Gastronomy is an art. Just look to the Cheek by Jowl — which means ‘side-by-side’ and The Balvenie Collaborative Menu, a stunning five-courser by Chef Rishi Naleendra, with the single-malt whisky and its makers as muse, available solely on the night of February 28. As you start with the Smoked Char, with green apple and buttermilk as no ordinary sides, and end off the meal with Hay Ice Cream with burnt pears and molasses, there is no better time to consider the complexity of thought that goes behind the pairing of food and whisky. It is chemistry, tasted.

If art can be about thrusting lesser-known stories into the limelight, then Chef Rishi Naleendra does just that — like an artist — by taking your taste buds on a walk through the people, craft, and quality processes, that go behind the making of The Balvenie. Anticipate the whisky pairings that Cheek by Jowl will recommend with dishes such as Raw Beef, paired with maple butter and radish, Smoked Snapper with bitter leaves and prawn floss, and Ribeye with Scottish barley from The Balvenie Distillery itself, served with caramelised cauliflower. The meal is set to be both a deconstruction of food and drink and an enjoyable experience.

The collaborative dinner is priced at $138++ per person. Reservations can be made at Cheek by Jowl.