Chef Magazine Thailand Launch Edition English Language

Issue 1 July/August 2018 250 Thai Baht (THB)

Thailand

Launch Issue Industry Topic

Has Michelin lost its way?

Reaching for the stars

Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier

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PUBLISHER Peter Marshall peter@chefmedia.co.uk Tel: 0044 0207 0971396 EDITOR Nan Tohchoodee nan@chefmedia.co.uk THAILAND PUBLISHER AND COMMUNICATION Matthew Telling matthew@chefmedia.co.uk WRITERS Nan Tohchoodee Andy Lynes Josh Simms Jean Smullen DIRECTORS Martyn Keen David Vernau david@chefinternationalltd.com DESIGNERS Move Design movedesign@graphic-designer.com Copyright Chefmedia

Welcome to the FIRST issue!

Greetings from Bangkok, one of Asia’s most vibrant, exciting and culinary diverse cities. As the first member of the culinary editorial board and a previous contributor to the UK edition I am very pleased to welcome Chef Magazine to Thailand and Bangkok and the surrounding provinces that offer so much great ingredients and cuisine, it is very exciting to be able to show case this to the rest of the world.

Following the launch Michelin Guide in Bangkok there is a real buzz around the city about the restaurants and chefs who were awarded one or two stars and more importantly the others who are now trying to do the same.

For our first Talk to the Chef Interview we meet Arnaud Dunand Sauthier with an in depth interview with one Thailands’s local culinary stars, “The Michelin Man”and Chef de Cuisine of the two star Le Normandie at the Mandarin Oriental, has spent his whole impressive career immersed in the Michelin lifestyle.

Our International Chef interview is Martin Blunos, who had two stars in the UK and has now opened a more casual and relaxed outpost at the Eastin Grand Hotel with more to follow.

Local favourite, 80-20 restaurant is one of the leaders of the sustainable movement which is now getting a strong foothold in the Bangkok market. Sustainability is not just about how ingredients are produced and grown but also the air miles it travels. There are many really good producers now and it is only going to get better with less of a reliance on imported ingredients.

Hats off to 80/20.

The “Tried and Tested” session is on Josper ovens. Any Chef that has had the opportunity to use one of these or even better eat the food that is cooked at high temperature in them knows their value.

I have my own set of Japanese Knives that I purchased in Kapabashi in Tokyo and I know how impeccable they can be. They are not just functional but also works of art. So we thought it would be good to introduce them to you if you don’t already use them.

We also have an interview with Chef Nelly Robinson. Of British decent and now settled in Australia, he has a successful restaurant called Nel. See his story and tails of kitchen life.

Also there are plenty of recipes that feature throughout the magazine. Please enjoy and send any feedback to peter@chefinternationalltd.com Culinary Regards, Antony Scholtmeyer Editorial Board member

www.hotel.paderno.it Contact: horeca@paderno.it Thailand Rep: Evergreen Intertrade Co., Ltd. Tel: 02-440-0091 E-mail: sales@evergreenintertrade.com

Reaching for the Stars Talk to the Chef: Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier

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Has the Michelin guide lost its way? i n d u s t r y t o p i c : M I C H E L I N 14

From Blinis to Bangkok Martin Blunos

I n t e r n a t i o n a l C h e f : M a r t i n B l u n o s 20

80 20

Industry Topic: P r o v i d e n c e i n t h e R e s t a u r a n t 28

Vegemite

no...

I n t e r n at i o n a l C h e f : N E L LY R O B I N S O N

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Don't Eat Before Reading This

Industry Topic: A chef perspective

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The Cookbook

Review

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The Mighty Josper Review Tried and Tested

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Cutting it with a Japanese,

Tosa

hand-forged kitchen knife I n T h e K i t c h e n : K n i v e s 56

Sauvignon Blanc Front of House

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The Editorial Board Chef Antony Scholtmeyer

Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Anthony has worked his way up from his first apprenticeship in his father’s restaurant at only sixteen years of age and has continued this journey as a Chef ever since.

He has just taken up the role of Executive Chef at Capella Bangkok, a preopening luxury hotel on the Chao Praya river. Antony was previously the Executive Chef and Chef de Cuisine at Okura Prestige where he received One Michelin Star for Elements restaurant where he conceived and implemented the concept of French Cuisine with Japanese influences.

Prior to this Antony was Executive Chef at The Sukhothai Bangkok as well as InterContinental Hotels in China and Penha Longa Hotel just outside of Lisbon, Portugal, a Ritz Carlton managed hotel.

Pierre Andre Haus

Chef Pierre-andré Hauss was previously at Grand Millennium Sukhumvit, Bangkok Thailand and Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, Thailand as Executive Chef and is now responsible for Western food production and food presentation for Thai airlines.

Pisit Jinopong

Chef Pisit‘s much in demand culinary skills and creativity, both Asian and Western, comes from his 26 years of experience at five luxury star hotels and resorts around Thailand and overseas such as the Myanmar, Singapore, Hong Kong, PRC Macau and Maldives Island.

His various positions have included Executive sous chef, Chef de Cuisine and now Executive chef of Anantara Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai. His culinary experiences are not only in daily operation but also takes part in Bangkok Chef Charities and is a guest chef for many luxury hotels in Europe and also part of Thai chef association.

Arnaud Dunand Sauthier

Chef Arnaud has over 15 years of experience in fine dining, having worked with the most respected culinary extraordinaires worldwide, including Guy Martin; Marc Veyrat in L’Auberge de L’Eridan; and Emile Jung at Crocodile. He also spent three years at Maison Lameloise in Bour-gogne before venturing to Le Crillon in Paris under the leadership of Jean-Francois Piège. Now aged 35, Chef Arnaud is delighted to share his culinary passion the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. In December 2017, Le Normandie was awarded 2 stars in the inaugural edition of the prestigious Mi-chelin Guide for Bangkok, in addition to the annual inclusion in Les Grande Tables du Monde guide - the only listed French restaurant in Thailand.

Laurent Ganguillet

My thoughts as an eight year old kid given a box of pastries on an hospital bed were "this is so good, I have to learn how it is done", as well as my Mom's delightful baking, catalysed at an early age my decision to become a pastry chef and my curiosity and love for travel pushed me to join the hotel world!

Originally graduating as a patissier - confiseur - glacier and later as a baker in my home town of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, my first job took me to the Swiss mountain resort of Gstaad where circumstances enabled me to join a hotel kitchen. After working a few years in the position of Pastry Chef at the world famous Gstaad Palace Hotel iand after a stint in the Channel Islands, curiosity took me to Ryadh, 4

From left to right Antony Scholtmeyer, Pierre Andre Haus, Pisit Jinopong, Saudi Arabia. At the Ryadh I began to understand the commitment and hard working ethic of chefs from Asia which encouraged me to join the newly opened Shangri-la, Bangkok. 4 years later, my career took a decisive turn when I jumped on the opportunity to join The Sukhothai Bangkok as part of the pre-opening team. That was 27 years ago, the rest is history…

Thitid Tassanakajohn

Growing up surrounded by delicious home-cooked meals, have contributed largely to his passion in cooking. Upon the completion of his Economics degree from Chulalongkorn University, he took off to USA to pursue his dream at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

The top-scoring graduate continued to receive an MBA in Hospitality from Johnson & Wales University.

Thailand Magazine Nan Tohch

My passion for food and cooking stem from helping out in the kitchen of my Chinese grandmother and my Northern Thai mother, combine with living between Philadelphia and New York for almost 10 years and got to experiences so many amazing foods and cultures. For me, food transcend all of our differences and become a medium that has brought us all together. The history, the technique, the ingredients, everything about food sparks my curiosities and creativity.

Having worked in lifestyle publication for 6 years, I am now very honored to be contributing for Chef Magazine Thailand as a Columnist/Editor. I’m very inspired by all the talented chefs and producers who has created amazing works and looking forward to learn more about the culinary world going forward!

Arnaud Dunand Sauthier, Laurent Ganguillet, Thitid Tassanakajohn, Greg Meadows During his time in New York, Thitid worked at several Michelin-starred restaurants, including Eleven Madison Park, The Modern and Jean Georges.

Not only does he have a passion for food, but his enthusiasm in wine also led him to become a Certified Sommelier (CS) from the respect Court of Master Sommelier. His experiences and vision have driven him to elevate Thai cuisine and give it a stand among world’s leading cuisines. Now the rising young chef is running one of the most exciting kitchens in Bangkok, Le Du (14 in Asia’50 Best Restaurants 2018 and 7 in Top Table2018), as well as always as reliable comfort Thai food at Baan.

Greg Meadows

South African born he began his career at the Savoy in London before moving onto The Beau Ri-vage in Lusanne. After a time at the Grosvenor House in London Greg was presented with the opportunity to move to

Bangkok to work at the fabled Oriental Hotel under the supervision of the legendary Kurt Wachtveitl.

Later he moved onto Antigua and then Hong Kong to manage the St James’s Club in Antigua and Hong Kong Club in Hong Kong. After opening the Conrad in Hong Kong he joined The Sukhothai as GM and afterwards opened Conrad in Thailand before re-joining the Sukhothai in Bangkok.

Greg hopes that throughout his career he has managed to inspire people to be passionate about hotel keeping and he believes in mentorship and is fortunate to have had many mentors to contribute to his success.

Greg now teaches students all over the world about hotel management in todays ever changing world drawing on his life experiences.

Greg and his partners have also launched SilverForce Hospitality, a hospitality solutions company www.silverforcehospitality.com

RAISE A TOAST TO THE HOUSE THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA, HOME TO THE WORLD’S FINEST RUM RANGE, IS PROUD TO BE AWARDED FOUR GLOBAL RUM MASTER AWARDS!

WWW.ANGOSTURA.COM

Michelin thailand

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Gaggan Anand Gaggan 68/1 Soi Langsuan Ploenchit Road Lumpini Bangkok 10330 www.eatatgaggan.com Arnaud Dunand Sauthier Le Normandie 48 Oriental Avenue, Bangkok 10500, www.mandarinoriental.com Ryuki Kawasaki Mezzaluna 1055 Silom Road Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 www.lebua.com/mezzaluna

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Bo.Lan Bo.Lan Restaurant 24 SOI SUKHUMVIT 53, VADHANA, KRUNG THEP Bangkok http://www.bolan.co.th

Chumpol Jangprai Chim by Siam Wisdom 66 Soi Sukhumvit 31 Yaek 4, Vadhana, Bangkok, http://www.siamwisdomcuisine.com/ Antony Scholtmeyer Masakazu Ishibashi Ginza Sushi ichi LGF, Erawan Bangkok Mall, 494 Phloen Chit Road, Pathum Wan, Bangkok www.facebook.com/ ginzasushiichiBKK Jean Michel Lorain and Amerigo Sesti J’AIME by Jean-Michel U Sathorn Bangkok, 105, 105/1 Soi Ngam Duphli Thung Maha Mek, Bangkok 10120 www.jaime-bangkok.com Olivier Limousin L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon 5th Floor, MahaNakhon CUBE, 96 Narathiwas Ratchanakharin Rd., Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 www.robuchon-bangkok.com

David Thompson Nahm GF, COMO Metropolitan, 27 Sathon Tai Road, Sathon, Bangkok www.comohotels.com/ metropolitanbangkok/dining/nahm Bee Satongun Paste 3rd Floor, Gaysorn, 999 Ploenchit Rd., Lumpini, Bangkok www.pastebangkok.com Saneh Jaan Restaurant Saneh Jaan 130-132 Sindhorn Tower, Witthayu Road, Pathum Wan, Bangkok, https://www.glasshouseatsindhorn. com/restaurant/saneh-jaan Henk Savelberg Restaurant Savelberg Oriental Residence Bangkok 110 Wireless Road. Lumpini.

Pathumwan Bangkok 10330 www.restaurantsavelberg.com

Chef Chayawee Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, Rama 1 Road 991/9, 10330, Bangkok Thailand http://srabuabykiinkiin.com Mathias and Thomas Sühring Sühring 10, Yen Akat Soi 3, Chongnonsi, Yannawa 10120 Bangkok http://restaurantsuhring.com Dan Bark Upstairs at Mikkeller 26 Soi Ekamai 10 Yaek 2, Vadhana, Bangkok http://www.upstairs-restaurant.com Jay Fai 327 Samran Rat Intersection, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok,

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Talk to the Chef: Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier

Story by Nan Tohchoodee Photography Peter Marshall

Reaching

for the Stars When Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier arrived at Le Normandie in 2012 as Chef de Cuisine, he knew that it wouldn’t be an easy feat to turn over a new leaf at this highly reputable, 60-year-old restaurant situated on the fifth Floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

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talk to the Chef: Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier

The restaurant ranks as one of the most sophisticated dining destinations in Bangkok, serving elegant French cuisine to go with unrivaled views of the iconic Chao Phraya River. “To be honest, moving to Bangkok wasn’t exactly my first choice,” he said. “But I took it as a challenge as there was financial crisis back in France at the end of 2011 and the restaurant scene there wasn’t doing so well.

The challenging thing about Le Normandie was that even though it was a wellestablished restaurant among high-society clients, everything was a bit old-fashioned. It was my goal to change it up for the better.”

Dunand-Sauthier’s background working in prestigious kitchens under French culinary legends such as Marc Veyrat and Guy Martin

held him good stead for such a task. During this time he became deeply inspired by the amazing herbs and other ingredients from the French Alps and the coast of Brittany.

“I’m proud to say that I know where all my ingredients come from, the environments all my vegetable grew in, even who the fishermen are who caught our seafood,” he said. “I visit my farmers every year. Even though it is hard to import all ingredients, which makes our dishes more expensive, I believe that to make an outstanding French dish, you must work with the best quality of ingredients, so there’s no compromising for me.”

Le Normandie’s glamorous appearance-typified by elaborate flower arrangements,

grand piano and chandeliers--might lead diners to assume that the restaurant is unapproachable. However, from just one glance at the menu, it is clear that Le Normandie has evolved from an old-school French restaurant to something more contemporary. “Changing the menu wasn’t easy when I arrived as the restaurant was quite established,” he said. ”There was both positive and negative feedback from customers. But in order to grow, you must embrace new challenges. With Le Normandie, for me the challenge is to strike a balance between tradition and innovation.”

Nowadays, you will find surprises in many of Dunand-Sauthier’s beautiful creations, whether it is the fresh Sea Urchin and Potato 11

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talk to the Chef: Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier

Foam with Champagne Sauce or the succulent Roast Pigeon with Melon, Rocket and Timut Pepper. “My take on the French cuisine is simple, yet complex with precise techniques and the best of ingredients. Luxury doesn’t always have to be formal,” he said.

In trying to bring the best out of French cuisine, Dunand-Sauthier says he is also inspired by the energy of the kitchen. “My family was not very close. As a child, I never had gatherings where everyone sat down to dinner together.

So the need to be within a group and share energy is part of what drove me to become a chef.”

One of his proudest accomplishment at Le Normandie was building a whole new, all-Thai team from the ground up. “Even though it was challenging to start over, and it took us about two and a half years, there was definitely some advantages to training a whole new team. Because everyone’s new to the kitchen, you can teach them to practice everything in your own specific way which makes things

a little easier. Some of the original team members are still with me even today; it’s quite difficult to find that type of loyalty in the culinary scene,” he said, before adding with a smile, “Even today, I still eat in the staff canteen with all my team, we’re like a big family.”

All his hard work paid off as Le Normandie earned two Michelin stars last year. While the international achievement arguably marks the pinnacle of his career, Dunand-Sauthier says local recognition is just as rewarding.

“Receiving awards such as Top Tables is also amazing because it goes to show that we also appeal to younger crowds. It really motivates me even more to maintain our standards and improve our services,” he said.

The future for Le Normandie is clear for Dunand-Sauthier, who says he’s not looking back. “We just want to try and improve ourselves every day. Maybe I will rework the menu again in the near future, but we’re currently working hard and reaching for the next star right now.” he laughed.

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i n d u s t r y t o p i c : M I C HE L IN Story by Andy Lynes

:

Has the Michelin guide

lost its way?

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Since 1900, Michelin has set the standard for restaurant guides around the world. But could recent efforts to remain relevant, capitalise on the brand and secure the guide’s future end up relegating it to the past? Andy Lynes weighs up the evidence.

In December 2017, Michelin made headlines around the world when it launched its inaugural guide to Bangkok and awarded one star to Raan Jay Fai, a tiny ‘shophouse’ restaurant specialising in noodles, stir fries and crab omelettes. The guide’s international director Michael Ellis told the Guardian at that, ‘You can find the entire encyclopaedia of Thai food in street food’ but didn’t explain why Michelin considers Raan Jay Fai, one step up from a hawker stall, to be equally worthy of a star as Shuring, an elegant restaurant in Bangkok’s Yan Nawa district that serves a twelvecourse tasting menu of modern German food.

It seems that Jay Fai was equally nonplussed by the award, telling news.com.au, ‘I wish I could give the Michelin star back’, such had been the intense scrutiny her modest restaurant had come under, not just from passers-by with cameras making it ‘very messy and noisy for other people who live in the area’ but also from tax inspectors, grilling the 72 year-old grandmother about the increased revenue generated by her new found fame.

If the award of the star has caused chaos in the streets of Bangkok, it’s also served to increase the confusion about what actually constitutes a Michelin-starred restaurant. Over the years, the guide has made a number of attention-grabbing awards that have distanced it from all the linen tablecloths, armies of suited and booted waiters and biblical wine lists that have traditionally been associated with Michelin-starred restaurants and broaden the category exponentially.

In 2001 The Stagg Inn Hertfordshire, U.K. became the first pub to win a Michelin star. In the same year, Zaika and Tamarind became the first Indian Michelin-starred restaurants. In 2009, the guide wrong-footed many industry observers when it awarded Fergus Henderson’s St John a Michelin star, a rustic, rough and ready place serving trencherman portions of offal in a converted smokehouse.

And in 2016, Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle in Singapore became the first hawker stall with a Michelin star.

It’s a bold strategy and one that has doubtless helped the guide shake off some of its elitist reputation, but is it one that risks devaluing Michelin stars in the eyes of chefs who work within its more traditional definitions? Bruce Poole, who has held a Michelin star at his popular London Bistro since 1999 and co16

i n d u s t r y t o p i c : b y a n d y Ly n e s

owns the Michelin starred La Trompette and The Glasshouse restaurants, isn’t fazed by the guide’s evolution.

‘You could argue that the waters have been muddied for donkey’s years. There are very simple restaurants that have a star and there are very opulent places that have them; The Ritz London has a star and Chez Bruce, or places even simpler have a star.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that and I think most of their readers would agree that they’re adult and grown up enough to understand that a one star doesn’t necessarily mean posh or expensive or smart these days, it just an award for the food’.

For Tom Brown, former head chef of Michelin-starred Outlaws at the Capital in Knightsbridge and now at his own restaurant Cornerstone in London the changing nature of the one-star category makes the award even more desirable. ‘People moan about them giving a star to street food places but things like that give the guide more credibility and shows that they’re inclusive of excellence in any form. People wonder why St John and The Man Behind the Curtain can have a star when they’re so different. They’re both amazing but different to each other, but that’s gastronomy, it’s such as vast concept, there’s going to be levels of excellence in different ways’.

Duncan Ray of three AA rosette Little Fish Market in Brighton Hove has been widely tipped as the chef most likely chef to win the city’s first Michelin star since 1976 and has been a vocal support of the guide. ‘I think they’re showing that they are diversifying and becoming more modern. I don’t see it as a negative, it reinforces what they’re all about. I think it would be weird if they gave two stars to a hawker stall, that would put the cat amongst the pigeons, but if the chicken at the hawker stall is cooked perfectly time and time again, why wouldn’t you give it a star? Food is changing, you can’t be stuck in the dark ages, and Michelin will want to be part of that I’m sure’.

Following it’s 2016 acquisition of online restaurant reservation service bookatable.com, the online version of the Michelin guide viamichlin. com now lists chain restaurants, further putting the definition of what ‘a Michelin restaurant’ can be into question. ‘I wouldn’t really criticise them for doing that,’ says Poole. ‘They are simply passing on information to their readers. I’m not a fan of chain restaurants but a lot of people like them and if it makes the guide more useful then I have no problem with that’.

"a one star doesn’t necessarily mean posh or expensive or smart these days, it just an award for the food Bruce Poole

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i n d u s t r y t o p i c : b y a n d y Ly n e s

At the top end of the guide in the UK, Michelin invited further criticism when the first new three stars to be awarded in the Uk in eight years (the last was Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester) went to The Araki, a sushi restaurant where the food is served raw or with minimal cooking involved. But for Ray, the award was a positive move. ‘Ultimately, if the food is impeccable, it’s impeccable whether it’s cooked or not. I’m sure there’s lots of three-star restaurant in the world that do cold dishes that aren’t cooked, so why not? With Japanese food, it’s more up Michelin’s street than anything else because it’s so product led, there’s minimal fuss and it comes down to skill and sourcing, which is what I believe Michelin look for. I think it gives everyone hope; you can cook your arse off but if you’ve got shit product it’s never going to be great’.

It seems there will always be some controversy surrounding Michelin.

In September 2017, Sébastien Bras asked for three Michelin starred Le Suquet in Laguiole (formerly Restaurant Bras) to be dropped from the guide completely, wanting to be rid of the pressure of living up to expectations generated by the accolade saying, “Today, at 46 years old, I want to give a new meaning to my life ... and redefine what is essential.”

But in Brown’s opinion, it’s not the guide but chef’s themselves that put the pressure on. ‘People try and read too much into it, they think they need to do this, this and this to fulfil the criteria to win a star, but from my experience with Michelin, they just want you to do the best that you can. If you’re out there thinking, “we’ve only got eight types of canapes, we need to put another two on”, you’re probably not going to win a star’.

In typical Michelin fashion, the guide has remained tight lipped, with no one available to comment on the issues raised in this article. But its that sense of enduring mystery (despite an increasing presence on the web and social media) that makes Michelin so fascinating and helps it retain its preeminent position among restaurant guides.

Never apologise, never explain, wouldn’t you say M Bibendum?

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International Chef: Martin Blunos Story by Nan Tohchoodee

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From Blinis to Bangkok

Martin Blunos C h e f Ma r t i n Bl u n o s m a d e a n a m e f o r h i m s e l f w i t h h i s p r e v i o u s v e n t u r e s , L e t t o n i e a n d Bl i n i s , w h i c h e ac h e a r n e d n o t o n ly o n e , b u t t w o p r e s t i g i o u s M i c h e l i n s ta r s . W i t h h i s s i g n at u r e wal r u s m o u s tac h e , U n i o n J ac k t r o u s e r s , la r g e r t h a n l i f e p e r s o n al i t y, a n d g r e at s e n s e o f h u m o u r , h e b e ca m e o n e o f B r i ta i n ’ s m o s t b e l o v e d c h e f s t h r o u g h a p p e a r a n c e s o n I r o n C h e f a n d Mas t e r c h e f.

Despite all the attention and his rockstar persona, Blunos prides himself as an easygoing guy with a passion for honest cooking. After years on the high-pressure British fine-dining circuit, Blunos ditched the stars and moved to Bangkok to open Blunos, his first restaurant abroad. “Receiving Michelin stars was definitely an honour and it is proof that you’re true to your art,” Blunos said. “But it almost felt as if you have a monkey on your back, like the politics of it is a bit of a turn off for me, and there is of course, the pressure and fear of losing the stars. I needed a change and here I am.”

Moving abroad and setting up a new business comes with roadblocks, but Blunos is up

for the challenge. “Being in Thailand has completely opened my eyes,” he said. “For example, the ingredients; it is my first time seeing morning glory! But in the end, if you think about it, everything is quite the same even though they’re different. Thai flavours are a balance between salty, sweet, spicy and maybe a little bit of sour and bitter. The French also have sourness from lemon, fattiness from butter and rich stocks. It is a chef’s job to find the balance and create something beautiful.”

Blunos has also had to adapt to a whole new mindset when training his Thai team “When you’re in Europe, you can yell and be really crazy in the kitchen. In Thailand, if you lose your temper, it will seem like you’re not in

control. I have to earn the respect from my team so nowadays I’ve cooled down a bit. It is possible to make people work for you and cook out of fear, but cooking out of love is just so much better.”

Now at his namesake restaurant he is exclusively serving hearty fare inspired by his Latvian roots and his mother’s cooking. “I remember as a kid telling my friends at school about what I had for dinner. Everyone else had beans on toast and I would tell them ‘oh my mum made pig’s tail soup.’ We would have that with black bread and gherkins because she usually got pig’s tail from the butcher for free, and to be honest they must have thought that she was a bit crazy. All the kids were like 21

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International Chef: Martin Blunos

yuck,” he laughed. “Mum’s cooking definitely influences my style in some way as it was wholesome and honest. I remember telling my mum that her food was kind of peasant-style and she went crazy, but what I meant was that it was great. I was trained in French technique, so the combination of the two style works as they’re both simple. So my cooking became something like gastronomic peasant food.”

Situated on the 14th floor of the Eastin Grand Hotel in Sathorn, Blunos’ latest restaurant feels far removed from his fine-dining past, with a pub-like atmosphere that invites you in to sit down beside the pool and have a glass of cold beer. “If you can eat a dish that can take you back to when you’re a kid and don’t have to worry about a thing, that’s comfort food for me,” Blunos said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here at Blunos. Life is short, so if we can make the guest feel as if they’ve been given a hug before venturing out into this cruel world again then that would be our biggest accomplishment.”

Even though the setting of the restaurant seems quite laid-back, Blunos’ kitchen team take a perfectionist fine-dining approach to their comfort food. “What I always tell the

team, is to cook the food like you’re cooking for your mom because you can’t buy 20 grams of love and put it into a dish, it has to come from the heart,” Blunos said.

Food trends may come and go, but Blunos stays true to his honest cooking philosophy.

“The thing is, when you’re young and learning all the essential cooking skills and techniques, you want to apply all of them in a dish to demonstrate your knowledge. You can look at it like fusion, but in the diners’ eyes it’s more like confusion because there are so many things going on. The hardest thing to do is always the simplest thing,” he said.

“Food is like music: sometimes it’s not the notes but the blank spaces between them that create a masterpiece. My approach is if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Some flavours go well together and some just don’t, so it’s all about using the right combinations and perfecting each ingredient.”

Even though Blunos does not exclusively use Thai produce, he has been pleasantly surprised by some locally-sourced ingredients, like Thai pork, which he uses in his signature slow-cooked Pork Belly. “I was so proud of the pork from the UK, but I was blown

away by Thai pork once I tried it. The meat is sweeter and more sumptuous. It’s the perfect ingredient for our Pork Belly dish. This one is a classic pub dish that usually comes with mash potatoes, but I added a touch of Asia and switched that to chickpeas cooked in apple pieces, bell pepper and onion, with flavours from parsley, star anise and ginger, finished off with pork skin fritters and apple cider sauce.”

Whether it is classics like British Fish Pie and Canadian Lobster Roll or his Asian-inspired pizzas, chef Blunos’ philosophy of honest cooking executed with love shines through.

He’s evidently having lots of fun sharing his love of comfort food. “Life’s too short. I always say that if you don’t like something, then don’t do it. And so far I’m enjoying the ride,” he said.

Even though the arrival of the Michelin Guide is shaking up the Bangkok food scene with innovations and trends, Blunos still believes there’s plenty of room for the classic way of eating. “I think Bangkok will go back to basics, as much as molecular gastronomy is having a moment right now. People will always yearn for a taste of a home-cooked meal and the feeling of comfort that comes with it.”

23

Industry Topic: Providence in the Restaurant

Story by Nan Tohchoodee Photography Peter Marshall

80/20 When thinking about Thai cuisine, what first springs to mind could be the bold, tropical splashes of colours in the plating, the distinctly spicy flavours or the delightful aromatic herbs.

For Napol Jantraget, executive chef at 80/20, Thai cooking is all about local ingredients. “There is a saying that if you want to have Thai food, then don’t eat chillies,” he laughed. “Most of the famous Thai dishes are not even really Thai you know, like pad Thai and all the famous curries that we are so proud of.

So my approach to Thai cuisine is to seek what’s really native and to try to make something new out of it.”

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Industry Topic: Providence in the Restaurant

The philosophy behind the restaurant--80% local ingredients and 20% imported ingredients or techniques--finds the perfect setting in Charoenkrung, an up and coming neighbourhood by the river where Bangkok’s rich history collides with hip new bars, restaurants and galleries. “If someone asked me to describe 80/20’s style, I would say that it is a re-interpretation of Thai cuisine,” he said.

“Personally, I don’t like the word modern or fusion. We’re just trying to apply new techniques to create a different narrative for familiar ingredients; for example, Thai shrimp paste, why does it have to only be made out of shrimp? Can’t we look for other ingredients to make it?”

One of the delightful dishes currently on offer at the restaurant demonstrates this philosophy perfectly: a “curry” dish made without the usual coconut milk, but instead using

fermented native melinjo leaves, cured squid eggs and a blend of traditional Thai herbs to create a mouthfeel and aroma of a curry. “My personal motto about cooking is that there are no rules. It’s like the David Chang: don’t stick to the ‘original recipe’ because if you focus on replicating that, you’ll never become original,” he said.

As the only child growing up in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in the South of Thailand, Jantraget didn’t see being a chef in his future. “My mother was a great cook and I remember hating to help out in the kitchen as a kid. I would rather go play outside or something,” he laughed, “but now I wish I paid more attention to her. I always ask my mum now about how to make certain dishes.”

It was in Canada, after finishing his studies in Hospitality Management that Jantraget

had his first real introduction to the kitchen.

“I was a bit of a bad teenager, and food was something that kept me grounded and gave me confidence as I could get feedback right away on whether it’s bad or not. It’s a way for me to connect with other people.”

For a relatively new restaurant, only three years old, 80/20 has come a long way; setting a new standard for how people perceive Thai cuisine at both the local and international levels. “There has been ups and down with the change of team members and investors, but we don’t mind this because we’re still learning and experimenting every day,” he said. Working almost exclusively with small local producers comes with its own set of challenges. “Because sometimes we can’t predict what ingredients we’ll get and even how much, we have to think fast on our toes all the time. It is also very difficult to 29

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Industry Topic: Providence in the Restaurant

control consistency of produce, for example, the size of the fish, but we just have to work with what we have and overcome this challenge in order to grow as a restaurant and me personally as an executive chef,” he said.

Recently, the restaurant made a switch from serving an a la carte menu to doing a chef’s selection that changes heavily with the day’s available produce. Working alongside Jantraget is his pastry-chef wife Saki Hoshino, who creates innovative desserts that also celebrate local ingredients through a mix of contemporary and established techniques.

“Our interpretation is not for everyone.

People who come and eat at 80/20 have to have an open mind and be able to embrace surprises and imperfections because sometimes it is even difficult to explain the name of the ingredients in English as some of them are really rare and native.” he said. “We want customers to come on a journey and learn with us. No single 80/20 experience can be

repeated, and that’s a great thing.”

Also joining Jantraget on this journey is his small team of mostly young Thai chefs. “I want 80/20 to be a stage for young Thai chefs to try something for themselves. In the future, I want this place to be more than a restaurant, but a place where anyone, not only chefs, can learn more about Thai cuisine; a community where people can come and trade knowledge and join hands to take Thai cuisine to another level. We have so many unique ingredients and amazing talents here, so why not?” he said.

And even though the Michelin Guide has landed in Bangkok, Jantraget is keeping his eyes on his true goal. “It would be great to get recognised by the Michelin Guide someday, but it’s not our priority at the moment. We just want to cook great food for people and educate the public about how Thai food can be approached differently, but if we make it that would be great also,” he laughed.

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l C h e f : NE L L Y RO B IN S ON Story by Josh Sims

V eg em i t e

No

....

32

33

Nelly Robinson’s tale - head chef at 22, proprietor at 29 - might well have been one of too much too soon. “Success that comes young was both good and bad for me,” says the Sydney-based chef, on his way to take part in the Obsession chefs’ festival at Northcote Manor, UK. “I learnt from a great executive chef how to run a business, but it was perhaps too young run a kitchen. I just had a lot more to learn. I’d certainly never hire a head chef at that age - but I’m certainly respectful of those who gave me the opportunity. I wouldn’t have been able to open business at 29 if I hadn’t been head chef at 22.”

My take on a Thai green curry - Thai green prawn rolled in rice with coconut and cutesy water 34

Smoked trout, caraway, pickle cucumber and roe

To say it’s worked out well would be an understatement - he’s been a Gault & Millau Chef of the Year finalist the last two years running - and Robinson is justifiably feeling “proud and emotional” about returning to Northcote Manor. It’s there, under chef Nigel Howarth, that he apprenticed a decade ago, on the advice of his father, who suggested that a promising football career with Burnley FC might, as it so often does, not actually work out as

planned. “And my dad was very wise to suggest as much,” says Robinson.

After winning his head chef position at Stanley House in Mellor, UK, Robinson made the unexpected move of going to Australia. “I went to Sydney because there were beaches, sun and women,” says Robinson, hastily adding that he “was single then”. “I got a good job almost right away and started to see these different products that just fascinated me - sesame, waffle seeds,

kangaroo. And I’m still using native herbs, for example, that I’ve never heard of before. I looked around and just wasn’t excited by what was going on elsewhere in the world.”

Indeed, so taken with the place was Robinson that he scraped his last few dollars together and in 2015 opened his trickily-named nel.

Restaurant in the city, to almost instant acclaim. This wasn’t just luck. “People eat out here a lot - the climate favours that sort 35

Kedgeree - curried Murray cod, slow cooked egg yolk, dehydrated rice and curry sauce

of lifestyle, but it’s so expensive to live here people are well paid and tend to spend it on the things they like doing, like eating,” he says. But when Robinson carefully researched the local market he concluded there were plenty of relaxed establishments offering sharing plates, or restaurants that specialised in a particular cuisine. What it needed was a degustation menu that changed every six weeks, together with the wine, and an emphasis on fun.

“I concluded that if we said our concept was fun, we wouldn’t be stuck in a rut of one food style of set of ingredients,” he says. “What we could focus on would be the element of surprise - basil smoking with nitrogen, dishes 36

with popping candy in them, marshmallows on fire. And if you have surprise a customer feels like they’ve had an experience, and it’s that that they come back for. It’s important to have a concept because it’s too easy for a chef to get lost, and then their customers get lost too. You need to give guidelines, provide a flow to the menu, and especially with eight courses.”

Building a clientele that enjoys Robinson’s food - often inspired by childhood memories, from takes on a Cornish pasty and lava bread, to roast beef and bubble and squeak, all sufficiently alien to the locals - has not been the problem.

Staffing has been more of an issue arising from his big move. Indeed, he has no Australians in the kitchen and only two front of house.

International Chef: NELLY ROBINSON by Josh Sims

Parmesan moose with with rye and dried smoked duck

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Peaches and cream 38

International Chef: NELLY ROBINSON by Josh Sims

Short rib, Seeded Mustard, Pine Mushroom, Charred Onion, Umami, Black Garlic.

See recipe on Page 66

“I can’t find any more,” he says. “It’s very much an eight hour day working culture here. Plenty of people have passion for food but not the drive to work in a kitchen. If you’d asked me three years ago I’d have said that I disagree with that Australian attitude - but now I’m 32 and waking up a bit, and have a partner I need to see more of, I’m not so sure.

“I still believe that if you want to succeed in this industry you have to learn and learn and the only way to do that is to do it over and over, because you won’t get it right the first time,” he adds. “But it’s only a matter of time before the world follows the eight hour thinking. The problem for us in particular is that plenty of people in industries put in very long days some times - but they get that time back. In the chef world it’s just expected. It’s a tricky dynamic when you’re the boss too - you want to make all the employees happy, but also yourself. And I did 100 hour weeks over Christmas. It’s a hard habit to break.”

It has left Robinson juggling with issues of sponsorship - “which just costs too much

money” - sorting out visas and wondering whether he should drop from being open five days a week to four, ”so staff get a proper rest and come back refreshed.” Teams gel and then someone’s visa runs out and they have to go home. But the local thinking hasn’t put him off. He’s now looking to open his second restaurant, hopefully by the end of 2019 - “but as 100% owner,” he stresses, “which means it will take time and money.”.

He’s considering Auckland in New Zealand, where his partner is from. “The culture has grown so much in that city and I think it will be really buzzing over the next five years,” Robinson suggests. “The question is whether it wants the kind of food that we do.”

Robinson may also have to ponder whether he’ll want the kind of food New Zealand offers.

He’s already won a reputation for his warm banter with the Australians. “Vegemite!” he exclaims. “The Aussies have it on absolutely everything. I tell them I’d rather have Bovril. But I’m just having a dig at them really. Well, kind of. I still can’t get my head around Vegemite.

That sticky black layer. No....”

39

I n d u s t r y T o p i c : A c h e f p e r sp e c t i v e

Story by Anthony Bourdain Reprinted from the New Yorker april 1999

There is no Final Resting Place of the Mind.

Anthony Bourdain June 25th 1956-June 8th 2018 40 40

Don't Eat

Before Reading This

A New York chef spills some trade secrets

Good food, good eating, is all about blood and organs, cruelty and decay. It’s about sodium-loaded pork fat, stinky triple-cream cheeses, the tender thymus glands and distended livers of young animals. It’s about danger—risking the dark, bacterial forces of beef, chicken, cheese, and shellfish. Your first two hundred and seven Wellfleet oysters may transport you to a state of rapture, but your two hundred and eighth may send you to bed with the sweats, chills, and vomits.

Gastronomy is the science of pain. Professional cooks belong to a secret society whose ancient rituals derive from the principles of stoicism in the face of humiliation, injury, fatigue, and the threat of illness. The members of a tight, wellgreased kitchen staff are a lot like a submarine crew. Confined for most of their waking hours in hot, airless spaces, and ruled by despotic leaders, they often acquire the characteristics of the poor saps who were press-ganged into the royal navies of Napoleonic times—superstition, a contempt for outsiders, and a loyalty to no flag but their own.

A good deal has changed since Orwell’s memoir of the months he spent as a dishwasher in “Down and Out in Paris and London.” Gas ranges and exhaust fans have gone a long way toward increasing the life span of the working culinarian. Nowadays, most aspiring cooks come into the business because they want to: they have chosen this life, studied for it. Today’s top chefs are like star athletes.

They bounce from kitchen to kitchen—free agents in search of more money, more acclaim.

I’ve been a chef in New York for more than ten years, and, for the decade before that, a

dishwasher, a prep drone, a line cook, and a sous-chef. I came into the business when cooks still smoked on the line and wore headbands.

A few years ago, I wasn’t surprised to hear rumors of a study of the nation’s prison population which reportedly found that the leading civilian occupation among inmates before they were put behind bars was “cook.”

As most of us in the restaurant business know, there is a powerful strain of criminality in the industry, ranging from the dope-dealing busboy with beeper and cell phone to the restaurant owner who has two sets of accounting books.

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"It's been done, but I don't think it's been redone."

In fact, it was the unsavory side of professional cooking that attracted me to it in the first place. In the early seventies, I dropped out of college and transferred to the Culinary Institute of America. I wanted it all: the cuts and burns on hands and wrists, the ghoulish kitchen humor, the free food, the pilfered booze, the camaraderie that flourished within rigid order and nerve-shattering chaos. I would climb the chain of command from mal carne (meaning “bad meat,” or “new guy”) to chefdom—doing whatever it took until I ran my own kitchen and had my own crew of cutthroats, the culinary equivalent of “The Wild Bunch.”

A year ago, my latest, doomed mission—a high-profile restaurant in the Times Square area—went out of business. The meat, fish, and produce purveyors got the news that they were going to take it in the neck for yet another ill-conceived enterprise. When customers called for reservations, they were informed by a prerecorded announcement that our doors had closed. Fresh from that experience, I began thinking about becoming a traitor to my profession.

Say it’s a quiet Monday night, and you’ve just checked your coat in that swanky Art Deco update in the Flatiron district, and you’re looking to tuck into a thick slab of pepper-crusted yellowfin tuna or a twenty-ounce cut of certified Black Angus beef, well-done—what are you in for?

The fish specialty is reasonably priced, and the place got two stars in the Times.Why not go for it? If you like four-day-old fish, be my guest. Here’s how things usually work. The chef orders his seafood for the weekend on Thursday night. It arrives on Friday morning. He’s hoping to sell the bulk of it on Friday and Saturday nights, when he knows that the restaurant will be busy, and he’d like to run out of the last few orders by Sunday evening. Many fish purveyors don’t deliver on Saturday, so the chances are that the Monday-night tuna you want has been kicking around in the kitchen since Friday morning, under God knows what conditions. When a kitchen is in full swing, proper refrigeration is almost nonexistent, what with the many openings of the refrigerator door as the cooks rummage frantically during the rush, mingling your tuna with the chicken, the lamb, or the beef. Even if the chef has ordered just the right amount of tuna 42

for the weekend, and has had to reorder it for a Monday delivery, the only safeguard against the seafood supplier’s off-loading junk is the presence of a vigilant chef who can make sure that the delivery is fresh from Sunday night’s market.

Generally speaking, the good stuff comes in on Tuesday: the seafood is fresh, the supply of prepared food is new, and the chef, presumably, is relaxed after his day off. (Most chefs don’t work on Monday.) Chefs prefer to cook for weekday customers rather than for weekenders, and they like to start the new week with their most creative dishes. In New York, locals dine during the week. Weekends are considered amateur nights—for tourists, rubes, and the well-done-ordering pretheatre hordes. The fish may be just as fresh on Friday, but it’s on Tuesday that you’ve got the good will of the kitchen on your side.

THE "B" WORD IS DREADED

BY ALL DEDICATED COOKS People who order their meat well-done perform a valuable service for those of us in the business who are cost-conscious: they pay for the privilege of eating our garbage. In many kitchens, there’s a time-honored practice called “save for well-done.” When one of the cooks finds a particularly unlovely piece of steak—tough, riddled with nerve and connective tissue, off the hip end of the loin, and maybe a little stinky from age—he’ll dangle it in the air and say, “Hey, Chef, whaddya want me to do with this?” Now, the chef has three options.

He can tell the cook to throw the offending item into the trash, but that means a total loss, and in the restaurant business every item of cut, fabricated, or prepared food should earn at least three times the amount it originally cost if the chef is to make his correct food-cost percentage. Or he can decide to serve that steak to “the family”—that is, the floor staff—though that, economically, is the same as throwing it out. But no. What he’s going to do is repeat the mantra of costconscious chefs everywhere: “Save for well-done.” The way he figures

it, the philistine who orders his food well-done is not likely to notice the difference between food and flotsam.

Then there are the People Who Brunch. The “B” word is dreaded by all dedicated cooks. We hate the smell and spatter of omelettes. We despise hollandaise, home fries, those pathetic fruit garnishes, and all the other cliché accompaniments designed to induce a credulous public into paying $12.95 for two eggs. Nothing demoralizes an aspiring Escoffier faster than requiring him to cook egg-white omelettes or eggs over easy with bacon. You can dress brunch up with all the focaccia, smoked salmon, and caviar in the world, but it’s still breakfast.

Even more despised than the Brunch People are the vegetarians. Serious cooks regard these members of the dining public—and their Hezbollahlike splinter faction, the vegans—as enemies of everything that’s good and decent in the human spirit. To live life without veal or chicken stock, fish cheeks, sausages, cheese, or organ meats is treasonous.

Like most other chefs I know, I’m amused when I hear people object to pork on nonreligious grounds. “Swine are filthy animals,” they say. These people have obviously never visited a poultry farm. Chicken—America’s favorite food—goes bad quickly; handled carelessly, it infects other foods with salmonella; and it bores the hell out of chefs. It occupies its ubiquitous place on menus as an option for customers who can’t decide what they want to eat. Most chefs believe that supermarket chickens in this country are slimy and tasteless compared with European varieties.

Pork, on the other hand, is cool. Farmers stopped feeding garbage to pigs decades ago, and even if you eat pork rare you’re more likely to win the Lotto than to contract trichinosis. Pork tastes different, depending on what you do with it, but chicken always tastes like chicken.

Another much maligned food these days is butter. In the world of chefs, however, butter is in everything. Even non-French restaurants—the Northern Italian; the new American, the ones where the chef brags about how he’s “getting away from butter and cream”—throw butter around like crazy. In almost every restaurant worth patronizing, sauces are enriched with mellowing, emulsifying butter. Pastas are tightened with it. Meat and fish are seared with a mixture of butter and oil. Shallots and chicken 43

are caramelized with butter. It’s the first and last thing in almost every pan: the final hit is called “monter au beurre.” In a good restaurant, what this all adds up to is that you could be putting away almost a stick of butter with every meal.

If you are one of those people who cringe at the thought of strangers fondling your food, you shouldn’t go out to eat. As the author and former chef Nicolas Freeling notes in his definitive book “The Kitchen,” the better the restaurant, the more your food has been prodded, poked, handled, and tasted. By the time a three-star crew has finished carving and arranging your saddle of monkfish with dried cherries and wild-herbinfused nage into a Parthenon or a Space Needle, it’s had dozens of sweaty fingers all over it. Gloves? You’ll find a box of surgical gloves—in my kitchen we call them “anal-research gloves”—over every station on the line, for the benefit of the health inspectors, but does anyone actually use them? Yes, a cook will slip a pair on every now and then, especially when he’s handling something with a lingering odor, like salmon. But during the hours of service gloves are clumsy and dangerous. When you’re using your hands constantly, latex will make you drop things, which is the last thing you want to do.

Finding a hair in your food will make anyone gag. But just about the only place you’ll see anyone in the kitchen wearing a hat or a hairnet is Blimpie. For most chefs, wearing anything on their head, especially one of those picturesque paper toques—they’re often referred to as “coffee filters”—is a nuisance: they dissolve when you sweat, bump into range hoods, burst into flame.

The fact is that most good kitchens are far less septic than your kitchen at home. I run a scrupulously clean, orderly restaurant kitchen, where food is rotated and handled and stored very conscientiously. But if the city’s Department of Health or the E.P.A. decided to enforce every aspect of its codes, most of us would be out on the street. Recently, there was a news report about the practice of recycling bread. By means of a hidden 44

camera in a restaurant, the reporter was horrified to see returned bread being sent right back out to the floor. This, to me, wasn’t news: the reuse of bread has been an open secret—and a fairly standard practice—in the industry for years. It makes more sense to worry about what happens to the leftover table butter—many restaurants recycle it for hollandaise.

What do I like to eat after hours? Strange things. Oysters are my favorite, especially at three in the morning, in the company of my crew. Focaccia pizza with robiola cheese and white truffle oil is good, especially at Le Madri on a summer afternoon in the outdoor patio. Frozen vodka at Siberia Bar is also good, particularly if a cook from one of the big hotels shows up with beluga. At Indigo, on Tenth Street, I love the mushroom strudel and the daube of beef. At my own place, I love a spicy boudin noir that squirts blood in your mouth; the braised fennel the way my souschef makes it; scraps from duck confit; and fresh cockles steamed with greasy Portuguese sausage.

I love the sheer weirdness of the kitchen life: the dreamers, the crackpots, the refugees, and the sociopaths with whom I continue to work; the everpresent smells of roasting bones, searing fish, and simmering liquids; the noise and clatter, the hiss and spray, the flames, the smoke, and the steam. Admittedly, it’s a life that grinds you down. Most of us who live and operate in the culinary underworld are in some fundamental way dysfunctional. We’ve all chosen to turn our backs on the nine-to-five, on ever having a Friday or Saturday night off, on ever having a normal relationship with a non-cook.

Being a chef is a lot like being an air-traffic controller: you are constantly dealing with the threat of disaster. You’ve got to be Mom and Dad, drill sergeant, detective, psychiatrist, and priest to a crew of opportunistic, mercenary hooligans, whom you must protect from the nefarious and often foolish strategies of owners. Year after year, cooks contend with bouncing paychecks, irate purveyors, desperate owners looking for the masterstroke that will cure their restaurant’s ills: Live Cabaret! Free Shrimp! New Orleans Brunch!

Few things are more beautiful to me than a bunch of thuggish, heavily tattooed line cooks moving around each other like ballerinas on a busy Saturday night.

Seeing two guys who'd just as soon cut each other's throats in their off hours moving in unison with grace and ease can be as uplifting as any chemical stimulant or organised religion.

In America, the professional kitchen is the last refuge of the misfit. It’s a place for people with bad pasts to find a new family. It’s a haven for foreigners—Ecuadorians, Mexicans, Chinese, Senegalese, Egyptians, Poles. In New York, the main linguistic spice is Spanish. “Hey, maricón! chupa mis huevos” means, roughly, “How are you, valued comrade?

I hope all is well.” And you hear “Hey, baboso! Put some more brown jiz on the fire and check your meez before the sous comes back there and fucks you in the culo!,” which means “Please reduce some additional demi-glace, brother, and reëxamine your mise en place, because the sous-chef is concerned about your state of readiness.”

Since we work in close quarters, and so many blunt and sharp objects are at hand, you’d think that cooks would kill one another with regularity.

I’ve seen guys duking it out in the waiter station over who gets a table for six. I’ve seen a chef clamp his teeth on a waiter’s nose. And I’ve seen plates thrown—I’ve even thrown a few myself—but I’ve never heard of one cook jamming a boning knife into another cook’s rib cage or braining him with a meat mallet. Line cooking, done well, is a dance—a highspeed, Balanchine collaboration.

I used to be a terror toward my floor staff, particularly in the final months of my last restaurant. But not anymore. Recently, my career has taken an eerily appropriate turn: these days, I’m the chef de cuisine of a much loved, old-school French brasserie/bistro where the customers eat their meat rare, vegetarians are scarce, and every part of the animal—hooves, snout, cheeks, skin, and organs—is avidly and appreciatively prepared and consumed. Cassoulet, pigs’ feet, tripe, and charcuterie sell like crazy.

We thicken many sauces with foie gras and pork blood, and proudly hurl around spoonfuls of duck fat and butter, and thick hunks of country bacon. I made a traditional French pot-au-feu a few weeks ago, and some of my French colleagues—hardened veterans of the business all—came into my kitchen to watch the first order go out. As they gazed upon the intimidating heap of short ribs, oxtail, beef shoulder, cabbage, turnips, carrots, and potatoes, the expressions on their faces were those of religious supplicants. I have come home.

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Book of the month b y A n d y Ly n e s

Out of My Tree

By Daniel Clifford

What’s the USP? Two decades worth of recipes and stories that chart the evolution of the iconic two Michelin-starred Cambridge restaurant Midsummer House and its chef/patron Daniel Clifford.

Who’s the author? Daniel Clifford is one of the most revered, respected and, at times, controversial chefs working in the UK today. In addition to those Michelin gongs, he also holds five AA rosettes, the title of AA Chefs’ Chef of the Year 2015 and 8 out of 10 in the Good Food Guide. In short, he’s premier league.

What does it look like? A million dollars. Clifford’s food is very photogenic and has been allowed to speak for itself. Many of the dishes appear to be ‘plated’ directly onto the white of the page, a la Michel Bras’s 2002 book Essential Cuisine, which gives the intricate presentations room to breathe. The exemplary food photography is supplement by ‘family album’ snapshots in the autobiographical sections, bringing personality to the book and breaking up all the glossy perfection with a dose of behind the scenes realism.

Killer recipes? We could be here all day. One of the many wonderful things about Out of My Tree is the warts and all approach. Of course there are the many triumphs; the insanely complicated Chicken, Sweetcorn, Truffle and Peas that won Clifford four perfect 10s on the Great British Menu and includes ballotine of chicken lined with spinach, stuffed with steamed truffled egg white and sweetcorn jelly (to resemble an egg), wrapped in potato string and deep fried. But there are also some embarrassing also rans such as parfait of banana, chocolate and a palm tree-shaped coconut tuile from 1998 (all the recipes are dated) that looks like it might have come straight from a TGI Fridays menu.

What will I love? Clifford and his publisher deserve a standing ovation for the obvious effort put into this book. A reported three years have gone into its production and it shows from the perfect food (as someone who has been involved in the making of a cookbook, trust me that getting 140 dishes of this degree of complexity to look immaculate on the page takes some doing) to the extensive biography and numerous extras like interviews with past employees and the string of forewords by Sat Bains, Tom Kerridge, Claude Bosi and others.

Little details like illustrating the stock recipes with photos of how the finished product should look like elevate the book above the norm.

Clifford is brutally honest in the fascinating autobiographical passag46

es that begin each chapter, both about the industry and his personal life, making Out of My Tree as much of a page-turning blockbuster as it is a document of modern British haute cuisine. If you start reading the book post service, expect to be up to the early hours finishing it.

What won’t I like? This is unashamedly Michelin-starred, fine-dining, testosterone fueled stuff which may not appeal to every reader.

Should I buy it? Out of My Tree is the new White Heat, a once in a generation book. Clifford has put his heart and soul onto every page, making it the culinary equivalent of Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. Any chef that aspires to Michelin glory and wants to know what that really takes will want it on their shelf and every chef that has achieved that status it will want to share in Clifford’s journey. Don’t just buy it, send Clifford an email to thank him for writing it; there is much hard-won wisdom generously shared in these 400-odd pages that, read carefully, might just save you years of grief. £45, Meze Publishing

The Cookbook Review b y A n d y Ly n e s

Gunpowder

by Harneet Baweja, Devina Seth and Nirmal Save What’s the USP? ‘Explosive flavours from modern India’ runs the subtitle. In reality, this is a collection of recipes from Gunpowder, a ‘home-style Indian kitchen restaurant’ in Spitalfields London.

street food have been given a makeover with attractive modern plating. There’s some moody black and white scene setting shots of the restaurant and its kitchen and some boldly colourful shots of the subcontinent.

Who’s the author? Husband and wife team Harneet Baweja and Devina Seth opened the 20 cover Gunpowder restaurant close to Brick Lane in 2015 with head chef Nirmal Save. This is their debut cookbook.

Killer recipes? Chutney cheese sandwich; Mustard broccoli with makhana sauce; Maa’s Kashmiri lamb chops; wild rabbit pulao; blue crab Malabar curry.

What does it look like? Mouthwateringly good. Recipes collected from family in Kolkata and Mumbai and inspired by Indian

What will I love? The small plates chapter is full of inspiration for something a little bit different for breakfast (chickpea pancakes with fried eggs and tomato and coriander chutney) lunch (kale

and corn cakes) or beer snacks (kadai paneer parcel; a spicy cheese and puff pastry roll) while the list of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will put a spicy spring in your step.

What won’t I like? At under 200 pages, this is not the most comprehensive cookbook in the world.

Should I buy it? A diverse collection of delicious sounding, attractive looking dishes that are not too demanding to cook and suitable for any number of occasions and times of the day. If you like Indian food, you are going to love this book. . £25, Kyle Books

At VIVIN , we’re conscious about quality, natural and locally produced products.

We work with trustworthy, passionate local artisans and growers.

Our artisanal products are 100% natural and, for the grand majority, made in Thailand.

For professional inquiries, contact us at: sales@vivinmaison.com or +(66)02 392 5662

The Cookbook Review b y A n d y Ly n e s

Larder

by Robin Gill

What’s the USP? An urban update on traditional larderdriven cooking based around fermentation, curing, pickling, flavoured butters and oils, stocks, sauces and seasonings.

and food plated on vintage or earthenware crockery. I wouldn’t want to utter that overused and lazy term hipster, but you get the idea.

Who’s the author? Irish-born and London based chef Robin Gill has revitalized the capital’s dining scene with his distinctive take on top drawer cooking set in casual surroundings at The Diary, Counter Culture and Sorella all in Clapham.

Killer recipes? Galician octopus with summer vegetable sand nduja brioche; belted Galloway onglet, piatone beans, young garlic and hay; game faggots, celeriac, toasted hazelnuts; white peach with almond skin ice cream, elderflower jelly.

What does it look like?

There’s a distinctly rustic feel to the whole thing with matt finish pages, pictures of Gill on the farm, by the shore or posing with a brace of rabbits

What will I love? The extended larder section provides a real insight into Gill’s style of cooking so you get a real sense of what makes his restaurants so different and special. There is

also an excellent selection of inventive cocktails including Panic! At The Pisco made with pisco, white vermouth and rhubarb puree and even a recipe for homemade pumpkin beer.

What won’t I like? Because many of the dishes rely on recipes from the larder section, some of which take days, weeks or even months before they are ready, this is more a culinary philosophy that you need to buy into than recipe a book that you can easily dip in and out of.

Should I buy it? If you want to understand contemporary British restaurant cooking, this is an essential purchase. £26, Absolute

Caviar Osciètre

By Arnaud Dunand Sauthier Chef de cuisine “ Le Normandie”

For 20 person

Ingredients Potato sea urchin foam For 1 litre foam ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●

350g potato 180ml cream 100ml oil 110ml water from cooking 100g uni Hokkaido Salt and pepper

Champagne sauce for 1 litre sauce ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●

150g champignons 1 head lobster 150g shallot 1litre fish stock 1litre cream 1 piece lemon

Garnish ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●

200g sea urchin 200g caviar oscietra crystal Lemon zest Maldon salt Olive oil

Method Cook the potato in water, after dry, and keep the water, mix all the ingredients of the foam together then put on a syphon bottle with 2 gaz, keep warm at 60 degrees Roast the lobster head gently without coloration, add the shallot and the mushroom, deglace with champagne then reduce totally add the fish stock, reduce by ¾ add the cream and reduce until good consistency, cut the lemon into pieces and infuse for 20min, pass trough chinoi

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LOBSTER ROLL

By Martin Blunos

2 portions

Ingredients

●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●

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1 X 400/500 gr live lobster 2 X hot dog buns 20 gr unsalted butter 1 X small clove of garlic 1 X orange 60 X Mayonnaise 1dst spoon chopped parsley Little (pomace) olive oil Salt & Pepper

method Bring a large pan of slightly salted water to the boil.

Put in the live lobster and cook briefly for two minutes - remove and put in a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process.

Cut lobster in half down the length of its body through the shell - remove all meat and set aside.

Take a coffee spoon sized piece of the butter and put in a small saucepan over a medium heat to melt, adding a squeeze of orange juice and a splash of olive oil. Put in the lobster meat. Season with salt and pepper. Heat gently and keep warm.

Chop the garlic finely and cream together with the butter and most of the chopped parsley (keep a little to scatter over) - now spread in each side of the cut faces of the hot dog roll. Fill with the warm lobster meat then using a micro plane grate over a little of the orange zest and sprinkle the reserved chopped parsley and serve accompanied with orange mayonnaise!

Chefs Note - I prefer to use orange rather than lemon with this particular dish as the acidity of orange is softer (than that of lemon) and compliments the lobsters delicate sweetness.

Porchetta de Testa

By Sloane’s Artisan Porchetta de Testa is an easy salumi recipe made from parts of the pig’s head. It is a great way for chefs and home cooks to utilise this challenging part of the pig. The process is simple without the need for special kitchenware or long preparation time, just add curing salt, some seasonings and wait for the magic to happen. You’ll get an interesting mix of texture from the cheeks, tongue, and ears to enjoy in an appetiser platter just in time for dinner or special occasion.

All Sloane’s Artisan pork products are from pigs raised in a high welfare, permaculture farm in Thailand. Their pigs are a hybrid between Hampshire pigs, which has more distinct pork flavours with Duroc pigs, a larger breed of pig with more meat. When crossbreed, the result are pigs that are more versatile and can be used to make various type of byproduct whether it is their over 30+ type of sausages, hams, terrine or simply just a great cut of pork which Sloane offers to butcher and personalised to your kitchen needs.

Ingredients ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●

1 Pig’s head (cleaned and shaved) Curing salt* Black pepper Garlic, sliced Rosemary Paprika flakes Fennel seeds

*We use a nitrite salt containing 0.8% nitrite at 25g per kilo. If using American style cures, use 22g salt and 3g Cure #1 per kilo of meat.

Method Check the pig’s head to make sure that there’s no hair on it. If needed, give it a quick shave with a sharp knife or a disposable razor.

Turn the head upside down, make a cut under the chin and start removing the skin and meat from the skull in one large piece, taking special care not to cut through the skin. Keep working your way around the skull until you end up with a pig’s mask with the ears and snout attached and two eye holes.

Remove the tongue from the skull by cutting at the back of the throat and pulling it out from the rear.

Lay the mask skin-down on a tray and place the tongue in the middle, between the two meaty areas, and season with the curing salt and herbs and spices.

Wrap in clingfilm and leave to marinade for 3 days, then brush off the majority of the garlic and herbs.

Roll the mask as tightly as possible with the ears covering the eye sockets. Tie tightly with butchers’ string and then roll in clingfilm to help shape and hold the mask together.

Gently poach the rolled head in a light stock for 8 hours and then leave to cool overnight in the cooking liquid.

Next day, remove the cling film and slice thinly as part of a salumi platter.

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Greg’s Gripes Make a good impression

I dread to think how many times I have put down the telephone and said to myself , “ I hope the food is better than the experience of making my reservation!”

There seem to be very few “ stand alone “ restaurants that get this right or even recognise the importance of making a good first impression.

Restaurants in hotels have the benefits of their in house procedures and even scripts for the team to follow, as well as a training department to monitor and correct performance if necessary.

But what if you haven’t got that back up . Who is going to be responsible for ensuring that service standards are upheld.

Most likely the first point of contact is the person who answers the phone.

Does the restaurant allow anyone to answer or are there designated and trained team members to do that. There should be.

Who has that pleasant telephone manner, the telephone smile, and is sufficiently proficient in English, has an understanding of the menu, the specials, and anything else you as the chef owner want to communicate in what will probably be a very short period of time.

“Thankyou for calling“ and “ we look forward to seeing you “ are easily said, and make an enormous impact. And once you know your customers name, use it!

If all that comes together I am already anticipating my visit.

But of course that’s only the beginning, but important.

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On arrival, the welcome, the use of the customers name, some small talk, all go a long way to making the customer feel important, and that together with recognition is what we all want .

So, I suggest that it’s not only what you put on the plate that creates your identity, it’s the way the front of house team care . Care that, the customer is treated in a friendly and professional way and create the wow factors we all crave.

Oh, and don’t forget to say “goodbye, Thankyou for coming, and we look forward to seeing you again “ Greg Meadows

Tried and Tested

Story by Andrew Scott

The Mighty Josper

Review

This maybe the biggest and heaviest piece of chef kit I have ever reviewed, but it sure did pack a punch flavourwise, no matter what I cooked. I was asked

by Chef magazine to review the Josper LBC oven at Restaurant 56,and a date was set in the diary for the beginning of June where I looked forward to spending a sunny lunchtime on the terrace cooking my heart out. Unfortunately it didn’t start out quite as planed, as the day came and went in true British fashion, with the day spend huddled under the terrace canopy hiding from the torrential rain 53

T

he morning before, a lorry turned up to deliver the beast of an oven on to the patio, giving me the oportunity to cook sirloin steak tand risotto that afternoon. Usually the Jospers are at home inside the kitchen under a decent extraction, but I didn’t have the space so we set up outside. The Guys arrived to show me the ropes, as this was a first for me.Josper has been around since 1969 – it’s a Spanish family run business which has recently joined the The Middleby Corporation. A leading global group in the machinery and equipment foodservice, residential and food processing industry with a trajectory of more than 100 years. They now produce all different shapes and sizes of kit, from a home Josper to an open rotisserie grill. I first heard the name in 2009 but the kitchens I had been working in didn’t have or didn’t think they needed one. I think the common perception is they are nothing but an expensive BBQ that you only cook steak on.

I must admit I initially shared that view - until I ate the mussels that Jestic development chef, Chris Brennen, cooked for me.

He cooked them in a cage for two minutes, with a touch of olive oil squirted on them and I can safely say they are the best I’ve ever eaten. I asked

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T ried and T ested b y A n d r e w S c o t t

Chris why and he explained the basic concept that all food cooked in the Josper oven retains a lot more moisture as it cooks 35% quicker than an open grill, entrapping the delicious smoke in the cast iron oven box, before being slowly released through the vent system chimney. The food then can’t escape the smoke, giving anything that is cooked in there a beautiful chargrilled flavour.

Chris set the oven up with two thirds of a bag of decent charcoal and three fire lighters, within an hour it was up to its required temperature of 400̇ᵒc , before it reached that perfect temperature we threw in two unpeeled whole pineapples and

two whole skin-on celeriacs, onto the coals and cooked until they were tender. The pineapple caramelised and had a toffee flavour and the celeriac just got earthier and charred, bringing out its natural flavour. We just mashed it up, added salt and olive oil and tucked in, I could have eaten it all but celeriac is far to healthy so I thought I’d leave space for the meat and fish.On to my turn flying solo on the £13,500 charcoal fired Josper, to be honest I was a little apprehensive on cooking beautiful Cornish fish and dry aged beef in front of the Jestic guys and Peter from Chef magazine. But it was pretty simple with a few guidelines from

Chris, I produced lovely juicy rib-eyes, chicken and whole fish with crispy skin and perfectly cooked asparagus.It took just four minutes for the steak and eight minutes for the chicken breast. We stood in the rain sampling the finished product like boys at a posh scout camp. It was all certainly better than camp food and I was then sold the dream of writing a menu based solely around this brilliant oven.

It may be expensive and it may be niche in high end kitchens, but this certainly has a place in a future brasserie/bistro concept for me, it was easy to light and runs on about £8 worth of coal

a day so pretty efficient. The flavour it gives good ingredients is amazing and definitely worth the investment, BBQ food/restaurants are so trendy at the moment, so there is a demand.

To enjoy your food cooked on a Josper be sure to make a visit to THAAN Restaurant www.thaan31.com Ingredients are sourced from various parts of Thailand, most of which are prepared using local spirits and cooked over charcoal made from eucalyptus trees found in the Ubonrachatani province. ” Start saving chefs!

INTERESTED IN THE JOSPER CHARCOAL OVEN used by chef Andrew Scott in this feature?

Please call +662-175-7072-3 to speak to TPN GROUP (THAILAND) Ltd. - 888/65 Moo 19 Soi Ying Chaoroen Soi 3 - Banplee Tam-ruh road Bangplee Yai - Samutprakarn Thailand 10540 email: thapanau.tpngroup@gmail.com 55

I n T h e K i tc h e n : K n i v e s Story by Lindy Wildsmith

Cutting it with

Tosa

hand-forged kitchen knife

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h a Japanese, Four hundred years ago, The Lord of Tosa returned from a great battle, accompanied by a skilled swordsmith from Sado and this was the beginning of Tosa free forged blades.

Sei Hamaguchi has beautiful expressive hands, the hands of a gifted craftsman. They are constantly on the move as he tells the story of the four generations of knife artisans that are his ancestors. We are watching an apprentice shaping a blade, mesmerising sparks flying from the grindstone.

But my eyes are drawn back, again and again to Sei’s gentle face and demeanour and his constantly moving hands, like pistons, driving him and his work forward, as he explains how Tosa blades are made.

H

e talks of blades rather than of knives but knives are very much his business.

He makes knives for the food industry, knives for chefs, knives for domestic use, for forestry, for agriculture, for hunting and for the operating table. However, his craft is all in the cutting edge, the blade. The knife handle, made towards the end of the week-long handmade process is almost incidental.

We are standing in the Toyukuni and Masano blade forge: at the heart of a row of unprepossessing buildings built, high in the trees, against a rock face, looking down on a babbling, bubbling water course in Kameiwa, outside Nankoku City in Kochi Prefecture, on Shikoku Island.

Shikoku, (literally translated means four countries) the smallest of Japan’s “big four” Islands, sits modestly to the southwest of the main island, Honshu. Tosa or Kochi as it is now known, one of the Island’s four prefectures, faces the Pacific Ocean in the south and is confined on all other sides by richly forested mountains.

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Because of this natural “isolation”, Kochi still feels like its own country. When I told people in Tokyo I was flying to Kochi, they looked as me as if to say, where are you going, is that in Japan?

Over the centuries, the region has developed its own customs and traditions and has acquired a unique culture. The hammer forged Tosa blade, born from secret sword making techniques brought to the island 400 years ago, is part of this rich culture. The Tosa blade is renowned the world over for its acute cutting ability and durability.

The blade is made by blending and forging flexible base metal, pure iron with Yasugi carbon steel, (the raw material used in the making of Japanese swords). This blending and forging changes the atoms in the chemical structure of the steel, resulting in a super sharp knife. It also ensures that the blades do not break or bend. To make the point, Sei tells us about one of the family knives, that lasted for a hundred years.

Now 53, Sei Hamaguchi has been forging knives for 36 years. His innovative, master-craftsman father before him, Daisuke Hamaguchi, refined his skill for seventy-seven. As a child Sei loved being in the smithy, a hammer in his hand.

During high school, he helped every day, trying his hand at his father’s skills. He learned by seeing, watching and trying.

Once his studies were over, he was employed as any other apprentice under his father and uncle and was able to concentrate one hundred percent on learning the techniques handed down to him. He learned for ten years under Daisuke and Torakiti Hamaguchi. Today Sei is highly skilled in the making of every kind of knife blade. He has harnessed his heritage, the traditional Toyokuni & Masano style of blade, 58

T he K itchen K nives b y L i n d y W i l d s m i t h

using Tosa’s free forging techniques to develop twenty-first products.

In his father’s and grandfather’s day, every household used a variety of blades; from a kogatana, a child’s knife, used to sharpen pencils to the hatchet for cutting fire wood to heat water and special kitchen knives for cutting through fish bone, skinning eel and preparing sashimi.

Since Japan’s rapid growth in the seventies this has all changed and one knife, one household, has been the order of the day.

However, food industry companies have taken over tasks that were once executed in the home and they need specialist blades for cutting vegetables and chopping aromatics such as ginger. The difference in thickness or the angle of a blade can alter, not only the efficiency of the task but also the taste and aroma of the ingredients being cut. These are the kinds of specific concerns that only a master craftsman such as Sei can resolve.

He harnesses his ancient craft, his innate knowledge and four generations of heritage to, cutting edge technology. Where once it would have taken him three days to make a wooden model for a blade, today he makes a sketch and with computer aided design he is able to easily make and fine tune a prototype model and produce it on a 3D printer in half a day. In the past he would have had to start again from scratch with a new model. He is also working with surgeons and medical professionals to hone new ground breaking surgical instruments and scissors His handmade knives cost anything from 6000 to 600,000 yen between £40.00 and £4000. He makes maybe 10 high value knives a month. You may well ask what the difference is. The high value knives go through twelve

very detailed processes and become ever more refined and therefore more accurate. One craftsman will work 5 days a week, 2 hours every day for 3 months perfecting the blade. In comparison, a basic handmade knife takes a week to produce.

Two-star Michelin chefs rank among the “high value knife” customers, who come knocking at Sei’s door, for a knife that is “just for me”. I asked, what a Western chef, not attuned to the tradition of the Tosa blade would be looking for in contrast to say a home-spun chef. After some thought he said that, In the West the “trophy” knife is mainly about an ornate handle while in Japan it is all about the blade.

Every knife goes through eight detailed processes; hammering to strengthen the steel; blending, where the heated iron is folded into the hot steel; shaping on a grinder; quenching, a process of heating and water cooling; annealing to make the steel more pliable; finishing of the blade body; making the handle and sheath and finally adding the logo. Then the knife is complete. One of the many strengths of Tosa blades is that they not only keep their sharpness but they are also simple to sharpen.

This was not my first encounter with a hand forged blade. My interest had been aroused in London a year or so earlier when I went to see, Ishii Yoshinori, who has recently been dubbed world ambassador for Japanese Cuisine by the Japanese government. He is executive chef of Mayfair’s Umu; London’s only Kaisaki style restaurant. I had originally met him at an event at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence. I went to Umu for lunch to learn more about sashimi.

Yoshi has been preparing sashimi for the last 25 years and yet says “I still have a lot to learn.” Is there any hope for the likes of me?

Naturally enough that day after lunch our talk turned to knives. Yoshinori Ishii showed me the knife his father had bought him when he first started his training; the blade itself was worn in places “usuzukuri thin”. A sashimi blade only has an edge on one side and is sharpened daily and this, like so many other Japanese traditions, is performed with due respect. He grinned as he told me that the

blade had probably been 7cm longer when it was new. He went on to say that since he first started work he had saved 1000 yen (£7) from every wage packet in order to buy himself an emperor of knives, and he had recently reached his goal. He disappeared and reappeared baring the “trophy” on two hands; he placed it carefully on the table, unwrapped it ceremoniously, telling me that it was made of the same material as a Japanese sword.

It had cost £18.000. Yes, Kaisaki, is a serious business! His knife has been designated a Living National Treasure. His pride in, and his care of this knife, is no less than the pride and care of a sword by a Samurai.

Sei Hamaguchi’s, Toyukuni and Masano blades, are not recognised, as living national treasures, at least not yet and Sei would be the first to say there is still much to learn. However, there are those who think he has much to give. A group of students from the Royal College of Art in London come to seek him out every year, to watch, see and learn something of his skills. Sei has already forged an excellent reputation in North America, Europe, Australia and Russia An apprenticeship takes ten years. Out of the ten youngsters taken on, only two remain. To prepare the steel, it is hammered at 1000° to make it stronger. If the temperatures at

this stage are too high, the steel will become unusable. The iron is heated to 1000 - 1100℃ and then folded and buried in to the hot steel. This is a very difficult process and an apprentice is only allowed to take it on by himself after ten years’ study. The tempering of the blade, the all-important technique that “bring the knife to life” takes seven minutes at 780 degrees. Asked how all these temperatures are measured, Sei says that his hands and body know instinctively.

John-San bought me a sashimi knife, which was subsequently polished and sharpened and then delivered along with a whet stone to our ryokan three days later. It has a wooden handle. The blade is long and thin; the cutting edge is superkeen and unimaginably fine. There is a delicate hologram kind of pattern within the metal that comes to life in certain lights. It may not be a “high value” knife it may not be a national treasure, but it has a magic all of its own and yes it can cut! The blade glides through fish as if it were passing through air.

But the last words to the master craftsman: “Since we are artisans we are fussy about making traditional pieces that we think are good, but in the future, we’d like to hear the voices of many people and go on to make blades that are useful to society.”

CutBoy is a knife shop located in downtown Bangkok. All of the knives are made in Japan by master blacksmiths. We are presenting a wide variety of knives from all over Japan, all “hand-picked” by CUTBOY. We also provide the services of sharpening, and repairs all done in house by hand on Japanese imported stones. If sharpening your knife is as important to you as it is to us you will find our selection of Japanese imported stones is second to none.

Sustainability is one of our top priorities, we offer custom hand crafted handles, sayas, knife rolls, and bags all made by top quality local tailors and carpenters. ●● Cut Boy is a specialist Japanese knife retailer. ●● Sharpening and fixing service ●● Bespoke knife handle and knife covers

Available from our stores at Sukhumvit soi 38 and Seacon Square Srinakarin Also available from our website is www.cutboyknife.com for immediate delivery Phone number: 0941982394 or 0816219723

Front of House Story by Jean Smullen

Sauvignon Blanc

The grape with the greatest “rock star” credentials these days, must surely be Sauvignon Blanc. It seems there is a global industry dedicated soley to its promotion. It even has its own day, May 4th, (which may run into a conflict with a few Star Wars fans), but as the date rotates on an annual basis, I don’t think they will be too upset if the wine world also uses it to celebrate the 9th Annual Sauvignon Blanc Day.

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A Rock Star of a Grape In 2016 I attended the first ever International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration in Blenheim, the main town of the Marlborough region in New Zealand. 300 delegates from 18 countries listened as some of the world’s most renowned wine writers and educators talked about the grape’s influence globally. The three day event involved tasting over 400 wines and debating the regional characteristics expressed in Sauvignon Blanc wines. It featured Sauvignon Blanc from eight different countries including New Zealand, Italy, France, Chile, South Africa, Australia, America and Austria. That year I also judged a tasting competition dedicated soley to Sauvignon Blanc in the Spanish wine region of Rueda.

No other grape seems to garner the support of the wine trade quite like Sauvignon, no other grape gathers so much derision either.

Sauvignon Blanc is sometimes dismissed by sectors of the trade, yet ever Somm worth his or her salt, knows that a range of Sauvignon Blanc styles should appear on any decent wine list, simply because the customer likes to drink it.

Oz Clarke summed this up at Sauvignon 2016, talking about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc he described it as “the wine, wine snobs can’t bear”.. Why? Because this is the wine that a generation of fans seek out for its ripe distinct flavours and aromas. The best Sauvignon Blanc does not have to be expensive or complex it entertains with its attitude.

The home of Sauvignon Blanc is the Loire Valley. Sauvignon Blanc has a distinctive aroma, The smell of the so-called thiol character of Sauvignon is reminiscent of passion fruit, gooseberry and grapefruit. The characteristic odor is followed by a rich flavor with a pronounced finish.

Sauvignon Blanc is New Zealand’s most widely planted grape variety. The Marlborough region was first planted 142 years ago, yet it is only a mere 30 years since Cloudy Bay put New Zealand on the global wine map in 1986. By the early 1990’s Sauvignon Blanc was firmly established as New Zealand’s flagship wine with international demand increasing every year. Today it accounts for 66% of New Zealand’s total wine production.

In 1973, as Marlborough’s first Sauvignon Blanc vines were being planted, no one could have the superstar status it would achieve.

Pungently aromatic, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc assails the senses with red capsicum (bell peppers) and gooseberry characters, lush passionfruit and tropical fruit notes. Fresh cut grass, tomato stalk and lime flavours added to the mix give this wine style its enormous appeal.

Sauvignon Blanc is capable of making wines with great diversity, complexity and in the right hands can be utterly magnificent. In 2012 at a competition in South Africa, I met two Sauvignon Blanc producers whose wine-

making highlighted the grape’s enormous quality potential. Neither were South African by the way, both were there to judge at another wine competition.

The first, Jean-Christophe Bourgeois from Henri Bourgeois a family company who makes some of the most sublime Sauvignon Blanc in village of Chavignol, in the Loire Valley, from grapes grown in both Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. The family also have a farm in New Zealand the organically farmed Clos Henri in Marlborough.

The second producer was Bojan Kobal from Kobal Wines who makes exceptionally good Sauvignon Blanc in the Podravje wine region in lower Styria in Slovenia. (Štajerska).

Both wines were tasted at an informal dinner in Cape Town, the Clos Henri was very old world in style, with mineral characters and clean pure citrus fruit. The Kobal Sauvignon Blanc, a lees aged Sauvignon Blanc, showed surprising richness, with a wonderful mineral edge.

So back to the 2018 competition, the Kobal Slovakian Sauvignon is produced in the Haloze district of Lower Styria / Štajerska, which is a

Sauvignon Blanc Day on Friday May 4th 2018.

This year New Zealand Winegrowers are offering trade from the UK and Ireland the chance to win a trip to Sauvignon 2019, the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration, taking place in Marlborough, New Zealand from 28 – 30 January 2019.

To be in to win participating trade outlets need to run a stand-out New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc promotion across at least two weeks in May 2018. The competition is open to any sector of the trade in the UK and Ireland who must list at least three New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

A panel of independent judges will be looking for innovative campaigns that educate consumers in a fresh new way. The winners will be chosen based on the creativity and effectiveness of their campaign, as well as an uplift in sales of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

New Zealand Winegrowers will assist with digital imagery, information and limited POS. If you would like to take part, contact Chris Stroud at cstroud@nzwine.com Tel: + 44 20 7973 8079

stretch of hills along the banks of the Drava River near Ptuj. Upper Styria is the same region on the Austrian side of the border who, this year, played host to the 9th edition of the Concours Mondial du Sauvignon in the pretty Austrian city of Graz the capital city of the Steiermark region (Styria),.

Concours Mondial du Sauvignon has in recent years, grown to become a prominent white wine competition. The staging, this year, of the competition in Graz in Steiermark region (Styria), whose leading varietal is Sauvignon Blanc was therefore an obvious choice.

The 9th Concours Mondial du Sauvignon took place in March 2018. A total 958 wines from 26 countries were judged blind by a panel of 70 international experts from 18 countries. The judges, journalists, buyers, winemakers and producers awarded a total 289 medals, including the Revelation trophies. The results included, 113 Gold Medals , awarded to producers from France, Austria, New Zealand, Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, South Africa, Romania and the Czech Republic and 176 Silver medals whose recipients included Portugal, Serbia and Slovenia.

It is also worth pointing out that one of the top prizes, the Revelation Trophy of which six were awarded, went to the Bourgeois family for their 2018 Revelation Oaked Sauvignon from Clos Henri Vineyard in Marlborough, New Zealand The delegates also enjoyed a well put together Wines of Austria programme which centred around the city of Graz and included visits to producers in the region.

Steiermark The Celts were the first to bring the vine to Steiermark (Styria), the region is divided into three sub-regions Weststeiermark (West Styria), Sudsteiermark (South Styria) and

Vulkanland. 78% of the region (4,633 ha) is planted with white varietals. Sauvignon Blanc is the second most widely planted grape in the region. The terroir here is perfect for Sauvignon; slate, volcanic and chalk soil give the region’s Sauvignon their charachteristic minerality. The cooler climate also results in a more restrained style of Sauvignon.

We travelled to the South Styrian Sausal region, located in Austria’s highest winegrowing village, Kitzeck to visit Weingut Wohlmuth. South Styria is best know for its classy crisp aromatic wines, the vineyards here are some of the steepest in Europe.

The Wohlmuth family have been producing their wines in Sausal since 1803. The wines are grown in extreme conditions, there is no irrigation here and the slopes have a 90% incline. Gerhard Wohlmut together with his son Gerhard Joseph, work in the vineyard.

They work on a number of Grand Cru sites to produce wines with enormous ageing potential of great complexity.

Their 2015 Sauvingon Blanc Ried Edelschuh, now sadly sold out, was made in one of the best vintages ever and the wine received a 94 point rating from Parker’s Wine Advocate.

We tasted a tank sample of the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Ried Edelschuh, which is a single vineyard wine grow on a south facing vineyard, 500 metres above sea level. The vineyard which dates back to 1322 is one of the best single vineyards in the region. The vines are roughly 30-60 years old, the wines are made whole bunch using wild fermentation in new 500 litre oak casks, and usually spends up to 18 months on the lees. This wine was bone dry with ripe pure fruit and was quite outstanding. We also tasted the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Edelschuh which was very mineral with tropical fruit, a steely acidity and a complex mineral character.

The Six Revelation trophies were awarded to: 2018 Revelation Unoaked Sauvignon: Fournier Père et Fils, Grande Cuvée 2015, PouillyFumé, France 2018 Revelation Oaked Sauvignon: Clos Henri Vineyard, Clos Henri Sauvignon blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand 2018 Revelation Blend: Domaine Haut Marin, Amande 2 Colombard & Sauvignon 2017, IGP Côtes de Gascogne, France 2018 Revelation Organic Sauvignon: Domaine Baron, La Fût Nambule Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Touraine, France 2018 Dubourdieu Wine Trophy: Weingut Kodolitsch, Sauvignon Blanc Rosengarten Reserve 2015, Styria, Austria 2018 Revelation Sweet Sauvignon: Ewald Zweytick Wein, SB Sauvignon Blanc Trockenbeerenauslese 2015, Styria, Austria For more information about the Steiermark region in Austria contact: Wein Steiermark, Hamerlinggasse 3, 8010 Graz Tel: + 43 316 8050 1435 E: weinsteiermark@steirischerwein.at http://www.steirischerwein.at/ For more information about Kobal Wines Web site www.kobalwines.si facebook www. facebook.com/kobalwines For more information about Henri Bourgeois wines https://www.henribourgeois.com/en/

The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Ried Steinriegl is made from another single vineyard site, south west facing, 500 metres above sea level from 15-30 year old vines. This was a relatively small vintage, hit hard by frost and the wines are now only available in Magnum. This wine had a lovely subtle acidity, beautifully elegant, a very tight version of Sauvignon Blanc.

Weinguth Wohlmuth wines are available in the UK through Ester Wines contact Adam Dugmore in London Tel 0044-20-3579-4622 E: adam@esterwines.co.uk www.esterwines.co.uk For more information about Concours Mondial du Sauvignon http://cmsauvignon.com/en/home-en/ 63

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