Last week, Bangkok Chefs Charity representatives, led by organisers Nuntiya and Patcharin Hem-ung-gull of Gourmet One Food Service (Thailand), together with eight executive chefs from Bangkok's five-star hotels, travelled to Chiang Rai province to cook up a lunch for 1,000 students affected by the May 5, 2014 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.
Chefs from Bangkok's five-star hotels cook up a meal for 1,000 children affected by last year's earthquake at Chern Tawan Farm in Chiang Rai.
The event was part of the 2014 Bangkok Chefs Charity Gala Dinner and Auction, an annual gastronomic event held to raise funds for underprivileged children at remote schools upcountry.
Hosted at Venerable Phra Maha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi's Rai Chern Tawan Meditation Centre in Muang District, the mission that took place on Jan 14 excited diners with a live cooking demonstration of pasta with meatballs in tomato sauce by eight five-star chefs.
Representing the Bangkok Chefs Charity's culinary team were Stefan Trepp of the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Mark Hagenbach of Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, Jose Martin Ruiz Borja of the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, Thibault Chiumenti of the Plaza Athenee Bangkok, Martin Fischl of Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, Pierre Andres Hauss of Grand Millenium Sukhumvit, Petr Feher of Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok and Andrew Brown from Chatrium Hotel Bangkok.
Other than the heartfelt gathering of the international chefs, the notably large portions of cooking was also an attraction.
Cooking over six gas stoves and on a colossal stainless steel pan measuring 4m in diameter — exclusively made for this occasion — was 300kg of elbow-shape macaroni, 100kg of pork balls and 200kg of tomato sauce.
Venerable Phra Maha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi with representatives from the Bangkok Chefs Charity and local schools.
The 600kg dish broke national records as the largest pasta dish ever prepared in Thailand.
The simple yet scrumptious meal was enjoyed by students from several schools in various districts. And apart from the lunch, the Bangkok Chefs Charity team also handed over 1,000 backpacks and stationery, as well as UHT milk and snacks.
Amid the breezy atmosphere of Northern rice fields, the lunch affair was followed by bai sri soo kwan, a traditional Thai welcoming ceremony, conducted by the Venerable Phra Maha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi for the visiting chefs.
The event was spiritually wrapped up with a ceremony of encouragement for the local water buffaloes — a farmers' ritual to show gratitude to the animal, the soil and the rice.
"Over the past few years, Chiang Rai has been hit by several earthquakes. But none were as destructive as the 6.3-magnitude tremor that shook the province seven months ago," said Patcharin Hem-ung-gull of Gourmet One.
"With several aftershocks, it was sad to see many buildings, including schools, temples and villages, destroyed and thousands of children in despair. So we thought we should do something to help ease their agony and restore optimism.
"And we couldn't do this without the support from the Venerable, as well as the chefs, who travelled all the way to the North to help cooking."
The Bangkok Chefs Charity project was launched in 2009 to help raise money to improve the quality of education and well-being of underprivileged schoolchildren in remote areas of Thailand.
The 2014 charity gala, which was held in July, raised 14.5 million baht from auctions and ticket sales. Twelve million baht was donated to the HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's Border Patrol Police Schools Foundation, while the rest benefitted needy schools across the country.
Provincial kids enjoy taking pictures with international chefs.
