Twins Thomas and Mathias Suhring are the chefs at Mezzaluna, an innovative European-menu restaurant at the Lebua hotel, which was recently included in website Glam Media's Foodie Top 100 Restaurants list. Before arriving in Bangkok, the two chefs sharpened their cooking skills and gathered experience in various Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Europe.
"It doesn't matter if we're chefs or whatever else we may have become, once we decide to do something we want to do the best we can. We always want to work at the best places so we have been pushing ourselves very hard and that's why we're here."
They have shared their passion for cooking since they were young. Their parents guided them towards cooking school when they couldn't decide what to do after graduating from high school. "Our parents were right, we really enjoyed it," said the twins.
Thomas and Mathias have been working at Mezzaluna for five years and still find it exciting and challenging working in Thailand.
"We have opportunities to visit markets, to eat Thai food and to understand the cultures and traditions of food in Asia."
"It's challenging to use the great local ingredients here and apply the skills we've learned and accumulated from Europe.
"As for foreign chefs, it's such a good thing to be a part of developing the country, helping the community by supporting products from Thai farms, especially from Thailand's royal projects."
They do, however, import some produce that isn't available here, including meat products.
Great flavours and good nutrition are considered to be the most important things for the twin chefs, and they believe that selecting the right ingredients and cooking them well are the key points.
"We try to use different techniques that provide the best result for each dish."
Apart from simple cooking techniques, they also try to use traditional methods, as they believe that such techniques are the best way to preserve the nutrition.
And the menu at Mezzaluna is constantly changing: "There are different seasons, with different products in each. Nature is the inspiration for our menu."
As for what they enjoy about cooking, they say it's making people happy. "Sometimes customers come in and are in a bad mood, but after finishing their meal, smiles appear on their faces. That's just awesome."
They add that compliments from customers also mean a lot to them, especially from elderly people who must have a lot of experiences eating food in many places.
Even though the twins have been cooking for many years, they are still learning.
"We read many cook books, surf the internet, go to different countries joining in cooking demonstrations, talk to other chefs and we also learn by observing.
"We want to make today better than yesterday, so it's like we never really reach the peak but we try very hard to approach it. That's why we need to learn every day."
Here the twins share with us some of their favourite recipes.
CHIANG MAI RAINBOW TROUT COOKED ON CEDAR
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
First, rinse a cedar wood plank to remove any dust. Fill a sink or other large container with water and submerge the plank in the water, placing a weight on top of it. Soak the plank for about an hour.
Carefully filet the trout and remove the skin as well as any remaining small bones. Cut the fish into serving-size portions and season with a good sea salt. Let the trout quick cure for about 10 minutes before you start cooking.
For the broccoli emulsion, mix all the ingredients except the grapeseed oil in a food processor until you have a kind of broccoli herb puree. Keep the mixer running and slowly add the grapeseed oil until it becomes a kind of emulsion.
Place the cedar plank on a gentle heated charcoal grill rack. Allow the cedar to preheat for about five minutes, or until it begins to crackle and smoke.
Lay the trout onto the plank. Cover the grill and cook the fish for five to seven minutes. The fish roasts slowly and bastes in its own juices creating a subtle, smokey flavour.
The finger-size purple sweet potatoes are cooked in the ash from the charcoal. After cooking, clean the potatoes with a brush and then remove the skin. Cut the potato diagonally and keep warm.
Now, plate up the broccoli emulsion and the sour cream. Sprinkle the dried rye bread cubes and the chopped chives over and place the pickled pearl onions beside them.
Seasoning the warm trout and the sweet potato with sea salt and arrange it on the plate. Finish the plating with the trout roe and lemon oil.
RED MULLET
METHOD
Filet the fish and remove any remaining small bones, but leave the scales on. Cut the fish into serving-size portions and season with sea salt. Let the red mullet quick cure for about 10 minutes before cooking.
For the sauce, blanch the green beans in salted water, then put in a juicer. Season the juice with a puree of oven-roasted garlic, extra virgin olive oil, half the savory, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Now braise the peas and diced yellow onion in butter. Cook the peas slowly for about 15 minutes, topping up with chicken stock, until they are very soft. Then blend to a fine puree in a food processor. Season with nutmeg and sea salt. Fry the soya beans, purple beans and shimeji mushrooms with butter and the rest of the savoury.
To cook the fish, heat the grapeseed oil to 180C. Place the fish on a rack with the skin on top and baste the fish with the hot oil until the scales become crisp and the fish is cooked.
Now dress the pea puree, the beans and the shemeiji mushrooms on a plate. Place the fish beside the puree and pour the green been sauce on the plate. Finish the dish with an assortment of local seasonal herbs, such as mint, pea sprouts and chervil.
SEARED LAMB
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
For the lamb jus, pre-heat the oven to 180C, place the bones on a roasting tray and roast until they are golden brown.
In a stockpot gently fry the onions, celery, carrots and garlic until lightly browned. Add the roasted lamb bones and pour in the red wine. Stir continuously until most of the liquid has reduced, then pour the Madaira over the bones and repeat the process.
Add the tomato paste and stir everything until the bones and the vegetables are covered with it. Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary, fill with water and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and gently simmer for four to five hours, continue to skim off any scum or fat that rises to the surface.
Remove stock pot from the heat, pass through a fine sieve into a suitably sized saucepan (discard the solids, reserve the liquid), skim off any fat and over a moderate heat, slowly reduce the stock. Once the stock has reduced to the consistency of a sauce, pass the jus through a cheesecloth, reserve and keep warm.
Peel the black garlic cloves and put in a food processor together with 20ml of lamb jus and 10ml roasted rape seed oil and blend to a fine emulsion.
Filet the saddle of lamb and cut across the fat side of the loin. Season both sides of the meat.
Now preheat an iron pan and place the lamb into it, so that the fat side is in contact with the surface of the pan. Do not use any additional oil.
Slowly sear until the skin gets a nice golden brown colour. Move the pan with the lamb to an oven preheated to 160C and cook for a further four to five minutes, then let it rest for a further two minutes before cutting.
Wash the aubergine and cook on a gentle heat on a charcoal grill. When cooked, remove the skin and reserve half. Use the other half to prepare a chutney by chopping the aubergine and seasoning with sweet chilli paste, roasted rapeseed oil and sea salt.
Dress the black garlic, lamb jus and roasted rapeseed oil emulsion on a plate and arrange the two types of prepared aubergine beside it. Arrange the braised lamb neck next to the emulsion and the seared saddle next to the chutney. Pour the lamb jus over the neck.
