SINGAPORE, July 26 — For many Singaporeans, the migrant workers who clean their homes, care for their children and build their skyscrapers remain invisible, their stories unknown. But a group of students from the Singapore American School has spent the past nine months turning that anonymity into something tangible — a cookbook. Titled ‘At The Same Table’, the project compiles recipes from 55 migrant and domestic workers across the island.
The cookbook launched yesterday, the culmination of months of interviews, photography sessions, taste tests and, at its heart, an effort to listen. The story begins with two teenagers: 16-year-old Tanya Arora and 17-year-old Aahana Mittal, founders of the student organisation A Hand for Migrant Workers.
Over nine months, their team sought out workers recommended by two Singapore-based migrant welfare groups — the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) and ItsRainingRaincoats (IRR).
The Human Ingredient
What unfolded went beyond recipe collection. The students photographed their subjects cooking in small dormitory kitchens, tasted dishes from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, India, South Korea and the Darjeeling hills. They documented processes and — perhaps more importantly — the personal stories that came with each ingredient.
The result is a diverse culinary map: Sri Lankan fish cutlets, cassava cake, kadai paneer, kimbap, and Darjeeling-style momos sit side by side, a quiet testament to the workers’ home countries. But for those involved, the real work lay in navigating vulnerability.
Many of the workers the team interviewed had left loved ones behind, often for years at a time. “This project presented challenges, particularly because many migrant workers face the difficulty of leaving loved ones and home, making their stories vulnerable,” Tanya Arora noted. The team learned to approach sensitive discussions with care, always respecting the workers’ wishes to keep certain aspects of their lives private.
For some, sharing a recipe was a way to share a part of home without exposing wounds.
A Plate of Awareness
The cookbook is a product of the student organisation’s broader mission: to raise awareness about the contributions of migrant workers in Singapore. At a time when debates about labour rights and foreign worker treatment continue to simmer, ‘At The Same Table’ offers a quieter, more personal entry point. It asks readers to consider the hands that prepare their food, care for their elderly parents and maintain their housing estates — and to see those hands as connected to lives rich with memory and skill.
The launch on July 26 marks just the beginning for the student team. What comes next — further sales, perhaps distribution to schools or community groups — remains to be seen.
But for the 55 workers whose stories and recipes fill its pages, and for the students who spent nine months sitting with them, the table has been set.
