Molly Yeh, a celebrated Food Network star and Minnesota-based cookbook author, is making waves as she combines her two passions: food and music.
Though she initially seemed set for a life in music due to her background as the daughter of a Chicago Symphony clarinetist, Yeh discovered that her true interests lay in the culinary arts.
Excelling in percussion, she earned a place at the prestigious Juilliard School in Manhattan, where her mind often wandered to matters of food.
Instead of focusing solely on her music, she spent orchestra rehearsals paging through cookbooks and daydreaming about meals, creating a cooking blog to maintain connections with family and friends.
This passion eventually led her to establish a cooking supper club in her Brooklyn apartment, where she hosted friends for live music and copious amounts of homemade dumplings.
Yeh’s journey comes full circle this weekend at Ravinia, where she collaborates with chief conductor Marin Alsop to co-curate the fourth Breaking Barriers Festival.
Focusing on female professionals in traditionally male-dominated fields, this year’s festival theme highlights the culinary arts, inviting eight renowned chefs to craft dishes inspired by the CSO concerts scheduled for the weekend.
The lineup features celebrated chefs like Beverly Kim, recognized for transforming Avondale’s dining scene with her restaurants Parachute and Anelya, and Sarah Grueneberg of the acclaimed Italian venue Monteverde.
Attendees on Friday will have the chance to sample these bespoke culinary creations with a VIP add-on ticket, while Saturday’s concertgoers can enjoy complimentary “tapas” bites included in their admission.
Alsop, who chose the weekend’s musical programming, has a personal connection to Yeh, as she was classmates with Yeh’s father, CSO clarinetist John Bruce Yeh, during their time at Juilliard.
While Alsop admits a lack of culinary skills, she has closely followed Yeh’s career in the food industry.
In insight, Alsop draws parallels between the composition of a balanced musical program and preparing a well-rounded meal, stating, “You have to have variety, but you also have to have something familiar.”
With this philosophy, she has curated diverse concert pieces to complement the chefs’ culinary exploration.
In addition to the culinary excitement at Ravinia, the festival will also serve as a summit for the Taki Alsop Fellowship, a mentorship initiative aimed at supporting women conductors.
Former fellows Alexandra Arrieche and Nefeli Chadouli will guest conduct during the event, further enriching the festival’s commitment to promoting gender balance in the music industry.
Alsop herself made history in 2007 as the first woman to lead a major U.S. symphony orchestra with the Baltimore Symphony, yet she emphasizes that the journey towards equality in both the culinary and conducting arenas remains a work in progress.
“As you think of the great Michelin-starred chefs, often a woman doesn’t come to mind. There’s a certain archetype,” Alsop observes.
Yeh and the featured chefs have made exceptional efforts to create marvelous culinary interpretations tied to their assigned musical pieces.
Chef Grace Goudie of Scratchboard Kitchen is preparing a savory French toast with zucchini and ’nduja inspired by Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City.”
Meanwhile, Maneet Chauhan, known for her appearances on “Chopped” and her eatery Vermilion, is crafting a dish symbolically representing “an Indian Frito pie” for Reena Esmail’s “RE|Member,” a nod to the composer’s love of street food.
Yeh commends the chefs for their deep engagement with the music as they spin creative and beautiful dishes from their culinary imaginations.
Yeh’s own participation features a special performance as she returns to playing percussion, joining her father and fellow CSO musicians for an arrangement of Claude Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.”
Although it’s not her first time at Ravinia—she once performed there as part of a youth orchestra—this moment holds particular significance for her after a prolonged break from live performance.
In a light-hearted confession, she shares, “My musical life right now is taking my 3-year-old to music class every Tuesday morning and being really good at the egg shaker.”
Also embracing her musical roots is Jacqueline Eng, owner of New York’s Partybus Bakeshop, who, like Yeh, holds a degree in percussion.
Eng is on board to create a dish for Friday’s percussion concerto excerpt from Chicago-based composer Tim Corpus.
Notably, Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Café in Northbrook has also intertwined her musical history with her creation of a bite to complement Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango” during Saturday’s chamber concert.
During the festival, Yeh will unveil her “rainbow cookie” inspired by Victoria Bonds’ “Bridges.”
This music piece was composed in 2006 for an ensemble founded by her father and stepmother aiming to blend Eastern and Western classical styles.
The theme of “bridges” resonates with Yeh personally as she identifies with both her Chinese and Jewish heritage.
“My life reflects being a human bridge, and this duality has been an enormous source of inspiration in my culinary journey,” she shared.
As the festival unfolds, attendees will experience a magnificent fusion of music and culinary art, exemplifying Yeh’s distinct blend of her passions.
image source from：chicago
