Fond-hearted foodie

Fond-hearted foodie

FACTBOX

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

A young exec overseeing the diverse portfolio of her family business, Tipchaya Phongsathorn, assistant to CEO of the Premier Group of Companies, matches social entrepreneurship with her passion for philanthropy by running Food 4 Good (fb.com/food4goodth). The charitable dining programme donates B10 from every Food 4 Good-special menu served at seven participating restaurants to help end malnutrition in underprivileged children through the Sahathai Foundation, the Foundation for Children with Disability and the Baan Nokkamin Foundation.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SET UP FOOD 4 GOOD?

Since the company was already running a restaurant - 99 Rest Backyard Cafe [99 Rama IX Soi 41, 02-300-4339. Open Tue-Sun 11am-11pm] — we were coming up with a charity project every year. As a food business operator, we want to share our culinary expertise with those who are in need. Last year, we helped The Rainbow Room, a centre for children with special needs, in creating gluten-free and casein-free menus for children with autism. Our team of chefs created 10 healthy-yet-delicious recipes and hosted a cooking class where we brought together parents, cooking experts and food suppliers. It received great feedback and we felt happy to help improve the quality of life of the children through food. This project is ongoing. This year, instead of having a one-off fundraiser we decided to look for a continued programme. An alliance of restaurateurs would have a better impact. So we came up with the idea of having a number of restaurants join together to tackle the problem of unbalanced nutrition among underprivileged children through our businesses.

DO YOU AIM TO RUN THIS CAMPAIGN "FOR GOOD"?

Now with seven participating members [99 Rest Backyard Cafe, beOrganic by Lemon Farm, Greyhound Cafe, R&B Karaoke, S&P, Surface and Up & Above], I would like it to be a continuing project and one day a foundation. Surprisingly, it turned out that everyone was more than eager to join and they all thanked us for starting this. I hope we will expand with more members so more people can be involved in sharing with society. I also hope Food 4 Good will become the epitome of a good cause for our programme partners. It's a four-party win-win scheme for the clientele, restaurateurs, staff, and the children since everyone can get socially involved with this campaign in one way or the other.

APART FROM DONATING MONEY TO THE SELECTED FOUNDATION, ARE YOU ALSO SHARING RECIPES WITH THEM?

This will happen in the second phase. We're planning to visit the foundations. It may be difficult for them to prepare specific recipes because of their limited resources. Food experts from our alliance may however share tips and techniques on how to prepare healthy meals, organic farming and optimising nutrition through diet.

ARE YOU A FOODIE?

I love eating, trying something new. I love Southern and Northern Thai cuisine in particular.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE EATING PLACE?

There's no one top place. But I would say, Seri Market at Paradise Park is my number one spot for speciality food.

I go there every day. It's very diverse and lively. I like going to shops whose owners sell their stuff themselves. Apart from artisanal food, I like chit-chatting with the vendors. I'm a local market person. Such markets are full of friendship, personal touches and charm. Everything has a story. G


Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT