Wonderfruit, Asia's first lifestyle festival, is right around the corner. Setting itself apart from countless other festivals around the world, Wonderfruit offers music, art, architecture, spirituality, fashion, organic farming, performances, healing and, most importantly, a meeting point for like-minded people.
Soi Stage by artist Shrine On.
The festival also prioritises sustainability and responsible consumption as its key aims. Much work has been put in towards building a socially and environmentally responsible gathering.
Another area that should be highlighted is Wonderfruit's stellar efforts in offering a wide range of food experiences from gourmet, pop-up eateries and food trucks to street food vendors.
The main culinary stars are none other than Nahm's David Thompson and Appia's Paolo Vitaletti, two of the hottest chefs working in Bangkok. Thompson will be responsible for Friday dinner and Saturday lunch while Vitaletti takes over for Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch. All meals will be served picnic-style with plates on display. Each feast can only accommodate 200 foodies. Lunch costs 1,000 baht with dinner priced at 2,000 baht (including wine).
Paolo Vitaletti of Appia.
"Our main criteria for chef selection is that they must source locally and abide by farm-to-table practice as much as they possibly can, and I think both of them do so religiously," said Pranitan Phornprapa, Wonderfruit's founder.
"Thompson has extensive achievements in producing wonderful Thai food. His knowledge of Thai food is remarkable. Paolo, to me, is one of the most interesting and exciting chefs in Thailand."
Vitaletti's lunch menu leans towards rustic cuisine with Joe Sloane's artisan sausages, duck egg frittata, pizza, roasted chicken and pasta among some of the top picks. His dinner menu consists of a wide array of starters, main dishes and sweets. Thompson concentrates on Thai cuisine, with his main dish kanom jeen rice noodles with selections of hard-to-find accompanying dishes, from coconut turmeric curry with blue swimmer crab to bell pepper and prawn curry. His dinner menu pays homage to traditional home cooked Thai dishes, resurrecting long forgotten recipes.
"The menus work around our eco-farming principles. The chefs will use as much produce from our eco-farms as they can. We're also concerned about consumption of energy, so we're trying to use grilling techniques as much as possible," said Pranitan.
Pop-up eateries include famous gourmet destinations around Thailand. The list includes Kuppadeli, Ad Lib, Rocket Coffebar, The Never Ending Summer, Maggie Choo's, Sloane's, Surface, Indian by Nature, Full Moon, Maison Jean Philippe and Elysian Tea House.
Dave Pynt's Burnt Ends from Singapore will also offer his take on modern roast and grill. Burnt Ends was recently voted as one of the "10 Hottest Restaurants in the World" by Zagat.
David Thompson of Nahm.
There has been some concern about the price of food during the three-day festival, but Wonderfruit has also invited over 40 street food vendors to participate. The moderate price of 50 to 80 baht for this food sounds inviting, and all utensils used will be biodegradable.
As for waste management, Pranitan said there will be plenty of recycling bins around the festival. Artist Lolay Taweesak Sritongdee has built a large statue to be used as a compost section.
"This is so people can see how much rubbish we create, and that there is a way to handle that besides just throwing it away without thought," he said.
The fashion bazaar section is curated by fashion maven Chalisa Viravan. Vick's, a sister line of Vickteerut, is creating a "Happy Farmer" section especially for Wonderfruit.
Organisers have now confirmed some of the most exciting names in music will perform, such as Little Dragon, De La Soul, Woodkid, Chet Faker, Fat Freddy's Drop, Jose Gonzales, Hercules & Love Affair, Seth Troxler, Soul Clap, Jamie Jones, Pillow Talk, Nick Mulvey, The Gaslamp Killer, Francesca Lombardo, Ali Love, Nick Monaco, Onira, Son of Sun (Live), Tyson Ballard, Kimball Collins, Damian Lazarus, Subb-an, Boris Rubin and Citizen.
Exciting home-grown acts will also be there, such as Hugo Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band, Gene Kasidit, Stylish Nonsense, My Life As Ali Thomas, PP Project, 25 Hours, Apartmentkhunpa, T-Bone and Yellow Fang.
Dave Pynt of Burnt Ends (Singapore).
Wonderfruit aims to bring everyone closer to nature.
Eco-farming on site. Products from eco-farms will be used at feasts.
Pranitan Phornprapa and Jay Plodpai checking out the bell tent on site.
