My fans hear the passion I have for music, but few know about my first love – cooking. Whether it’s preparing freshly caught lobster a
nd fish bought from Jamaican fisherman; fruits, veggies and herbs from a Paris Farmers market, or picking dinner from my home garden, I’m the designated chef.
Cooking is a lot like singing jazz. I’m free to scat – improvise a traditional recipe; add a pinch of this; subtract death food like lard and insert olive oil.
Baking is chemistry; more like classical music. You have to follow recipe precisely until you’re really familiar with leavening agents, or you’ll end up with cake that’s flatter than a tortilla or biscuit so hard you can play baseball with it.
My favorite job was a cook/cashier/waitress at Edwards store in my hometown Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston cuisine is world renowned for the way we combine African, Native American and French techniques. At age 18, I prepared and served customers smothered pork chops, fried chicken, chiffonade greens, grits and gravy, red rice, fish, free range eggs, pound cake and biscuits that I made from scratch. I loved the primal look of joy and satisfaction on our patrons’ faces. That and the tips made me happy.
Music is the same. My producer and I create a song. I sing it. There’s an emotional connection between me and my audience. The indescribable thrill that I get from performing in front of a live audience is incredible, but even when the medium is CD, terrestrial radio, internet, music is still powerful. I’m so gratified when somebody writes me a note about how they listen to my song “Smile” every morning to feel good and start their day off on a positive note or how “Free Mama Earth” really moved them.
Even though I have not touched pork or played classical music in decades, I’m still cooking in the kitchen and studio, experimenting with new foods and sounds, while remembering my roots.
(Links to all of my songs and videos can be found on ariaelan.com )
One love…
Aria