Pru: Phuket's First Michelin Star

By Duncan McHenry

Phuket’s own PRU, a restaurant founded on an ethos of sourcing 100 percent of its ingredients from the surrounding Thai landscape, has been awarded a Michelin star in the Michelin Guide Bangkok, Phuket and Phang-Nga 2019. PRU is the first non-Bangkok area restaurant to be awarded this distinction, though Ruean Panya in Samut Sakhon and Suan Thip in Nonthaburi also received stars this year. PRU is among a total of 23 one-star restaurants selected in the 2019 edition, and it is one of 10 that are being listed for the first time.

Locally-Minded

Housed within the Trisara luxury resort, PRU’s name is an acronym derived from “Plant, Raise, Understand” and also serves as a nod to Trisara’s in-house farm, “Pru Jampa.” The 96-hectare organic farm produces many of the indigenous ingredients used in the restaurant’s cuisine. Much of the farm’s produce is composed of native flora that was preserved when land was cleared for the resort’s construction in 2004; the farm is also responsible for some animal-based ingredients such as free-range chicken eggs. Other seafood and meat-oriented dishes are typically sourced from surrounding rivers, coasts, and neighboring farms of greater Phuket.

Chef Jimmy

The restaurant’s Head Chef Jim Ophorst first made a name for himself in the culinary world at Gaggan in Bangkok, named the best in Asia two years in a row by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Chef Jimmy has carried his experiences growing up near the sea in the Netherlands with him as inspiration for such PRU dishes as smoked abalone with duck egg and hamachi tartare, though the bulk of PRU’s offerings tend to be vegetable-based. Chef Jimmy takes an overall holistic approach to his cooking, believing that a great product at the table tems from building strong connections with the surrounding farmers and community. In a recent interview for the Michelin Guide, Chef Jimmy also pointed to his style of treating his chefs and staff at PRU like family as a significant contributor to the restaurant’s success. Chef Jimmy’s team prepares cuisine in either six- or eight-course fashion, with wine pairings tailored according to the main courses available on a given night.

Organic and Sustainable

PRU and its on-site organic farm within Trisara have played an integral role in a movement that has sought to blend international tastes with regional ingredients, fostering a more sustainable approach to creating gourmet meals while benefiting a local network of small-scale producers. This “farm-to-table” approach is beginning to appear as a focus for many other Thai restaurants and eateries named on this year’s list.

The Pru Jampa farm also takes this philosophy of sustainability beyond the table to its waste management practices. Even kitchen scraps, for example, return to the farm in the form of nutrient-rich compost, and naturally occurring red worms help keep the soil aerated and fertile. Free-range chickens and goats are also kept on-site, and native plants from flowering reeds to lotus blossoms line freshwater ponds and serve as garnishes for PRU entrees. The Trisara ponds often yield catches of catfish that find their way to the table.