TV-themed dinners on the rise in Singapore
A recent “Game of Thrones”-themed dinner event was so successful, it prompted organizers in Singapore to plan a second edition of the event.
Held at No Menu Restaurant on 1 April, the themed dinner based on the hit HBO series quickly sold out to its maximum capacity of 53 guests – with several others still desperately left on the wait list. Organized by the people behind Singapore-based pop culture website GeekCrusade, the dinner was a part of a series of events called “Dinner is Coming”.
Gillian Ang, 28, co-founder of GeekCrusade, calls the event an “expression of fandom”. Together with her fiancé, Nicholas Yong, also a co-founder of GeekCrusade, they were inspired to organize the event “to bring fans together and encourage conversations about the fandom.”
For the event, the restaurant was decorated to resemble a medieval dining hall, and guests feasted on a four-course dinner inspired by food from the series based on George R. R Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series. Some enthusiastically dressed up as their favourite characters, such as dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen and siblings Jamie and Cersei Lannister.
While the TV adaption has been noted for its numerous sex scenes, the books have been known for their vivid and extensive descriptions of the food and feasting that goes on in the fictional world. Ang quipped that the “sex scenes were substituted by food porn in the books”.
Passionate fans have even taken it upon themselves to create a “Game of Thrones” cookbook – endorsed by Martin himself -- with recipes for the dishes described in the series.
Thanks to the success of the first dinner event, GeekCrusade has organized another Game of Thrones-themed dinner, planned for 5 May, this time with some changes to the menu and a smaller guest list of only 30 people to make the event “more intimate and more interactive” for the guests, explained Ang.
She also emphasised that the event was not just for fans of the series. “Whether or not you like Game of Throne, everyone enjoys having good food,” she said.
She also added that there are plans for more TV- themed dinners, with plans for “The Hunger Games”, “Downton Abbey”, and “Hannibal” dinners in the works.
Ang has big dreams for these fandom events, including a star-studded one, where “one day we get to host an event where stars like Benedict Cumberbatch (of “Sherlock” fame) will attend.”
For more details about the second dinner event, click here.
