Interview with Chef Kim Ratcharoen of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

LIFESTYLE Dining Personality

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL London’s iconic Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has held three Michelin stars for 21 years straight.

Today, the reins to the restaurant are in the capable hands of Surat Thani native KIM RATCHAROEN, who speaks to neetinder dhillon about her journey, her inspiration, and what lies ahead

K

LOIRE VALLEY ASPARAGUS, SMOKED DUCK, MORELS, VIN JAUNE

118 PRESTIGE JUNE 2022

im Ratcharoen’s steady gaze and composed demeanour belies the daily chaos intrinsic to her role as Head Chef at one of the world’s most iconic restaurants. I catch her on her day off, nursing a cold; her highlighted hair framing her calm, dark eyes. Of course, you wouldn’t notice those highlights when Kim is in her chef’s whites, as they are braided into submission.

But today, in her home in suburban Acton – a 40-minute drive from the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London’s Chelsea district – the new Head Chef is just being Kim... taking time to ref lect aloud on her incredible journey.

Acton is Kim’s escape from the chaos of the kitchen.

Shared with her partner Emily Brightman (currently Head Chef at Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred Murano London), the green spaces of this suburb insulate their calm personal lives from their intense professional careers. The two live here with their dogs, Dashi and Miso, who narrowly escaped being called Tom Yam and Pad Thai. “That would have been too much,” Kim smiles, adding “they bring a lot of joy into our lives.”

The journey to London for this Surat Thani native began when she was a student at Phuket’s British International School. Then, in 2006, she moved to live with her mother in the UK, and to take her A-Levels at Brighton’s St James, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Sussex University, and a hospitality degree at Brighton College.

Now 16 years in the UK, and age 34 this month, Kim is currently responsible for the beating heart of the Ramsay empire, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. In its 24 years of existence, it has held three Michelin stars for 21 years straight

– so the pressure is intense. With patron-chef Matthew Abé overseeing the operations, Kim marshals the forces in the kitchen. And Gordon Ramsay is happy, remarking: “Kim brings a wonderful focus and energy into the kitchen. She is an incredible chef who is hugely talented.”

Having become a role-model overnight for aspiring chefs in Thailand, Kim is honoured, excited, and mindful of the responsibility. “It feels so surreal,” she muses. “Is this happening? It’s just so iconic an institution of gastronomy.

Like Paul Bocuse, Gordon Ramsay is legendary. All the people who’ve touched this restaurant have made it amazing.

Matthew Abé, [maitre d’] Jean-Claude Breton… you just have to feel honoured even to be standing in that kitchen. I won’t paint a pretty picture though, as the journey has been challenging. I had to work very hard for it. I feel humbled that Gordon and Matt have shown so much trust in me.

“There’s so much to heading the restaurant,” she continues, “like learning to be a good leader and entrepreneur.

Matt and I work together to make sure the standards remain high. Every guest must experience the same food and the same standard.”

The Gordon Ramsay that Kim speaks of is “gentle, caring and friendly”, remarking that the figure viewers see on television is just for show. “He makes it a point to visit the kitchen and say hello. He was very keen for me to come back as Head Chef.”

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay was only the second professional kitchen Kim stepped in. Her first was 64 Degrees in Brighton. “I wanted to work for Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, one of the best restaurants in the country, and managed to get a one-month unpaid stage.” Offered a job at

#prestigeindulgence | JUNE 2022 PRESTIGE

119

LIFESTYLE Dining Personality

CORNISH COD, FINE HERBS, SPRING DASHI, IBERICO FAT

the end of the stage, Kim stayed on for six years, working her way up to Senior Sous Chef before leaving to take a personal sabbatical, and do some travelling and cooking. In 2021 she starred in BBC’s The Great British Menu series, a show celebrating innovation and invention, before returning to Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in February as Head Chef.

It was also at Ramsay’s restaurant that Kim met Emily, in 2015. “She’s been a big part of my life. She was Senior Chef de Partie when I joined.

I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her support from my first day. We advise each other, keep each other going, and make sure we’re both sane and not going crazy with all these hours, and all the stuff we have to deal with at work. We try not to talk about work at home. Otherwise, it just gets a bit too much. Unless something terrible happened and needs to be said or let out.”

The pair also take turns making breakfast. “Or I’ll make breakfast, and she’ll make dinner,” Kim says. “It depends on what we fancy, and if it’s anything Asian related, I cook.” Thai food is comfort food, and a definite go-to is Yum Woonsen – yum tuna with rice, or perhaps stir-fried rice and fried egg, or even stir-fried pork in a curry paste, “It always

120 PRESTIGE JUNE 2022

reminds me of my grandma,” she explains.

The restaurant itself, not surprisingly, is her second home. “I spend so much time there,” she admits, reflecting on her leadership role. “Leading by example is important. The team always comes first. Their priorities are important to me. I want them to be successful. At the end of the day their success is my success. I invest my time in individuals because we work well as a team if they do their job well. We are working on maintaining a work-life balance. The team has breakfast in the mornings together now – that never happened before – and they have breaks. I also want to make the kitchen more welcoming for young kids hoping to be chefs.”

Mental health and work-life balance have Kim training as part of the ‘Burnt Chef Project’. “It’s important to be a part of something that some of the staff might need for support. I need to understand how to cope with it and become a first aider of mental health. I want to understand the whole process, and how I can deal with it myself, and not go, ‘Oh, just man up. Deal with it’. That’s not the right way to cope with it. It’s important to understand what’s going wrong, and what support the person needs.”

After the excitement of a restaurant kitchen, craving peace comes naturally.

“I mostly spend my weekend at home, being ‘boring’, but secretly I’d like to go out and have fun. It might not seem like it, but I do enjoy going out drinking, like when I was younger. But the responsibility on my shoulders means I have to always be in top form.”

“My life outside work is not very exciting,” she adds. “I do yoga, sometimes swim, but mainly spend time with Emily and the dogs.” Her smile, though, suggests she enjoys the quiet time immensely.

Growing up in Thailand, grandma’s kitchen was always centre stage for Kim. “We were always surrounded by food, it brings families together.

My grandma and mom taught me to be tough, to work hard, and bring passion to my work. That’s all you need to succeed. I wish my grandma were here to see this. She also taught me to be practical at cooking and not waste anything. She is my inspiration.”

Her mentor, however, is Chef Matt Abé. “Without him, I wouldn’t be the chef I am today. It’s amazing how he leverages Asian ingredients. You see an Asian influence throughout the menu – it’s mainly his menu right now. He also helped me a lot with The Great British Menu series, in balancing

flavours and textures.”

Speaking of her approach to modern French cuisine, Kim points out that: “In Thailand, it’s important to find the right balance between acidity and spices, and I bring that balance into my cooking. But obviously, we don’t want to turn it into a Thai restaurant. We may not be classic French, but our foundations are French. We have just modernised the cuisine mixing French techniques with Asian flavours. We try not to use too much cream or butter, so it is not too rich.”

Is a signature dish in the works yet? “I have to work towards putting a dish on the menu that represents who I am,” she answers. Her signature dish will have kaffir lime as a distinctive note and Thai basil when she creates it. “More acidic than sweet or spicy,” she shares.

“I see a lot of benefits of being brought up in Thailand. I have adapted but would never lose my heritage. That respect younger kids give to elders, and that respect for others, is precious. It’s important to have that respect in the kitchen too. There’s a Thai term, boon khun, meaning ‘passing on what you learn’. So, I’m trying to pass on what I learned from my grandma, and my heritage, and implement it in my kitchen.”

#prestigeindulgence | JUNE 2022 PRESTIGE

121