David Thompson, the king of Thai food, is coming to Dublin. Marie-Claire Digbytakes a lesson.
Thai Food, an encyclopaedic, silk-bound doorstop by the Australian chef David Thompson, runs to a staggering 884 pages and is as much a cultural and historical text as it is a cookery book. Its creator is regarded as a world authority on the fresh, fragrant cuisine of Thailand, and Nahm, the restaurant he set up in London, was awarded a Michelin star - the only Thai restaurant in Europe to have one - just six months after opening.
Thompson, who lives for much of the year in Bangkok, where he is at work on a second book, on Thai street food, is held in such high esteem that in 2000 the Thai government asked him to help establish Suan Dusit, a restaurant, cookery school and showcase of the country's culinary heritage, in a former palace in Bangkok.
And now he's coming to Dublin, for a five-night residency as guest chef at Seasons Restaurant, in the Four Seasons Hotel in Dublin 4, where he plans to cook "dishes that will convey the sophistication and complexity of Thai food, using seasonal Irish ingredients where possible. I'll bring over what I can't get here, but will take advantage of seasonal Irish produce: wild mushrooms, scallops, Dublin Bay prawns and salmon".
Terry White, the hotel's executive head chef, has been on a mission to bring Thompson to Dublin since sampling his cooking at Nahm. "But it took two years for us to get the dates together," he says. Tacit determination has paid off, and White, who describes Thompson's cooking as "fresh, clean tasting and different from other Thai food you'll have had", will be handing over his kitchen to Thompson from September 18th to 22nd.
The seven-course banquets that will be offered each night will be suitably lavish affairs, but Thompson has some simple advice for the home cook. "Taste everything. Balance is paramount, and hot, sour, sweet, salty are the cardinal points in the culinary compass. Be prepared to make a mistake. And always exploit your children, husbands, spouses, visitors . . . Get them pounding and peeling," he says, with a wicked grin.
Predictably, he has no time for commercial curry pastes. "Make your own. It doesn't take that long. Shortcuts reduce the vibrancy and vitality of something that is truly fresh."
Thai green curry was recently voted Ireland's favourite dish by viewers of the TV programme Corrigan Knows Food, a fact that surprised Thompson. "Yes, I heard that, but I thought they were telling me a pack [of lies]," he says.
The chef's love affair with Thailand began more than 20 years ago, when a last-minute change of holiday plans saw him end up in Bangkok. Immediately seduced by the place and the people, he had the good fortune to be introduced to an elderly matriarch who, over a period of 18 months, taught him the fundamentals of Thai food. "She's gone to culinary heaven, or hell, now. She was a dragon of a woman, but a dragon that put me on the right path," he says.
He has also, over the years, expanded his knowledge by collecting memorial books - a Thai custom whereby at funerals a booklet is distributed detailing the deceased's interests and talents. In the case of the women, many of these record their favourite recipes, and through them Thompson gleaned an insight into Thai food. "I have between 1,000 and 1,500 of them now, and I will leave them in Thailand - donate them to a library, so they can be a resource. They're hard to find now. I hope that's not just because of me collecting them."
Memorial books aren't the only thing Thompson collects. He also has a passion for antiques, especially 18th-century furniture. "I'm partial to the French stuff, and Irish and English. I will go to Francis Street when I'm in Dublin, to see if there's something expensive, irresistible and essential."
Those three words sum up Thompson's Dublin visit. A chair at the table for one of his banquets will be regarded as essential by some and irresistible by many. But, at €90 a head, it's not expensive, not for a taste of heaven.
Reservations for Seasons Restaurant's Nahm Thai menu (September 18th-22nd), at the Four Seasons Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, can be made by telephoning 01-6654642.