FOOD & DRINK | bitchin’ in the kitchen
Flash in the Pan
Does luxury always mean quality? Thailand’s chefs weigh in on the debate about the real meaning of luxury
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aviar. Foie gras. Wagyu. Truffle. Lobster. The list goes on. With increasing frequency, fanned by the viral flames of social media, these items appear on the fine china and starched white tablecloths of fine dining and not so fine establishments the world over. Many of us grew up believing these luxurious foods were synonymous with decadence, reserved for the famous and privileged. Who else dreamed of a tuxedo-clad waiter with white gloves holding a silver salver of tiny toasts and shimmery fish eggs with a generous side of arrogance, the only type money could buy? As demands grew, many inferior substitutes for these ‘fine’ products began to rear their mainstream heads on the menus of restaurant chains and the hotels’ Sunday buffet lines as well as the allegedly more up-market venues. Faced with everyday punters desperate to infiltrate the world of Oprah Samantha Proyrungtong, and Australianborne entrepreneur with Thai roots, founder of Bangkokfoodies.com and Bangkok Foodies OFFICIAL Facebook community who has become a well-known voice in the Bangkok culinary scene. FB: BangkokFoodiesThailand, IG: BangkokFoodies
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and opulence, restaurants started to source and serve ‘poor man’s’ alternatives. Foie gras of ambiguous origins, pan-seared and masked with viscous cherry sauce, or ‘langostino’ unashamedly labelled as ‘lobster’ have crept onto menus. Others list ‘truffle’ yet fail to mention the words ‘summer’, ‘faux’ or ‘farmed’ and still command a hefty price for being showily shaved onto pasta, despite an aroma that resembles a pedestrian mushrooms gone rancid. The desire for luxury items has resulted in sustainable inventions like vegetarian caviar, created from the spherification of seaweed algae to mimic the fishy taste of legit caviar. And then there’s the scientifically tweaked ‘Impossible Meat’, a plantbased heme which is made via the fermentation of genetically engineered yeast (and incidentally often sold at a eye-watering mark-up that approaches wagyu). On the other end of the spectrum, there is the de-gentrification (read: hipsterfication) of formerly fine foods, like the lobster roll in a brioche bun and caviar on, well, just about anything. In a bid to understand where luxury truly stands today from the minds of people who actually create gastronomic dishes, I decided to ask some of Thailand’s most notable chefs about what luxury produce means to them. The answers may just surprise you. Spoiler: it’s not about the caviar. bangkok101.com
