ANDY OLIVER

Andy Oliver, chef owner of restaurant,  Som Saa. On the slim chance you didn’t know already, Som Saa is one of the most authentic and celebrated Thai restaurants in the country. While the fragrance, flavours and inspiration are as “Northern Thai” as you’ll find outside of the country of origin, the veg is as local as it comes, making for a phenomenal marriage.

“Thailand's most famous or well known dishes are quite city centric. They all originate from one city or another and get westernised and that’s all Thai food is to a lot of people. But when you really know Thailand, leave the city and explore the different regions in the countryside and surrounding the cities to see just how diverse the cuisine is and how little is known about it.

“Northern Thai is so different from Southern… you don’t see it outside of that area much. It's more full on, punchy and spicier than the dishes we are familiar with in the west. Some things you have to develop a taste for, like their fermented sauces, the heat and some textures… It puts a lot of pressure on the servers to explain what the dishes are and advise how to order, because, chances are, the guests may not have had anything like it before. More people are of course travelling there today, so there is a following of people like that, that are able to experience what they had in Thailand”

Andy, originally from North Devon, grew up a lover of food, but didn’t know it would become his life. And a “pad pak fai daeng” is a far cry from a Cornish pasty…

Following University where his culinary swagger developed, he was working a graduate job in London, which he hated. He knew he wanted to work in food in some form or another… So he decided to dip his toe in the water by reaching the finals of the 2009 Masterchef challenge… NBD…

Following this success, Andy trained under David Thompson, the "Pad-Father" of Thai Cooking in the UK and around the world, at Restaurant Naam. He spent six months in Bangkok kitchens and travelled extensively to hone his knowledge, which he then brought back to the UK in the form of pop-ups in 2014 and ultimately, Som Saa on commercial street in 2016.

“The long term ambition is to develop the team, recipes and techniques and continue to learn… It would be great to produce a cook book one day… “

“Shrub is a great service. For people that know little about farming or farmers, it would be hard for us to source this kind of produce and have those kind of connections”.

We asked him what advice he had for a fledgling new chef… “Work your way up step by step. Develop your understanding and find your style. Take your time. It’s easy to get distracted about what other people want. Don’t  do that, cook what you think you should be cooking. It's far more sustainable and enjoyable to develop your own ideas. Part of that journey is doing what excites you but also learning from and asking for help and advice from people that are a few years ahead of you and DO have transferable experience…”

If you’re seeking to stretch the boundaries of your palate or your culinary skills, we highly recommend speaking to Andy Oliver… ขอให้โชคดี