A Taste of the Past: Preparing Dinner from The Ballet Cook Book with Karl Yeh
Just as each historic ballet has a story to tell, our favourite recipes also hold memories near and dear to us.
Matching her love of ballet with her love of cooking, the former New York City Ballet principal dancer Tanaquil Le Clercq published The Ballet Cook Book in 1966 after she had contracted polio which subsequently ended her dance career. Not only to have a legacy in dance live on, but her recipes too, Le Clercq’s cookbook has inspired Karl Yeh and his friends from New York City Ballet to get cooking in the kitchen while learning about the riveting stories and delectable dishes of the dancers that took the stage before them. ballroom dancer. Foxtrotting his way into New York’s vibrant dance community, he eventually became a Steering Committee member of New York City Ballet’s (NYCB) Young Patrons Circle. Over time Karl has cultivated wonderful friendships with dancers, artists, curators, and patrons across various dance genres. With many of his NYCB dancer friends being passionate about cooking, they decided it’d be a fun challenge to recreate dinner menus from the recipes of NYCB’s earlier generations of dancers.
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“Balanchine passed down his dance wisdom through generations of teachings, perhaps through food we could travel back in time and feel closer to some of their early inspirations.” -Karl Yeh
Which dishes from the book did you cook? And which recipe was a crowd favourite?
Diana Adams’ "Pork Chops Diana" and "Pecan Pie" were crowd pleasers. We tried quite a few others such as Balanchine's "Franks in Sauerkraut", Tanaquil Le Clercq's "Swordfish Tarragon", Jerome Robbins’ "Spinach Sneden's", Robert Joffrey's "Stuffed Eggplant", Melissa Hayden's "Potato Latkas", Allegra Kent's "Walnut Apple Cake", and Maria Tallchief's "Romaine Salad".
Did you happen to come across any kitchen mishaps when cooking these dishes?
We ran out of canned bouillon while making Tanny's Swordfish Tarragon and someone had to run to the bodega to get more, but then the dish turned out to be way too salty though precisely following the recipe. Either canned bouillon had much less sodium in the 1960s or the can was smaller, I suppose like dance instructions,evenrecipesneedtoadaptovertime.
What did you find most intriguing about The Ballet Cook Book?
Let's go with odd trivia. Tanny gave her husband Balanchine space for as many as 27 recipes in the book, now we know he was quite the chef. In contrast, Jerry Robbins only got three. Maria Tallchief who was married to Balanchine before Tanny was allowed to contribute eight.
Do you have any ideas or a new inspiration for your next dinner party?
Understandably this was the 1960s so out of more than 250 recipes in the book, there were only three Asian dishes by Ruth Ann Koesun who was a principal with [American] Ballet Theatre and her father was Chinese. If someone publishes a new ballet cookbook today perhaps we'd see a much more diverse menu as dance has also evolved over time. Wouldn't it be interesting to mix some contemporary dishes of variation with old staples side by side?
What' s the next recipe you would like to try from The Ballet Cook Book?
Perhaps a couple desserts. Sir Frederick Ashton liked his housekeeper's cake because it was simple, wellpresented and pleasing to the eye as well to the palate. "A good ballet is only a good ballet," he once said, "when all the ingredients are right and, like a cake, unless there is enough baking powder it doesn't rise". Alicia Alonso's Cuban dessert, Coquimol, on the other hand would be a nice exotic challenge.
Though Karl no longer competes in ballroom dance, he continues to enjoy dancing with his friends and family particularly during ball season in Vienna, and being actively engaged with various genres of dance whether it’s for NYCB’s programs and events, or hosting a dinner party to cook up delicious meals from the recipes of celebrated dancers.