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Chef Pam, a critically-acclaimed culinary queen, BBQ-smoking expert and TV personality, is one of the most recognised faces cooking in Thailand today …and she will be making a guest appearance in Bahrain next week.
With a background in a three Michelin star New York restaurant, the celebrity chef will be bringing her exquisitely-crafted dishes, blending Asian, French and American influences, to diners at The Gulf Hotel Conference & Spa’s Royal Thai restaurant.
She will be flying into Bahrain, working in the kitchen and visiting the tables from Tuesday to March 30. “I’ve never been to Bahrain before and I’m really very excited about the visit,” she told GulfWeekly.
“I can’t wait to meet diners personally and let them try my contemporary Thai-Western food so that we can enjoy the culinary experience together.
“Thai food has such bold flavours. All the spices and herbs make for unique dishes that blend all the flavours – sweet, sour, salty and spicy – and creating an umami (savoury) result.
“Nowadays, food is becoming more diverse and chefs around the world are trying to create their own uniqueness on the plate.
“I think it’s very interesting to try our new dishes where the chef combines unusual ingredients together. My culinary background is American/French cuisine but since I’m Thai, I also put a lot of my early memories into my dishes. I helped my mum cook from an early age, therefore, there will be a lot of Thai flavours in my cuisine.
“Food is not only about the taste at the time or the minutes you take enjoying a dish, it’s about passion and creating memories. In fact ‘food is memory’, so let’s create some good ones together at Royal Thai Bahrain!”
Chef Pam will be supported by Thai Head Chef Wasani Bordeerat at the award-winning restaurant and her kitchen team, who are ‘equally excited’ about the opportunity of working alongside and watching the star’s acclaimed creativity.
Thai by birth, Thai-Australian Chef Pam (full name Pichaya Utharntharm) was brought up in Bangkok. After making a life-changing decision to leave behind a career in communication art, she decided to train as a chef. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School, her training began in the kitchen at the Hotel Grand Hyatt Erawan, Le Beaulieu, and later at Patara Fine Thai Cuisine.
At the age of 21, she became the youngest chef to win the Asia Youth Hope Cooking Contest in 2011. This was followed by her being named amongst the Young Women of the Year 2012 by Her World Magazine. Within the same year, in France, she took the runners-up spot in the globally-contested Young Talent contest by Les Disciples d’Escoffier.
Chef Pam arrived in New York to continue her culinary journey at the Culinary Institute of America. After graduating with high honours, she started working at Jean-Georges, a venue consistently awarded four stars by the New York Times and three-Michelin stars. It presents exquisitely-crafted dishes blending French, American and Asian influences.
Several years of training and working with acclaimed Chef Mark Lapico and six years as an executive chef, results in her fine culinary skills and exceptionally high standards.
Chef Pam returned to Thailand and joined the four-strong expert TV panel of the country’s edition of Top Chef, as both the youngest and only female judge.
Less than two years ago, Pam’s Kitchen hit the small screen to overwhelming success, a culinary series that includes Chef Pam’s recipes and tips from her kitchen. The show features quick-and-easy contemporary European and French recipes targetted at everyday cooks.As if that weren’t enough, the enterprising chef has already launched not one, but two culinary businesses of her own. One of these, a BBQ delivery service, offers super-slow-smoked meats and the other, The Table by Chef Pam, described by one eating out reviewer as ‘one of the hardest seats to score in Bangkok right now’.
“Whenever I eat something interesting, I memorise it and use it to inspire my own creations,” she revealed in an interview. “For example, I went to this French restaurant in Singapore and ate cold angel hair pasta rolls topped with caviar.
“I use shio seaweed, along with sautéed shallots for sweetness, then add a little vinegar, just to freshen it up. I top it with crab instead of caviar. In the end, it became something completely different and now it’s one of my signatures.”
The Gulf Hotel is delighted to have secured her signature. Deputy GM Charbel Hanna said: “Chef Pam’s visit is yet another milestone for The Gulf Hotel Bahrain’s passion for flying in the best celebrity chefs from around the world.
“From the recent success of Chef Lu Yao visit from China to sushi champion Chef Pepi Anevski, Chef Takagi Kazuo, Chef Wout Bru and Chef Jeff Tan Seng Han and, with our restaurant tie-ups with Michelin star celebrity chefs Vineet Bhatia and Giancarlo Perbellini, Chef Pam’s visit is a one-time, not–to-be-missed opportunity for food enthusiasts. We’re honoured to have her with us.”
Chef Pam will be holding a ‘master class’ for guests on March 30, costing BD39net, inclusive of lunch. There are only 15 seats open and, according to food & beverage manager Sunuj Deen, a few are still left to be snapped up.
Guests can book by calling 17713000 or visiting the hotel website www.gulfhotelbahrain.com
