Loud Food & Tasty Music

The food is served on plates and the tunes on turntables at the MixMash, “Asia’s first festival of fusion”, now underway opposite CentralWorld. It promises to be a mind-blowing three days with artists in both the gastronomic and music worlds inspire each other in “fusion sessions” to create something totally new and exciting. 

There are three zones – the Concrete Orchard, Steel Feel and Mash-Up Meadow – each with its own line-up of chefs and musicians from around the world. 

DJ Stevie Z is in town from Australia and Thailand’s Pitchy is pitching in, as well as dancehall trio Buddha Bless and alternative-rock heroes Moderndog. Manning the grills are local star Chef Chumpon, the gang from South Korea’s hit comedy cooking show “Nanta” and Daniel “Dr Dan the Pancake Man” Drake, billed as “the world’s first professional pancake artist”.

We’ve already had e-chats with two of the top participants – British “cut ’n’ paste king” DJ Yoda and award-winning chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias. Yoda was DMC World magazine’s Scratch DJ of the Year in 2001 and Peter owns the Michelin-star restaurant Casamia in Bristol, England. Let’s quite literally compare notes.

 

Peter Sanchez-Iglesias

INSPIRATION?

It’s all driven by the produce, and I love experimenting with different ingredients and techniques. To be honest, I am inspired by everything – people I meet, places I travel to, memories from childhood – and I use all these experiences to create nostalgic, exciting and, most importantly, delicious food.

 

FIRST STEPS?

My parents opened Casamia more than 15 years ago, when I was 15, so I guess I’ve always had an interest in cooking. And I was lucky to be given the opportunity, from an early age, to start learning my craft. 

My brother and I are self-taught and left school at 16 without any formal qualifications. After school I started working in my family’s Italian restaurant and, when our head chef left later that year, I was thrown into the deep end, taking over the kitchen. Jonray, my older brother, who was studying graphic design at the time and helping out front-of-house, joined me.

 

STYLE?

I would describe our style as “seasonal, modern British”. I love working with traditional flavours, using ingredients at the height of their season, and showcasing these ingredients using modern techniques.

 

PROCESS? 

We changed Casamia’s menu to a “seasonal tasting menu” concept about four years ago. We did this to minimise waste and ensure that every guest is having what we think to be the best experience we can offer. 

I work very closely with my team when creating a new dish or revisiting and evolving an old dish. We’re lucky to have a “development kitchen” above the restaurant, in the flat where my family and I used to live, which allows us to work organically to achieve our mission of making every ingredient taste its very best.

 

WORKPLACE? 

Anyone who knows me knows how super, super-clean and organised I am. It’s something my brother instilled in me. We have a phrase in the kitchen when things are unorganised – I say it makes me “itchy”. My team knows that organisation is really important to me and to what we do, so they’re well trained to make sure our kitchen is never itchy.

 

TECHNOLOGY?

I think the latest addition to our kitchen was a Big Green Egg barbecue. I was lucky enough to visit Mexico earlier this year and came back really inspired by their love of cooking with fire and creating a delicious smoky flavour – they even cook their bread on the barbecue! So we’ve been have a lot of fun barbecuing all year round. 

 

MIXMASH?

We’re really excited about bringing our Casamia style to the festival and mixing it up by using Thai ingredients. Pretty much straight from the airport, we’re heading to the Or Tor Kor market to be inspired by your local produce and choose our ingredients. I can’t wait!

DJ Yoda

INSPIRATION?

Old music, movies, radio, food, reading – any media that I consume and enjoy get regurgitated 

back into my music. So sometimes things might seem very eclectic, but the thing that holds them all together is the fact that I love them on a personal level.

 

FIRST STEPS?

I started messing around on turntables when I was a teenager. I’d make mix tapes of my favourite music, featuring audio clips from movies and TV shows – originally for myself, then for friends, and eventually to sell in the local record stores.

 

STYLE?

I’m a hip-hop DJ in terms of DJ skills – in other words I scratch and cut music together quickly. But, in terms of genres, I play absolutely everything. So I’m just as likely to be mixing country-and-western, movie music, ’80s or even 1930s music as anything else.

I also often use video in my DJ sets, so I’m scratching and mixing movies and YouTube clips too.

PROCESS?

I usually start with samples from old music or movies I love. Then it’s about finding a way to make all these things fit together. It’s something like a jigsaw puzzle.

 

WORKPLACE?

I embrace technology but I try not to be overloaded or overwhelmed by it. I love the old-school hip-hop DJ set-up of just two turntables and a mixer. I add a laptop and try and keep it as simple as that.

 

TECHNOLOGY?

My new mixer, a Pioneer DJM S9, is my favourite of all the ones I’ve ever used.

 

MIXMASH?

I always tell crowds to expect the unexpected, because I can take it in any direction, and I like to read the environment when I arrive.

 

Ears and tummies

<< Presented by Moose, MixMash: A Festival of Fusion, runs from noon to midnight through Sunday on Rajdamri Soi 2 opposite CentralWorld. Admission is Bt1,200 (Bt3,000 for all three days). The price includes Bt300 in food coupons per day. For details, check www.TheMixMashFestival.com.

 

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