STAR CHEFS

DESPITE ITS DIMINUTIVE SIZE, KOH SAMUI HAS A GALACTIC ARRAY OF TOP CHEFS, SERVING EVERYTHING FROM MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY TO STRAIGHTFORWARD ITALIAN. MADELEINE ENSOR MEETS SIX CUISINIERS CHALLENGING EXPECTATIONS OF ISLAND CUISINE. PORTRAITS AND FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT A WOODWARD

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT SAMUI INVITES PLENTY OF bright young chefs with impeccable pedigrees. They hail from Europe, America, Australia, New Zealand. Thai chefs are leaping into orbit too, with new twists on traditional Thai food and fresh approaches to Western dishes. In fact, the biggest challenge for this story was picking only six of the best talents.

Why is this little island a hotbed of culinary creativity? It could be the abundance of hip hotels with their focus on excellent facilities and the personal touch: for these boutique boltholes, a star restaurant is high among the attractions.

Another reason could be the active Samui Culinary Circle, which meets to encourage its members to share skills and foster talent. Or it might just be the demands of an increasingly exclusive set of visitors who now expect nothing less from their second home or stylish holiday break than they are accustomed to in the city.

Here, we meet the chefs from all over the world who are doing their bit to make Samui’s culinary star shine.

1
CHEF: SAMRUAY LORD
WHERE: BETELNUT
STYLE: FUSION

This tiny restaurant, unexceptional inside and out, is home to the fabulous food of chefs Jeffrey Lord and his wife Samruay. Completely taking over when Jeffrey is busy setting up his other restaurants around the world – including two recently opened eateries in Chennai and Lahore – Samruay has found her forte with a natural ease in the kitchen and a friendly relaxed approach that permeates the dining experience.

“Before I opened Betelnut nine years ago, Samruay had never cooked at all, even at home!” explains Jeffrey. “But she’s picked it up over time and has a natural ability on the stove as well as timing and stamina.”

And the food speaks for itself. Delicacies such as salmon katsu – raw salmon rolled in sesame and served with wasabi aioli (right) – are immaculately presented and ravishingly moreish, while winning main dishes include roast snowfish with crispy rice, green chilli and black bean sauce. All use top quality ingredients and subtly introduce Asian flavours into what are traditionally Western meals.

And it’s a family affair at Betelnet. “I couldn’t convince Samruay to stop cooking at night until two weeks before our daughter Jennifer was born. Then when she was little, for the first few months, I was concerned that the kitchen was too noisy, bright and hectic for her, but she seemed to enjoy it there. Then I realised that her mother had been at the stove during the entire pregnancy, so she was totally familiar with all the activity and smells. Looks like there could be another chef in the family!”

2
CHEF: DONALD LAWSON
WHERE: FULL MOON, ANANTARA
STYLE: ITALIAN WITH AUSTRALIAN HINTS

Energetic Chef Don gestures to the Margaret River Wagyu beef tenderloin as it is flamboyantly flambéed tableside: “Full Moon’s style of food is just that – stylish”.

It’s hard to disagree after a starter of sautéed prosciutto-wrapped jumbo scallops, with hazelnut, coriander butter, tomato-and-seaweed salsa, wild rocket leaves and snow-puff salad, ingested while looking over Bohput Bay on the north of Samui’s coast. You’re slam-dunked with style even from Full Moon’s magical approach, as you stroll past glimmering lights over the lotus-strewn pool and, ideally, take a quick detour into the wine cellar for a glass of Gossett champagne.

“To sum up our food, it’s carefully considered, with a huge variety of flavours and an awful lot of thought going into each dish… which we hope you can taste!” Don declares.

Winner of the 2007 Amadeus Award for Best Executive Chef from Thailand, this Aussie cook has been with Anantara since its pre-opening in 2005 and has shaped the menu, the atmosphere and the style (there’s that word again) of the kitchen.

Don has also worked in London and Dubai, picking up tips from each experience. “In Australia, the hospitality industry is very genuine. We enjoy it! In London, there’s no interaction between staff and customers,” he says. “Here we try to give our staff the necessary information so they know a lot but aren’t overly personal with our guests.”

Full Moon’s Italian food is complemented by a fresh Australian zest that is evident in dishes that layer flavours such as the crushed lobster, sweet jelly and seabass tower.

He explains: “New Zealanders and Australians have no hang-ups about adapting dishes, perhaps because Australia is so multicultural.”

Don imports top quality ingredients such as Italian truffles which he flies in every two weeks, but gets seafood and vegetables locally.

So why Samui? “I love living here. My wife and kids are here, and it’s home,” he extols. “I’m the president of the Samui Culinary Circle. We meet regularly and keep everyone in the network updated on what we’re all doing.”

3
CHEF: THOMAS JAKOBI
WHERE: DINING ON THE ROCKS, SIX SENSES HIDEAWAY SAMUI
STYLE: NEW ASIAN CUISINE

Don’t be fooled by that egg on your plate. It may look like an egg and smell like an egg, but the chances are that after being cooked for an hour at 60 degrees celsius, it won’t taste exactly like the kind of egg you’re used to. It might just be better.

The chef bringing this exciting style of cooking – or as the resort’s website says, “not so much cooking, as creating” – to Samui is Thomas Jakobi. He’s a German chef with a passion for science and “molecular gastronomy” in the style of Hester Blumenthal of the UK’s Fat Duck fame, or Spaniard Ferrin Adria’s and his world-renowned El Buli.

“Dining on the Rocks is a playground for modern and exciting techniques,” Thomas explains. “We use smoke guns, all kinds of gadgets, the latest ice cream maker, and among other methods, a system of cooking called souvede which means ‘very slow’: you marinade a piece of lamb, for example, cooking it at a low temperature for 12 to 14 hours so it’s very soft inside. My fellow chef de cuisine, Ryan Dadufalza, is an American and likes everything with bubble and foam.”

Thomas knows it’s vital to go and see what other chefs are doing and says Spain is currently where it’s at in the culinary world. While the techniques and methods might be the same, everyone has their own touch and experimenting is the name of the game.

“A simple asparagus mousse? Everyone around the world is doing it, but we make asparagus mousse in a can and smoke it,” he enthuses.

Taking the sweet/sour contrast from Asia, Thomas’ team combines hot with cold. Ryan invents two to three new dishes every day. Cucumber ice cream in a Thai beef salad anyone?

“We have open-minded guests!” he laughs. “We try to be so creative, to make every mouthful interesting.”

Most importantly, it tastes incredible. While clouds of Smoked Iberico Ham Foam are not as satisfying as a juicy piece of actual bacon, when the foam is served with slow-cooked turbot, pesto mash with a green pea sphere and chive blossoms, it adds to the experience and is “part of making dining fun.”

And the team here find that making things ecologically sound – not using a freezer, growing their own organic vegetables and not eating “baby” food such as veal or caviar – actually forces them to be more creative.

Not many restaurants can claim to recreate caviar using the latest techniques with powder and soya. Jakobi says: “It tastes the same”.

4
CHEF: LUIGI FADDA
WHERE: OLIVIO, BAAN HAAD NGAM
STYLE: ITALIAN

Olivio offers traditional Italian food served by a traditional Italian chef, the kind you might meet in a children’s book. Chef Luigi holds up a huge antipasti platter to demonstrate his latest creation.

“This style of antipasti, other people don’t do yet! I’ve thought about this dish for four months and it took two months just to get the right plate!” he declares.

Here, the focus is on fresh ingredients that taste great, without any spin. “I try to go for traditional Italian but I use good products and it has a modern flavour.”

With antipasti selections such as beef carpaccio with roasted mash; soft shell crab with rocket, green tuna and apple; mozzarella and tomato caprese; seasoned salmon with rocket; delicate sundried tomato; and melon with Italian Speck, the freshness of this mix hits all the right notes. Unsurprisingly, Luigi announces that, “We sell two antipasti per day at least. We had Russians here last night and they wanted to eat three antipasti!”

Chef Luigi has been at Olivio for four years and says that things have changed in the time he’s been here. “Now people stay in Samui for five to six days rather than two to three.”

The Baan Haad Ngam resort is developing too, with a bigger property next door under renovation and due to be completed in two years.

So why does Luigi like it here? “I can do anything I want. When I make a dessert, I say: ‘I want to do this’, and as long as I get the business, the boss is happy. I can use my imagination and I buy the best quality of food. One person spends on average 1,000 baht. It’s not cheap, but it’s not expensive and that can get us good quality ingredients that are imported.”

5
CHEF: SURAVICHIT AUTTIYA
WHERE: ROCKY’S RESORT
STYLE: FUSION

In a sunny corner of Rocky’s cove, as wedding guests in tropical colours mill around between us and the waves, smiling Suravichit is explaining why he loves challenging culinary conventions.

“I like fusion food: Italian mixed with Thai, such as spaghetti with green curry. Or tom yam pizza. Pop it in the oven and eat; it’s delicious and unexpected,” he says.

The international combinations perfectly suit the resort, one of the friendliest on the island. The Thai chef, British owner, German general manager, Australian resort manager and a mishmash of guests from all over the world make Rocky’s a real melting pot. This is evident on a deeply personal level too.

“When Brits and Australians marry, this is oft en the place where the in-laws meet for the first time!” explains general manager John Ens, of the island’s position between the UK and Australia – two of their biggest visitors.

As a Thai chef working in the fusion field, Suravichit is in an exciting position. “The ideas come from the ingredients,” he says. “Local Thai ingredients are very good already and I want to bring food from Italy and Japan to Thailand. Salmon from Norway goes with a red curry sauce. People from Britain eat salmon with butter and olive oil. So why not with curry? Or tamarind sauce? My favourite accompaniment to tuna is white wine sauce. We get tuna from Japan, add wasabi to the white wine sauce and it’s great.”

Th ough the romantic boutique hotel is right at the end of Lamai, the restaurant attracts 16 to 18 outside diners every night, making 100 in total. It’s a creative environment for Suravichit who has been cooking for 26 years, since the age of 19.

“Books are good for ideas but recipes are experimental,” he says. “Everybody can follow a recipe, but you must create, then it becomes your own style.”

And what is his style in the kitchen? “There is no shouting! What my sous chefs don’t understand, they can come into my office and I’ll try to explain it. It’s a 50-50 process. We learn together. When you’ve got a good team, it makes it easy. I need the team.”

6
CHEF: NOPPARAT SOEPRASIT
WHERE: THE LIBRARY
STYLE: MODERN THAI & WESTERN FUSION

The Library’s eatery The Page serves some of the most beautiful food on the island. Whether it’s pad thai with king prawns in tamarind sauce, maple syrup pork ribs or coconut cream soup, marketing manager Pornchanok Prakobboon explains that what’s different here is “not only the taste, but how we decorate it. We keep the concept of minimalism even in the style of our food.”

The Library’s USP is its design credentials. It is the only member of Design Hotels in Samui and boasts astoundingly high-tech minimalism for a resort that’s right on the beach. This is also extended to the restaurant, and every dish must fit a clear concept.

After 26 years of cooking, Nopparat moved to The Library and trained under its former chef.

“The Library has added to my knowledge. I learnt how to create dishes such as Five Alive (right), where each bite comes on a spoon: we have cheese, citrus orange, pancetta and more,” he says. “Now my goal is to create a new dish every season and add it to the current menu.” It’s a fluid process and the final dish might have been created by the chef, with styling input from the owner.

“We always use high quality ingredients,” says Nopparat. “We get steak from Australia, local vegetables and fresh seafood every day. For a five-star hotel, our dishes are very affordable and we attract locals as well as guests from abroad.”