Anotai Gongvatana

Restaurateur, cooking teacher and organic vegetable farmer Anotai Gongvatana casts an expert eye over what be your guest has to offer, in the company of Gurleen Khanijoun

The cosy dining area set in a homey atmosphere

Styled after a Mediterranean villa, Be Your Guest on Sukhumvit Soi 53 offers the finest service in a homey atmosphere where gastronomy and decoration meet. The French/Thai eatery is located in what could be your home; acrylic paintings and silkscreen prints adorn the walls and the laid-back atmosphere is accentuated by a lush green garden, swimming pool and simple, comfortable outdoor seating, perfect for when the cool weather comes.

“Our restaurant and outside catering services offer the finest attention to detail with tailormade cuisines for different events,” says Nicolas Lanaud, the restaurant’s consultant. The variety of menus, overseen by chefs Frédéric Insisienmay and Somsak Kaew-Un, cover lunch and dinner, as well as gourmet catering for receptions, cocktail parties and buffets. Be Your Guest also offers a Sunday brunch, and for dinner is happy to close the restaurant for a group that wants to ensure the place is reserved only for them.

A selection of appetisers including the signature panseared foie gras with mango

Sharing the meal today is Anotai Gongvatana, marketing manager of Thai Organic Food. Her genuine smile and warm demeanour encourage us to move quickly towards our private table in a cosy and comfortable setting where an afternoon of chatting and snacking begins with the signature pan-seared foie gras with mango, French escargots with butter and herbs and Scottish salmon tartar. “The subtle creamy richness of the tartar complements the salmon’s taste perfectly,” she says. The Cordon Bleu-trained cook enjoys cooking and eating seafood and organic vegetables. “Organic food is best for your health,” she asserts. “It’s free from harmful chemicals and pesticides, having been prepared with almost no use of synthetic processing materials. The idea is to have food as fresh as nature would give us.”

Healthy eating is very important to Anotai, as she runs her own eponymous vegetarian restaurant near Bangkok’s Rama IX Hospital. She ensures that all ingredients are purely organic, as many are grown on her own vegetable plot, Thai Organic Farm. “Our farm has been certified by the Organic Agriculture Certification Thailand, accredited by IFAOM. Being a small farm on a six-hectare piece of land, we use our resources effectively,” she says. “Growing and consuming organic food is also environmentally friendly since it does not require harmful additives that tamper with the soil’s natural quality.” Her farm’s fresh seasonal produce offers a variety of vegetables that cannot be supplied throughout the year. “I must always experiment with new ingredients and invent new, clever recipes,” she notes. “This is one of the greatest joys of cooking.”

With her passion for healthy eating, she was delighted to taste the restaurant’s main course, Australian lamb tenderloin with plum sauce. “The artful arrangement lends an extra touch to the flavourful dish,” she says. The rich, fruity sauce is the chef ’s new creation that comes highly recommended. The tender, pink meat is complemented with potatoes, carrot, asparagus and tomatoes that make for a more nutritious meal.

In preparing a meal, Anotai feels that presentation is crucial. “Our food should have many colours,” she says. “Being healthy doesn’t just mean eating green or brown; we should also consume reds, blues or yellows.” The 39-year-old chef grew up tasting a variety of fresh vegetables and herbs. “I would never shy away from broccoli, corn or even spinach,” she says. “Growing up, I ate every meal at home.” Her family’s cook would make delicious Thai or Chinese meals that tasted better than those served at restaurants. “Our beloved cook would always prepare what we asked, no matter how complicated it was. Unfortunately, I was never allowed to help her, as she preferred to cook alone.” She got her chance to wield her knives however, when she attended the Cordon Bleu cooking school in London. “From the use of culinary equipment to the planning and execution of elaborate dishes, this course provided the fundamentals of French cuisine,” she says. “I even learned how to hold a knife properly and how to peel vegetables.”

Anotai believes that Thai cooking classes conceal the necessary details required in the organisation, preparation and timing of particular cuisines. “Professional chefs are very secretive about their recipes, making it difficult to master Thai cooking, as important ingredients or techniques are omitted and then eventually die with the chef. I don’t plan to hide any of my recipes,” she says. She spreads the word with her cooking workshops, where she teaches three-course meals for simple yet exquisite parties, as well as bakery skills.

Dark chocolate fondant with raspberry

The mere suggestions of finding space for dessert makes us roll our eyes, but the crêpes suzette with orange sauce and homemade speculoos ice cream, and dark chocolate fondant with raspberry are too tempting to resists. “These are sublime,” she smiles, savouring the delicious biscuit and caramel flavour of the ice cream. A selection of teas finishes an excellent dining experience.

Crepes suzette