Just opened within Singapore’s Six Senses Maxwell hotel, Cook & Tras Social Library gives business travellers a tranquil, sophisticated destination for healthy, delicious meals and after-hours socialising.

A Sophisticated Spot

Tucked away on the ground floor of Six Senses Maxwell, Cook & Tras is a sophisticated, intimate spot that could be well-suited to relaxed business meetings or a nice evening out after work. Created by famed designer Jacques Garcia, aesthetics here skew towards the classic with a decor scheme of wood panelling, bookshelves, tables with plenty of space around them, custom furnishing and mirrored ceilings. More than a restaurant, this is a place that invites guests to relax – and perhaps think about improving their wellness (or the world). The new eatery gets its name from a collection of 3,000 books covering subjects like the local neighbourhood, wellness, meditation, nutrition, herbal medicine, natural history, climate change and sustainability

Healthy food, but make it good

At the helm here is chef Ian Mancais, who’s previously whipped up meals for the royal families of England and Dubai. His mission here is to create a menu that marries the cuisines of Southern Europe and Asia with clean signature dishes that use sustainable, organic local produce. Six Senses Maxwell is one of the brand’s first two urban properties – both in Singapore – and Cook & Tras aims to bring the brand’s Eat with Six Senses food program to a city location in an effort to give locals and travellers in Singapore a healthy food option that also delivers on taste. Eating well on the road can be a mission – it’s all too easy to eat whatever’s available when hunger strikes. But dishes here use carefully selected ingredients and are filled with nutrients and vitamins that will nourish the body – and possibly help you beat the jetlag and stress associated with work travel. Ease yourself into dinner – and perhaps beat Singapore’s notorious heat – with the refreshing Vine Tomatoes & Mixed Melon, a dish that comes with citrus granite, creamy burrata and lemon balm vinaigrette; the Rainbow Beetroot salad is equally light and fresh, though you may want to avoid this (and any potential pink-tongue embarrassment) if you’re dining with clients or colleagues. For something heartier, one of the restaurant’s signature dishes is the Steak Chimichurri. Pick your choice of tenderloin, rib-eye or sirloin cut; each will come with a roast garlic puree (be sure to have a breath freshener on hand), confit cherry tomatoes, house-made chimichurri sauce and crunchy asparagus. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, the Maxwell Sirloin Burger will sate appetites, too. If you’re looking for an injection of local flavour during your fly-in-fly-out trip, you’ll want to try the Nonya-style Inchi Kabin – chicken drumettes marinated in assam sauce; or the Iberico Pork Sate that comes with tumeric rub, ketupat kicap manis and achar. “Food is our natural medicine.  At Cook & Tras Social Library, we are committed to the Eat With Six Senses program.  My team and I strive to serve wholesome, nourishing and clean dishes with a Six Senses twist,” said Chef Ian.  “Using natural, local and sustainable ingredients topped with a dosage of imagination, we have successfully created a menu to help our guests reconnect.  We want them to embrace their indulgence in healthy dining, safe in the knowledge that it’s not only good for their body and soul but also for the world around us.” Visit our Entertaining section for more F&B news around Asia.