πΉπ Thailand Β· Thai cuisine Β· b. 1960
The Australian-born scholar-chef who set the global standard for Thai fine dining.
David Thompson is an Australian-born chef and food historian widely considered the leading non-Thai authority on Thai cuisine. He moved to Bangkok in his twenties, learned Thai cooking through years of research with palace cooks, market vendors and elderly home cooks across the country, and went on to open Darley Street Thai in Sydney (1992) and Nahm in London (2001), which became the first Thai restaurant in the world to receive a Michelin star.
His 2002 book 'Thai Food' is widely regarded as the most authoritative English-language reference on Thai cuisine β a 700-page volume that covers history, regional traditions, palace cuisine and street food with the depth of an academic monograph and the practical detail of a working cookbook.
He later moved Nahm to Bangkok, where it consistently appeared in the World's 50 Best Restaurants and Asia's 50 Best lists, and now runs Aaharn in Hong Kong and several other projects.
Thai food as a great cuisine β historically, technically, philosophically. Thompson rejects the view of Thai cuisine as 'spicy street food' and treats it with the same rigour as French or Italian: separate traditions for palace and street, regional differences as profound as those of Italy, complex layering of fresh, fermented, sweet, sour, salty and bitter.
First Thai restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star.
Thompson's current Hong Kong project; Thai fine dining.
Original recipes we created as homages to David's cooking style and signature dishes. Not direct reproductions of any copyrighted material β these are our interpretations of the traditionsDavid has worked with throughout their career.
These recipes from our database reflect the thai cooking tradition that David works in. They are not direct reproductions of David's copyrighted recipes, but traditional dishes inspired by the same culinary heritage.
First trip to Bangkok; begins lifelong study of Thai cuisine with palace and home cooks.
Opens Darley Street Thai in Sydney β the restaurant that establishes his reputation in Australia.
Opens Nahm at The Halkin hotel in London β first Thai restaurant to win a Michelin star (2002).
Publishes 'Thai Food,' a 700-page reference work widely regarded as the definitive English-language treatment of the cuisine.
Relocates Nahm to the Metropolitan Hotel in Bangkok; publishes 'Thai Street Food.'
Nahm Bangkok named Asia's Best Restaurant by Asia's 50 Best.
Departs Nahm; subsequently opens Aaharn in Hong Kong.
Thompson spent years in Bangkok learning Thai cooking from palace cooks, market vendors and elderly home cooks across the country's regions. His 2002 book 'Thai Food' is widely regarded as the most authoritative English-language reference on Thai cuisine. His restaurant Nahm London was the first Thai restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star.
No β Thompson was born in Sydney, Australia. He learned Thai cuisine through immersion in Thailand starting in his twenties and is unusual among foreign chefs for the depth of his historical and regional research into the cuisine.
Royal Thai cuisine refers to the elaborate cooking traditions developed in the Thai royal palaces over centuries β particularly the use of fruit and vegetable carving, multi-step curry pastes, and refined finishing techniques that distinguish palace from village cooking. Thompson learned palace cooking from elderly retired palace cooks and made it a central thread of Nahm's menu.
Thompson departed from Nahm Bangkok in 2018, and the restaurant subsequently closed. He had cited frustration with restaurant hospitality at scale and wanted to focus on a smaller, more personal project β leading to the opening of Aaharn in Hong Kong's Tai Kwun complex shortly afterwards.
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