Singapore food and travel TV series Crack the Cookie Code goes regional
Singapore food and travel TV series Crack the Cookie Code goes regional:- US-based Singaporean Elizabeth Lazan tells Channel NewsAsia’s Genevieve Loh how her show with best friend Jeane Reveendran got picked up by a TV network.
Singaporeans Elizabeth Lazan and Jeane Reveendran are putting their own spin on the good ole “East meets West” in their new food and travel television show Crack the Cookie Code. The show chronicles the pair’s cross-country road trip from East Coast New York to West Coast Los Angeles via buses, trains and a Jeep.
Having lived in both America and Singapore (and shuttling in between) for the past few years, homegrown actress, host and now producer Lazan noticed that “Singapore noodles” was on almost every Chinese restaurant’s menu stateside.
“Naturally, being from Singapore, I’m a total foodie. When I started studying and working in the United States, I was craving tastes of the motherland. I started noticing all these Chinese-fusion dishes, especially Singapore noodles and General Tso’s Chicken,” she told Channel NewsAsia. “This variety in cuisine sparked my interest in the cross culture of innovative recipes and what authentic Chinese dishes have been adapted into western cultures and vice versa.”
Thirty-four-year-old Lazan (her father is Singaporean-Chinese and mother Australian-Italian) says she has always been interested in the connection between the East and West.
“Being mixed (parentage) myself, and having been based in these two ends of the world for the past few years, it all felt aligned for me to embark on this project,” said Lazan. “To bridge this gap through exploring fusion food and adventures in the United States.”
Thus the birth of a food and travel TV show that sees these Singaporeans cruising through seven American cities and uncovering the different “East in the West” interpretations along the way.
They end each meal with a fortune cookie — perhaps one of pop culture’s most exoticised “East in the West” interpretation — and embark on their sightseeing journey according to the cookies’ words of wisdom.
“The fortune cookie was a nice fit into this western interpretation of Chinese culture that has become such a symbol of comfort, takeout and good food,” explained Lazan.
Lazan and Reveendran are childhood best friends from Katong Convent, and they share producing and starring credits. After landing sponsors Khong Guan Biscuits and Jeep on their own, the pair shopped their show around. Crack the Cookie Code was then picked up by A&E Television Networks Asia and is now showing on Channel FYI. Lazan says they are currently in talks for possible US distribution.
So what is her advice on how to take on the challenges of being an Asian trying to get a foothold in Hollywood?
“Multiracial people are one of the fastest growing demographics, and yet a representation of them is still not reflected in on our screens. You get the ‘You’re not Asian enough, or you’re not Caucasian enough’ comments,” she said.
“I see myself as a child of the world… and you get challenged with the range of stereotypes because you embody both. The goal is not to fit in a mould that’s been presented, but to discover your own voice and create a path as an artist that you hope other people find relatable, no matter what their background is.”
She continued: “Producing your own work is a very empowering option that fuelled my journey as an actor. I booked a role for my first feature in Los Angeles and got into the Screen Actors Guild union, but my artistic appetite is growing more as I live there,” said Lazan. “Travelling is in my blood, and food part of my identity. With my hosting background in Asia, it all fell into place to merge these two worlds and create this project.”
Source:- http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/singapore-food-and-travel-tv-series-crack-the-cookie-code-goes-9142406
