Pastry chef Arisara "Papier" Chongphanitkul was crowned Bangkok's Best Pastry Chef 2018 by BK Top Tables earlier this year and it is not an accolade that is easy to come by. Known for modernising Thai desserts, chef Papier trained at the Gastronomicom pastry school in France. Her desserts are often inspired by her working stints alongside pastry greats such as Sadaharu Aoki and Hugues Pouget in Paris, as well as Laurent Gerbaud in Brussels, but always with a Thai twist. In January this year, Chef Papier became the first Thai woman to compete in the international Ladies World Pastry Championship in Rimini, Italy. As group pastry chef for the Issaya group, she lends her creations to Saawaan, Issaya La Patisserie (for which she launched a cookbook last year), Issaya Siamese Club, Baan Phadthai and Le Cochon Blanc. And, for the jet setters, chef Papier also caters the desserts on Thai Smiles. Embarking on a new path in her culinary journey, chef Papier will soon launch her own patisserie, "Ici", where her love for everything praline and other sweets will shine through.
Photos: Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
Tell us about your latest venture, the patisserie called 'Ici'.
The independent dessert café will open towards the end of the year on Sukhumvit 31, in a house with a garden. The concept of Ici is playful and will focus on desserts, my unique creations, coupled with afternoon tea sets and an à la carte menu of casual food. The desserts will include ice creams, macarons, individual pastries and interactive desserts, where the chefs will come to the tables to plate or add a few finishing touches.
I decided it was time to open my own place because I wanted to do something fun. These days all that pastry shops sell are cakes and though they taste good, I am bored of that. I want to go out and have fun with my friends and family over sweet treats.
There will be nine to 10 flavours of house-made ice creams, nine flavours of macarons, six individual cakes and around five to six plated desserts. Our afternoon tea will be special and will be plated on a tray, like a picnic -- not the usual cake stand. This tea will also be seasonal, so the Christmas season will have its own special tea set.
We are toying with the idea of a dessert tasting menu in the future, if we are open at night. To begin, we will only be open during the day, perhaps until 6-7pm.
How does this differ from what you do at Issaya?
It is a completely different concept. This time, the desserts won't be completely Thai flavoured and the desserts will be wider in style. They will be more casual and the presentation will be fancier. I intend to use my desserts to bring out emotions in people. Some of the desserts, however, will have familiar Thai flavours that I am known for.
How do you describe your style of desserts?
Playful and bold. I like to use a lot of flavours in my desserts and a lot of textures. I like to give people many textures in one bite. I also like to create fun ways to present my creations. Most of them are inspired by my daily life, watching movies and talking to people, even tasting new ingredients. Once the idea forms in my mind, I start experimenting because creating desserts can be quite challenging. Sometimes they are a success and more often than not, they are a failure. Some desserts take months to perfect, though much depends on the particular desserts.
How do your yearly trips to France help your journey as a pastry chef?
As everyone knows, France is well-known for their desserts. I make these yearly trips, two-three times a year, to explore the fundamentals of dessert culture. When I am there I can taste and experience the real things. I often do mini internships at various patisseries to broaden my understanding on the hows and whys of a patisserie, even down to the workflow of these cafés. My first internship was in a pastry kitchen of a hotel in Vienne near Lyon. Working in a hotel kitchen is completely different compared to a restaurant. In a hotel, you do the same thing every day, whereas in a restaurant you are allowed a certain amount of freedom to express yourself in a dessert. I much prefer working in a restaurant.
Why did you decide to blend Thai and Western desserts?
I learnt how to make pastries in France, so I decided to combine my training and my love for Thai desserts in my creations. This is exactly what I want to do. I believe that Thai desserts shouldn't be available only on the streets. They deserve to be given a place at the fine dining table because they can be upscale and they can be reinvented. I have a mini tart with Thai fruit around it, which is my dessert version of a Thai floating market. I want to spread the word about Thai desserts -- to make them more accessible to discerning foreign palates.
Which is the one competition that you want to enter but haven't yet?
The Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, but I have put that on hold while I concentrate on other things like Ici.
