Chef Tong from ‘The Current of the Sea’, Chef Talk

Chef Tong from ‘The Current of the Sea’

Get to know Chef Tong from ‘The Current of the Sea’ restaurant at La Flora Resort & Spa, Patong. How did a Thai chef became renowned for Seafood Fusion and what was his journey to success.

When did you first realise you wanted to become a chef?
“It was a long time ago but when I was at school I had a part time job as a cook helper in the evenings. I found that I loved cooking and decided I would like to work with it. As time passed I gained more experience and I realized I wanted to be an Executive Chef.”

Where and how you were trained?
“I started at the base position in the kitchen and worked my way up and up. I gradually learned and experienced cooking and I can say that I still learn new things everyday. I worked for Hilton when it was the Phuket Arcadia for more than ten years. I then moved to be a part of the set-up team for a new hotel at Karon Beach. I was then asked to come back to work for Hilton again. However, now it’s my honor to be a part of the La Flora set-up team as an Executive Chef. I have been working here since November last year.”

How did you get involved in ‘Seafood Fusion’? “I love to create new menus and therefore fusion is needed. When I’m in the kitchen, I start looking around to see what I have and then play around with ideas. Usually they are based around seafood in a European style of cooking and seasoned with the taste of oriental spices and herbs. A recent dish which I created is ‘Salmon with Turmeric’ and is very popular with our customers.”

How do you go about creating new menus?

“I will put a new dish as a promotion campaign on our restaurant’s menu first; our hosts will ask guests if they would like to try it. Feedback is then collected so that we can adjust or improve the dish. However, as the dish has taken lots of time to prepare and perfect over and over it is rare that changes have to be made. If the dish proves to be popular with guests it will then appear on the menu as a regular dish.”

What is your presentation style?

“As I have mentioned I love ‘Fusion’. I am very interested in European food and then of course I am Asian so I like to combine these two different styles. I think this style is a wonderful challenge with lots of possibilities. I like to present my dishes in a modern style even though I am in Thailand and I also prefer allowing my customers to actually see the ingredients that I choose. I try to use whole or large pieces of herbs and spices in decorating especially when I’m using Thai herbs. That’s my style.”

To become a good chef according to Chef Tong you have to firstly and most importantly love food and cooking. The more you practice the faster and more creative you will become. Then comes the knowledge of balancing and the sensitivity for flavours. Knowing what spices and herbs complement which foods and being able to improvise with what’s on hand and when needed is essential. These seem to be the key ingredients to the success of Chef Tong.