TravTalk India Online Magazine
New Delhi: Housed in a modern glass and steel structure, Oxygen Dining Room at Cross Chiang Mai Riverside is flanked on one side by several towering 120-year-old tamarind trees and by the Ping river on the other. The award-winning restaurant provides an elegant escape for discerning diners who crave Thai fusion cuisine with a twist of French technic style. Here we catch up with Executive Chef Wathit “Khem” Rungrojwattana to find out more about his cooking philosophy, inspirations and thoughts on experimental dining experiences.
Chef Khem’s first understanding of how a kitchen works goes back to his childhood when, as an 8-year-old, he would assist his father in the family’s small Chinese restaurant in Nakhon Ratchasima. “You could say I didn’t decide to be a chef because I was actually raised as one. I basically grew up in the kitchen helping my father. While other kids had text books in their backpacks, a hot wok, knives and a cutting board were my school supplies. I am grateful for my upbringing as I love what I am doing and I am what I am today thanks to my first teacher – my dad.”
Having navigated his way through school and university, finishing with a Bachelor’s Degree of Management from Rajabhat University, Chef Khem trained at the One-Michelin Star Het Gabar Restaurant, Antwerp, Belgium with one of his inspirations, Chef Roger Van Damme. He then went on to increasingly challenging roles as Commis Chef and Demi Chef at Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai, then as Sous Chef at Anantara Chiang Mai followed by Sous Chef at U Nimman Chiangmai before taking over the kitchen at Cross Hotels & Resorts’ Cross Chiang Mai Riverside.
“For me, passion and skill in equal measure are key. My work philosophy is that I always want to improve. I enjoy learning new things, gaining new skills and becoming proficient in tasks or studies that I already understand. I’ve realised that I work best in a group setting because I can learn from my co-workers and other chefs. For me, a cooking philosophy, or food philosophy, is a set of guiding principles that influence your approach to making food. A cooking philosophy shapes your food choices, such as preferring real foods over those jam-packed with preservatives.
“That is one of the reasons why I’m attuned to the concepts of Farm to Table and Head to Tail dining. Local people produce local products and that’s why I enjoy visiting local markets to see what are the seasonal foods during different times of the year. We try our best to use ingredients that come directly from neighbourhood markets or local farms. Also, zero waste is at the core of our culture. Leftover vegetables can be recreated as a stock or leftover bread for breadcrumbs,” says Chef Khem.
Driven by changing culinary aspects to dining, chefs and restaurants are constantly reinventing or deconstructing not only mouthwatering dishes but also dining experiences in general. We’ve seen flying dining tables, dining in the dark, le petit chef and pop-up dining initiatives among others, but one trend that stands out for Chef Khem is the Chef’s Table Experimental Dining.
“Dining experiences that go beyond just the food is one area that continues to grow. Nowadays, customers are looking for more than just a meal; they want a unique and memorable dining experience that they can’t get at home. On the other hand, we expect to see a rise in demand for healthier beverages with functional ingredients like ashwagandha, hibiscus and matcha. However, classic, simple flavours like cheddar cheese and caramel will continue to reign supreme in nostalgic favourites like cookies and salty snacks.
“I would like to invite diners to come and enjoy my signature sweet corn soup with scallops. This fresh corn soup with seared scallops is so sweet and tasty. Again, we only use fresh ingredients from local vendors. The sweet corn is sourced from the Royal Project while the scallops are from an organic farming group. This menu item was selected for Thailand’s Michelin Guide 2022. I would be proud to present this dish at your table at Oxygen Dining Room at Cross Chiang Mai Riverside.”
