters and kids’ favourites. There are crowd-pleasers ranging from South Indian curries perfected at COMO’s Maldives’ resorts, to Tuscan pastas, Bali nasi goreng, the COMO burger, and a lobster biryani; along with Bangkok street food and lost dishes from Thailand’s royal palaces. A highlight is Chef Malcolm Lee’s crab and pork ball soup, which is light and brims with zests.
To launch COMO Simple in Indonesia, COMO Group partnered with MODENA Culinaria – a culinary platform by MODENA Group, designed especially for gastronomy enthusiasts. Through MODENA Culinaria, food lovers are invited to explore a variety of exciting experiences, from cooking classes with experts to personalized dining experiences with some of the industry’s finest chefs.
MODENA’s talented chefs were joined by COMO’s VP of Culinary, Daniel Moran and Michelin- Star Chef Giovanni Luca Di Pirro from La Torre at COMO Castello Del Nero to create a selection of standout dishes from the new cookbook. This collaboration not only enriches Indonesia’s culinary scene but also offers a new source of inspiration for culinary enthusiasts and professionals alike.
“My passion for cooking runs as deep as the happy memories I have of my grandmother in the family kitchen in Singapore,” says Christina Ong. She brings up how she taught her how freshly hand-picked ingredients mean everything in the search for flavour, how technique builds with commitment, experience and inspiring relationships, how food brings people into a passionate community filled with exchanges of ideas, discoveries and tastes, and how the joy of cooking takes on another life when the dishes are shared with friends and family.
“It’s recipes that make you feel warm on the inside,” says Daniel Moran who oversees food and dining across the Group: “I mean that in the metaphorical sense, not just the physical. Like when you’re in the company of the people you love, in a place you care about. COMO Simple is meant to conjure those memories, those feelings of ease, contentment, and relaxing get-togethers.”
Out of the 18 properties worldwide, COMO Simple is available to purchase at COMO Uma Canggu, COMO Uma Ubud or COMO Shambhala Estate. From haute French cuisine to humble Tuscan osteria, it’s a mix which reflects a traveller’s curiosity in the world, its beautiful diversity, and nature’s abundance.
For more information, visit comohotels.com.
