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Photo: Atout
Lifting a spoon, chewing, and swallowing are all things that we have to do every time we eat, so much so that we take our ability to perform these actions for granted. However, they can be challenging for people living with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a muscle-wasting disease, making the simple act of eating an arduous task.
That is why the Muscular Dystrophy Association Singapore (MDAS) and Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche have partnered with European restaurant Atout to organise Rare & Share, a curated dining experience centred around fostering empathy for people living with the disease.
(Left to right) Atout’s chef-owner Patrick Heuberger and executive chef Azrin Rahman. (Photos: Atout)
Every plate in the four-course tasting menu dreamed up by Atout’s chef-owner Patrick Heuberger and executive chef Azrin Rahman seeks to recreate the experience of what it’s like to eat as a person with SMA.
The dinner will launch on Thursday, February 29, before running weekly on Wednesdays in March. Naturally, a portion of the proceeds from the 5-night dinner will go to MDAS to support SMA care programmes.
Here’s what chef Azrin says about Atout’s pivotal role in the Singapore edition of Rare & Share, a concept first pioneered by Roche in Thailand, along with his and Heuberger’s inspiration for the four-course dinner.
Why was Atout chosen for the collaboration with Roche and MDAS?
Roche reached out to us based on a personal recommendation by one of the doctors they worked with. After hearing more about the Rare & Share concept, we were determined to be a part of such an important and meaningful project. Learning about the challenges faced by children with SMA was an eye-opener, and it felt right to make a difference through what we do best: food.
It also struck a personal chord with chef Patrick, who has a childhood friend who became paraplegic and can empathise with families and caregivers of SMA patients as they lose mobility and independence. This personal experience has also informed us about making sure our premises are accessible for all. We’ve installed a lift, which Roche has also deeply appreciated.
Oversized and weighted cutlery. (Photo: Atout)
How did you conceptualise a dining experience that would emulate the real-life challenges people with SMA face?
We spoke extensively with people at MDAS about individuals and families with SMA to make sure we could translate their daily experiences, challenges, and their relationship with meal times as accurately and empathetically as possible.
As the challenges individuals with SMA face increase as the disease progresses, chef Patrick and I found that we could capture this best through a four-course meal that would take diners on a journey. After our first round of R&D, we had a tasting session with MDAS to get their feedback and made adjustments before reaching the final menu.
For example, in the earlier stages of the disease, different food textures are still something children with SMA can enjoy, but as it progresses, they are less able to, and we’ve presented that in the trio of amuse bouches. We start with a gazpacho — smooth and easy to drink served in a syringe as a reminder of SMA’s looming presence as they grow up.
While researching, we realised children with SMA, like most children, were not fans of eating vegetables, especially because of the amount of chewing involved. So, liquifying greens into an easy-to-drink soup made a lot of sense.
The gazpacho is contrasted with the crispy iberico pork, which has a slight bite and comes with an apple gel filling and the salmon gougere, a savoury puff that shows off a flaky, soft pastry with a creamy interior.
Wagyu beef oyster blade. (Photo: Atout)
Share with us more about the other dishes on the menu?
The second course is foie gras blended with eggs for a richer version of traditional chawanmushi. This course comes with a heavy spoon, requiring the diners to use more effort while eating. This mirrors how tiring it gets for SMA children to lift cutlery to feed themselves, sometimes even causing them to leave meals halfway just because of how much energy they exert.
With the main course, the wagyu has been slow-cooked for over 24 hours, which draws attention to the full-time nature of caregiving efforts that families of individuals with SMA take on.
The course ends with a dessert of different elements — the meringue, the lemon sorbet, and the berry reduction. We envisioned this dish to signify the coming together of healthcare community members — including caregivers, clinicians, family members and pharmaceutical companies — to help support individuals with SMA.
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