“I know of no more admirable occupation than eating—that is, really eating.”

Gioachino Rossini

The great thing about creative people—especially composers—is that they rarely confine their creativity to just one field. Many explore multiple outlets, whether professionally or as a hobby. Travelling for concerts has shown me many different cuisines throughout the world and I have often brought back dishes or ingredients to keep me company in the kitchen. This has broadened my view on what is possible in the kitchen, the different techniques or treatment of the ingredients. It is fascinating how different regions use different flavour combinations and these dishes bring those memories back from these specific travels.

For me, one of my other creative outlets is cooking. It has fascinated me for over 15 years, and each day presents a new opportunity to create something wonderful. I’ve noticed that many musicians extend their artistic sensibilities into the kitchen, which led me to investigate what composers themselves liked, disliked, or even cooked. What I discovered is that many were not only renowned for their music but also had distinct culinary tastes—or, in some cases, rather peculiar eating habits. One of the most eccentric was Erik Satie, who famously claimed to eat only white foods. While that should probably be taken with a grain of (white) salt, there’s no shortage of intriguing anecdotes about composers and their relationship with food.  

A Taste for Music: How Composers’ Favorite Foods Reflect Their Sound

Interestingly, when we examine composers’ favorite dishes alongside the music they wrote, we often find a fascinating alignment. Brahms, for instance, loved hearty, seasoned meat stews and rich goulash—dishes as robust as his symphonies. Debussy, on the other hand, preferred the elegance of champagne and oysters, mirroring the refined textures of his music. Liszt and Chopin, with their deep longing for their homelands, favored Hungarian and Polish cuisine. Over time, Liszt adapted to French and Italian gastronomy due to his extensive travels, and it’s likely that Chopin’s tastes evolved as well, influenced by George Sand and the Parisian circles he frequented.  

Researching composers’ favorite foods has been (and continues to be) a journey through food history. From the lavish banquets at the Palace of Versailles during Lully’s time to Beethoven’s insistence on brewing coffee with exactly 60 beans, culinary preferences often reflect a composer’s era, lifestyle, and personality. The salon soirées of the Schumanns in Leipzig, the grand gatherings of “The Mighty Five” in Russia, Liszt’s opulent feasts at the Altenburg in Weimar, George Sand’s legendary hospitality at her château in Nohant, and Pauline Viardot’s refined dinner parties all contribute to a rich tapestry of musical and gastronomic history.  

Food, a composer’s destiny?

Some composers’ love for food and drink even played a role in their final days. Schubert, for instance, was carried home intoxicated from a tavern visit shortly before his death. Beethoven, in his last hours, reportedly lamented the delayed delivery of wine he had ordered: “Pity, pity—too late.” But perhaps no composer embraced the culinary world as fully as Rossini. After dominating the opera scene with works like The Barber of Seville and William Tell, he abandoned composition almost entirely, devoting himself to fine dining and becoming a celebrated gourmand. His passion for food was so legendary that dishes like Tournedos Rossini—a decadent combination of beef, foie gras, and truffle—were named in his honor. Actually, most of the dishes which were named after Rossini, and there are a couple, all feature Truffles and Foie Gras!

Through this fun research which I do for CuisineMusique, I aim to uncover both peculiar details and broader historical contexts—whether it’s composers’ eating habits, their favorite dishes, or the amusing and unexpected ways that food and drink intersected with their musical lives.