This year will see 10 world-class chefs from six continents converging on Bangkok for the 10th annual World Gourmet Festival.
Politically, economically and touristically, the 2008 World Gourmet Festival (WGF) took place during tough times for the country. However, the annual culinary festival, which had been running for nine good years, still managed to draw foodies and connoisseurs, local and international, into its seven-day event filled with acclaimed chefs from all over the world.
Organised, as ever, by the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, the World Gourmet Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary and has just been included in the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s tourism calendar. The 2009 festival on October 5-11, therefore, promises to be the biggest and best yet, offering keen gastronomes with an even more exciting line-up of chefs and activities to mark the memorable occasion.
”We are looking for more people than last year,” said Malcolm Omond, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok’s Food and Beverage director.
”Last year was an incredibly difficult time, but people were very happy that we pushed ahead and did the event. That’s one of the beautiful things about Thailand: everybody moves forward, and during my time here I’ve seen that Thais often make something new come along as they move forward.
”So honestly we don’t really dwell on the fact that last September we were on the international news for all the wrong reasons. And even though the economy still isn’t great, I’m sure we will do better than last year.”
To make this year’s festival more international, it will feature chefs from all six inhabited continents _ Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australia and Europe. Only the South Pole will be missing.
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To make the experience even more special, there will be four Michelin-starred chefs taking part. They are David Thompson of Nahm Thai restaurant in London; Kazumi Sawada, the young executive chef of Michelin-starred Banrekiryukodo in Tokyo; David Kinch, an American chef of two-Michelin-starred Manresa in California; and Fulvio Siccardi of Conti Roero restaurant in Monticello d’Alba, Italy.
”Thai food is something we’ve always wanted to include in the festival. Our Spice Market restaurant has been doing well for 26 years, and it will be great to have something really nice going on there,” said the F&B director.
”To have David Thompson, who has done such a lot for Thai cuisine, coming to cook at the restaurant for the first time is very special. And it will be great to welcome a world-acclaimed authentic Japanese chef into our fusion Japanese restaurant.”
Other than the Michelin-star chefs, the festival will also feature seven award-winning chefs of different cuisines from all over the world _ Christine Manfield, chef/owner of the critically-acclaimed Universal Cafe in Sydney; Francois Payard, a dessert wizard from Payard New York; Luke Dale-Roberts, founder of La Colombe in Cape Town, South Africa; Paola Carosella, owner of Arturito in Sao Paolo, Brazil; Graham Elliot Bowles from Chicago; and Michael Ginor, owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, USA.
Each of the 10 chefs will host two dinners in one of the hotel’s restaurants as well as a cooking demonstration either for lunch or dinner. On Friday, October 9, however, their culinary creations can be enjoyed all together on one evening at the festival’s seven-course gala dinner.
A morning market tour is a new activity introduced this year. The tours, conducted by culinary celebrities, will begin early in the morning and finish with breakfast at the hotel.
”As an event officially supported by TAT, we have to make sure that it will benefit the community,” said Mr Omond. ”Because people don’t come to the Four Seasons, they come to Bangkok, and we need to show them what the city has on offer. So, by coming here, not only will they have access to amazing, world-class chefs at our hotel, they will also have a chance to enjoy fine food and fresh produce at the market.”
Forget local tour guides or even Thai cooking gurus, the two market tours of WGF will be led by world-famous David Thompson of the Michelin-starred Nahm restaurant and Michael Ginor of Hudson Valley Foie Gras.
Both David and Michael are well familiar with the City of Angels.
David has spent several years in Bangkok while Michael has joined WGF every year since 2001, so the organiser is comfortable to have these two guys guiding the culinary journey.
”David will show his own perspective on where’s good to go and what’s good to do. He might also introduce us to people he knows at the market and that’s going to be very interesting,” said Mr Omond.
”Michael, likewise, has seen Bangkok with his American point of view so he’s going to show us what he think is important. They’re going to be small tours, each tour with only eight people. And once we got everyone registered for the morning, then we’ll have a little talk with them and try to personalise the tour as much as we can.”
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