Women at work

Women in the culinary profession are few and far between. We feature two women chefs who cook up two diverse cuisines at Bangkok's Zense Gourmet Deck & Lounge.

Zense Gourmet Deck & Lounge, the first phase of the four levels of rooftop restaurants and bars atop Zen World in Bangkok, has a unique dining concept - it offers four cuisines from four top Bangkok restaurants: Thai by White Café; Italian by Gianni Ristorante; Japanese by The Kikusui; and Indian by Red. It has now introduced Contemporary European Cuisine.

Occupying a total area of 4,000 square metres, the restaurant seats 400 diners and has a standing capacity for another 300. Featuring a giant outdoor terrace overlooking downtown Bangkok, the restaurant is on the 17th floor of an entertainment mecca called Zen World.

Designed by one of Thailand's leading architects, Amata Lhupaiboon, the 130 million baht concept was developed by the Central Retail Corporation. The entire F&B project is called Destiny, inspired by the four elements of earth, water, air and fire. We present two of the chefs at Zense - Chef Nida Sudasna who heads Contemporary European cuisine at 'To Die For' and Chef Noo-Benya Nandakwang from 'White Café'.

Chef Nida Sudasna

Chef Nida Sudasna

Chef Nida is a commercial film director and editor who is also interested in cooking. She used to cook occasionally for her make-shift restaurant at her beach house aptly titled 'Once in a Blue Moon' that served Mediterranean food and wine - opening only whenever it was convenient for her and her clients. When her friend and fashion guru Bhanu Inkawat wanted to open a more serious restaurant, he invited her to be the executive chef for his 'To Die For' restaurant that serves contemporary European cuisine. Says the 55-year chef, "It is a place where people come to enjoy good food, great atmosphere, to see and be seen."

When asked what the most challenging part of her work is, she says, "Since my food philosophy is keep it fresh and modern with an original recipe, it is difficult to come up with new and creative ideas for our special menus every other month. I believe that only the best is good enough." She uses the freshest ingredients she can find and is even very particular about the salt she uses, which comes from a certain province. Her team has tasted and approved it because "God is in the details". Today, she balances her two loves - filming and cooking. "Luckily looking after the restaurant comes quite easily because I use the same philosophy with both jobs - just try harder and pay attention to details," Chef Nida says.

Speaking about culinary trends around the world, she adds that modern Indian food is coming on strong in the global culinary world. "In the end though, I think a trend is only what customers demand, which is more and more interesting and exciting food," she says, adding that although organic food is a great trend, she hopes that chefs don't cheat on the concept.

Chef Noo-Benya Nandakwang

Noo-Benya Nandakwang

A veteran in the food business with more than 20 years of experience, Chef Noo-Benya Nandakwang started right after her graduation from Thammasat University. She began her career as a proprietor-chef, and has owned various restaurants in the past - 'Blue's Bar', 'Red Bar' and 'White Café'. On the flip side, however, she has never got an opportunity to work with any other cook who wasn't her employee.

Born in 1964 to a family of artists, the creative bend is apparent in her. According to her, there are two important points in the business - one is the presentation and the other is catering to specific needs of clients. "Of course, they both have something to do with creative ideas. I'm a food stylist myself so about 90 per cent of everything is from me. After the briefing, I consider the best possible menu and presentation for each particular event," she says.

Her father was a professor of arts in Silpakorn University while her mother was the editor-owner and writer for a women's magazine. "Growing up with her has inspired my way of cooking," Chef Noo-Benya says.

Ask her what her food philosophy is and she says, "I like to feed the crowd like I am one of them. My favourite line is 'If you tell me who you are, I can cook for you.' I got into this line of business because I like food; I grew up in a family where everyone cooked and eating good food is our passion." Fortunately for her, balancing work with family life and children isn't too difficult since their main kitchen and offices are in the same compound.

For her, innovation doesn't mean more expenses. "Creativity is in your head; it is free. You just have to work harder. What is difficult to do is maintain freshness. We must design the restaurant menu to make sure that most items are used in more than one dish," she says. It is her policy to always go forward and be daring to create new recipes and techniques using different methods from both Eastern and Western cuisines.

Quick bites of Chef Nida

Favourite dish: Omelettes, Thai style Favourite restaurant: 'To Die For' of course. Most common mistakes chefs make: They don't pay attention to making simple dishes like pasta Your inspiration: Fresh seasonal ingredients and my dreams After-hours activity: Reading What do you enjoy cooking: I enjoy cooking simple food for my family at my beach house where seafood is plentiful

Quick bites of Chef Nandakwang

Motto: To always give your best shot Perfection to you is: A happy client Most challenging part of your job: It is not the cooking but understanding exactly what my client wants Favourite food: Hardboiled eggs. It is both beautiful and versatile. You can eat them with anything from caviar to sandwichs to chilli dips. It has a perfect oval shape, you can eat them hot or cold, it also travels well! Favourite restaurant: Ming Lee in Bangkok opposite the Grand Palace. It is a Chinese-Thai restaurant over 100 years old where my mother and her friends used to hang out Organic food: Is the best. It is actually going back to our roots, before science, before industrial food business A common mistake most chefs make: When you think you know better than your clients Your inspiration: I create/try a new dish when I'm bored After-hours activity: Drinking with friends

Note: This article was published in the 16-30 September 2009 issue of Express Hospitality - a hospitality trade publication. You can also read it here: http://www.expresshospitality.com/20090930/chef'splatter03.shtml