Trailblazing Thai Chef Will Cook at Award-Winning Soho Restaurant Next Month

Kiln, the Soho Thai grill named the UK’s best restaurant last year, will host Werawat ‘Chef Num’ Triyasenawat, one of Thailand’s most acclaimed chefs, for a one-off guest dinner on 25 March.

Chef Num opened Samuay & Sons, his trailblazing restaurant, in his hometown of Udon Thani in 2014, after training with Nahm’s David Thompson and at Bangkok’s Michelin-starred Bo.Lan. Described as “a progressive Esarn-Thai restaurant”, it’s dedicated to showcasing the hyper-local produce and culinary traditions of an often-misunderstood region. Eighty percent of the food served is grown on a neighbouring organic farm, with foraged produce making up a proportion of the rest.

Chef Num’s aim for the dinner, he says, is to “channel our culture to create dishes that marry the best of seasonal British produce with the spirit of Esarn people”. According to Kiln’s owner Ben Chapman, his cooking will “tell more accurately the story of his region’s food and native produce, without cliché”. A particularly prevalent cliché is the shorthanding of Esarn-Thai food as based on som tam, the well-known salad which, according to the trade routes that brought the papaya to Thailand, is unlikely to have originated in the Esarn region.

The menu is set to feature the likes of mum yang, a grilled bitter offal and blood sausage, and mok pla with jaew tub pla, herbal fish steamed in banana leaf and served with spicy fish-liver sauce. Wine pairings will focus on lesser-known producers and low-intervention wine.

Tickets for the dinner cost £55 per person – to book, email events@kilnsoho.com.