Q&A: David Thompson
The Australian chef reveals why he closed his Michelin-starred London restaurant and how taking the Nahm brand to Bangkok has changed him
"Thai culture is not static, stable or ossified. It's a confusing medley of contrast-ing opinions that jostle for attention and dominance. Thailand is such an anarchic country, there would never be just one way. That's why authenticity is [an] almost impossible thing to obtain."
"Of course; no country stands alone in culinary development. Stir-fry, woks, salty duck eggs, soy sauce, soya beans and soups all came from China. The same with pork, duck and chicken, with Chinese immigrants in the 18th century. Thais were mainly vegetarians and fish eaters. Chinese ingredients and habits integrated with Siamese society.
"I like strong flavours. Thai cuisine is very strong, with spicy, sour, salty and sweet [notes]. There's a complexity, subtlety and refinement to Thai food. But I do enjoy a lot of Chinese cuisine, such as the strong flavours of Sichuan."
"It was only when I moved back to Thailand [three years ago] that I became more relaxed about issues of authenticity. To be there all the time and in that culture, you tend to be as relaxed as the Thais are. I can also do more experimentation, exploration, sourcing ingredients and having things grown for me."
"It's not even an oxymoron but a bloody impossibility because good Thai food is about cooking everything you have at once and not dividing it into courses and individual portions. Trying to put that into a restaurant syntax at the beginning was just a nightmare."
"We just couldn't get any ingredients, nothing we wanted. The first two or three years were fine; we could bring in anything. Then new EU import regulations came in and nothing could go through. The new forms and regulations were so stringent, and with the Thais being the way they are it was impossible to meet the labelling requirements. No distributor wanted to risk importing anything that might break the rules because the fines were huge. We lost about 60 per cent of our produce. After two years of struggling and not having what we wanted, it was a pleasure to let the restaurant go. London is still not that knowledgeable - for most people [there], Thai food is still just pad thai and green curry with rice. I don't serve pad thai. It's a fine and valid dish for lunch or eating by yourself; but no Thai would eat it in a dinner setting because it's just not appropriate. You eat rice with proper meals. It's like you wouldn't eat risotto and pasta together."
Andrew Sun
