laocook

When I was in VTE, I remember roadside “kitchens” preparing snacks, or Kuan Ghem. These roadside eateries were a very casual affair, mainly made up of a makeshift BBQ and lovely morsels being prepared over the hot coals.

One thing that I enjoyed eating were Meat Balls, whether made of Pork, Beef or even Fish and Chicken. I recall watching in awe as the ladies (for some reason it was always ladies preparing the food) make the balls ever so quickly and deftly from their own secret recipe, they would then either deep fry them in hot oil over the coals or simply grill them. The aroma was inviting and it was Kip well spent.

Last night upon Sen´s idea, we made our own Squid and Prawn Balls, dished up as an Amuse Bouche which we served with some Sweet Chilli Sauce cut with extra Fish Sauce, Fresh Lime Juice, Chives and Coriander.

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There are some logos that are universal, logos that everyone would recognise. A lot of positive and negative things have been said about McDonalds, but I think that we all have to agree, its a World Famous Franchise that is recognisable in nearly every language. I too, sometimes, have a craving for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, one day I will show you my own very special ½ Kilo and Cheese version. ;)

Sawadee Khrup Khun Ronald.

Instead of being content with celebrating the midnight hour on December the 31st, the Lao celebrate their New Year over three days.

Wonder why the pic is blurry, too much Champagne for the Photographer…

(From Left to Right: Peng, Toon, Laurene, Jopi, Vienne, Patti, Saki, Erika and Isabel)

;)

You would think that after a “heavy” night, we would spend the next day relaxing, but No!, in true “A Team” fashion we made an afternoon BBQ and ended up splashed and covered in white paste, (mixed Talc with Water), when asked why, the Team replied “If you smell nice on the first day of the New Year, you will smell nice all year round”. Perhaps its true…

Kham and Sen looking untanned.

Kham and Peng (not Son Goku from Dragonball Z!)

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After the festivities have died down, or we have run out of Beer, its time to return to the grind of work.

Kham shows off two Ostrich Eggs, that will be destined for a (large) Omelet. The outer shell is so thick that you may need a hammer and saw to open it. We use drills to open a hole in the top before extracting the White and Yolk, that way we can keep the shells for decoration.

Kuchi back in the kitchen preparing Sushi for a small group booking. The room temperature is controlled to ensure that the fish stays fresh as possible until it is served. It is like working in a fridge.

Now is the season for Broccoli, and below I have taken advantage of a sauce made by Kenji, mixed it with Cream and Lime Essence, added some Tofu “Crisp” Cubes and some Spring Onion Tempura. The softness of the sauce lends a delightful texture to the crunchy Tofu & Tempura.

It is fitting that both Boundy Senathit´s sons should continue in his footsteps, or in this case, his Kitchen Clogs.

Arriving to the UK in the early 70´s, Boundy forged a happy home for his family, working all hours of the day to ensure that his wife and then only child, would have enough to eat. His catering career started off as a Cook in a small London Pub. When his second son arrived, he worked the graveyard shift in one of London´s grand hotels whilst his my mother cleaned the rooms during the day, this way, at least one of them would be home when I finished school.

I remember not having much as a child, I would envy all my friends with their new clothes, school kits and summer holidays. I would sit home and sulk when we couldn’t afford the money for me to go on school outings. But now that I am older, I understand why. We always had food on the table, and a warm comfortable home.

I have never worked with my father, I think that it would be such a culture clash.

King prepares a light dinner.

During my fathers time as a Chef, he would work the exhausting hours churning out dishes. There was no way a Laotian would dare try to make “his own” food during that time, hardly anyone had heard of Thailand then, so why would people have heard of Laos?

Thankfully times have moved on, people have opened their minds, and though my father is away from the big kitchens, he still remains faithful to his craft and now works with my mother on their own business, cooking food from their own Catering Unit in one of London’s busiest markets, its a change from the hoi palloi of the grand kitchens, but saying that, its not uncommon to for them to knock out huge numbers of dishes within a short time span. They named their business Thai & Lao Cuisine, one of the first companies in the UK to use the word Lao commercially.

It now up to King and I to continue what he started, and along with our Lao Cook Team, we plan to do just that…

The Lao Cook Team would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

Apart from the New Year, the last week has been busy both at work and at home. We are proud to present 2 new members to the “A Team”.

Junior, who is Lao/French is based in London and will be joining the team next month, he will be training with King on the Teppan.

King and Junior enjoy lunch.

My Father decided to pay us a rare short visit. He is based in London, which is only a short flight from here, luckily the weather has been nice and he has been able to enjoy a few rays of sun before heading back to the UK.

Patti, also Lao/French is from a musical family, she joins us for 3 months to do some training before she goes to Hotel Management School.

My Father, me, Rose, Patti and Laurene out for a long lunch in the country.

Work has been busy and we have been trying out a few new dishes, but none of them have made the menu at the moment, there needs to be more “Fine Tuning” before we dare release any dish.

Saki tests a new sauce recipe, that we hope to use with a new dish that will feature King Prawns, but until it is “perfected”, there is a lot of work to do, and lots of Prawns to shell for trials.

Last night after Service I invited all the staff for a few glasses of Champagne to bring in our New Year, little did I know that a few glasses would lead to more glasses, then to more glasses… ;) We love Champagne.

Sokdee Pimai!!