My Magic Ingredient

By RAYMOND BLANC

THE Buddhists say you should not have to travel far to achieve a sense of serenity, but I find getting on a longhaul flight and heading to Thailand definitely helps.

I know I have finally left my own crazy kitchen behind when all I can hear is the gentle splash of the ocean lapping the pale sand outside my hotel window and perhaps the distant sizzle of a wok.

It if sounds like pure indulgence, it MY MAGI

It if sounds like pure indulgence, it is. As far as I am concerned, Thailand, particularly the Chiva- Som spa in the royal city of Hua Hin, is as close to heaven on earth as a weary traveller can get. Forget the garish tales of lager louts patrolling the nightclubs of the Patpong red light district, Hua Hin is Thailand at its picture-postcard best.

Framed by the sea on one side and the mountains on the other, it has long been a place of inspiration for those seeking peace, tranquillity and a chance to recharge the batteries. The Thai royals have been coming here for centuries and it is one of the main reasons that the area has been left unspoilt.

It is the realisation of a fantasy image I have had of Thailand ever since I was a boy growing up on a farm in rural France. I used to look at an old map of the world stuck on my classroom wall and plot my way around that corner of the globe.

I wondered about the sights and smells there, and even whether they had red cows it was one big and enchanting mystery. Of course, I didn’t get very far we barely had enough money for me to get to the next village but dreams were free and I had plenty.

Miraculously, I had a talent for cooking that has lifted me out of that simple existence and beyond my wildest fantasies. It’s taken me, along the way, to some of the most glorious places one could possibly wish to visit and allowed me to run my real dream, Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, near Oxford.

But it is Thailand, and most specifically its cuisine, that keeps drawing me overseas. I first went there more than 17 years ago, and as soon as I stepped off the plane at Bangkok airport, I felt as if I belonged.

Since then, I have been back more than 20 times. This certainly doesn’t make me an expert, but I do feel I wok.

have a sense of the place and what might appeal to others.

A direct flight to Bangkok from London takes about 11 hours, and by the time the plane touches down in the intense, damp heat of the capital, you are craving air-con, a cold drink and impeccable service.

For me, the answer is always the Oriental Hotel. It’s the perfect place to stay if you want to enjoy the capital for a couple of nights without being worn down by its signature hubbub. The ideal way to start any Thai experience is a long cocktail sipped on the hotel terrace overlooking the river, while the bell hop discreetly takes your bags.

In the last century, the hotel was famous for attracting celebrated writers such as Noel Coward, Joseph Conrad and Somerset Maugham. A section of the hotel the authors’ wing is dedicated to them. EVERY day, one of the best afternoon teas available anywhere is served. Even if you choose not to stay here, come for tea, or better still, the lobster grill served on the terrace.

Pure ingredients at their very best.

Frequent visitors bring their favourite clothes with them and, for a fraction of the cost, have them copied at one of the several Savile Row-trained tailors close to the hotel. Even if you decide to have something made on a whim, they will usually be able to produce a bespoke outfit in less than 24 hours, then deliver it to your hotel room, for less than the price of an MS suit.

Really clever types come with an empty suitcase and leave with a smug grin. I’ve been one of them.

Everyone should go to Bangkok’s markets at least once. Just don’t be put off by the sight of so much ‘walkin market ingredi From jetty, many b market to one places Thaila fabulou I also visiting and ant restaur several other o I find capital usually down Chiva-S This me by J of the B Hemps Jean s food af being. S the way holistic it is cer spa’s c practiti All th tastes purest and co delicac worthy Take achieve that is partly b used ar an irre there a I will be with Pa extract Thai break, says ng’ produce. These are organic ts in the raw and many of the ients are still alive.

m the Oriental’s own riverside it is possible to take one of boat rides to the floating food ts, and if you know who to ask, of the night markets. These are in evidence all over and and there are some us ones around Hua Hin.

o never leave the city without g one of the many bric-a-brac ntiques markets. My hotel and rant, Le Manoir, is home to l treasures picked up in one or of these. Simply haggle hard.

d that two nights in the l are enough. After that, I am y desperate to get my head on the treatment beds at Som’s spa.

place was recommended to Jean Munro, medical director Breakspear Hospital in Hemel stead, Hertfordshire.

specialises in discovering how affects our health and well- She knew I had an interest in ay cooking is used as part of a c treatment programme, and rtainly true that Paisarn, the chef, is one of the very best tioners of the craft.

he food served in the spa so clean. They use only the ingredients, sourced locally ooked to perfection with a cy of touch and presentation y of the Michelin guide.

it from me, this is not easy to e. And it is the kind of cuisine very hard to find in Europe, because the herbs and spices re so rare. For any foodie, it is esistible pull. I shall be back again in July for a week, when e co-hosting a cookery school aisarn and doing my best to t all his best secrets.

farmers work in incredibly ys chef RAYMOND tough conditions. Their land is often hundreds of feet up a mountainside, but they produce ingredients that are almost priceless to a food lover.

In fact, I now grow seven different types of lemongrass in the garden at Le Manoir, along with herbs that were so rare that they didn’t even have a name when I first tasted them. AND it works both ways. The King of Thailand has set up a scheme called the Royal Thai Project in which he has set aside several thousand acres of high altitude farmland to experiment with growing Western vegetables, such as peas, asparagus and artichokes.

It is incredible to see and a perfect example of the global village at its best.

Of course, some of this might sound as though I go to Thailand only to work, but believe me, once you reach Chiva-Som, it is impossible to do anything but unwind.

Three hours from Bangkok by car, and set in seven acres of lush tropical gardens that front the azure blue ocean, it is a balm for the eyes.

RAYMOND BLANC

TRAVEL FACTS DEPARTING July 1, 2007, ITC Classics (01244 355 527; itcclassics.co.uk) is offering seven nights at Chiva-Som, including flights and private roundtrip transfers, from 2,335 per person. Economy flights from Heathrow are with Etihad. The package includes accommodation in a room overlooking the ocean, three spa cuisine meals per night of your stay, daily massage (choice of Thai, Chiva- Som or Invigorating), cookery demonstration and dinner on July 6 (excluding beverages).

The same package inclusive of return Diamond zone (first-class) flights starts from 4,725 per person. Le Manoir (01844 278881; manoir.com) Every guest is given a complimentary massage each day. If you have never had a massage, or even if you have, theirs will change your life.

The masseurs have what the French like to call ‘the touch’. But be warned, it can become addictive.

Personally, I like to squeeze in as many treatments as I can, up to six a day. The Indian head massage is a must, while the reflexology borders on a mystical experience.

What’s more, the practice of iridology reading your health through the eyes’ pupils is unerringly accurate. It discovered something about me that had eluded Western doctors for years.

Of course, it is possible just to lounge around the pool, watch the waves ease in and out and read a book. At home I rarely have the time to read, but here I managed to absorb a biography of Mao Tse- tung.

I also caught up on several old films on my bedside plasma screen. I was on holiday, after all.

However, Hua Hin is also a great place to go walking. Khao Takiab, or Chopstick Hill, is a half-hour’s walk from the spa and is home to a huge statue of Buddha which clings to the cliffs. It never ceases to amaze me how much time and effort the Thais dedicate to their spiritual side.

About 40 miles west of the town is a stunning 15-tier waterfall where, if you go early in the morning, it is possible to see elephants taking a dip.

It was on one of these walks that I was struck by the complexity and beauty of the tiered lemongrass fields that rise up the mountainsides.

Their existence is almost gravity-defying.

I became obsessed with them. So much so, that I decided to recreate the look at Le Manoir. Inspired by my travels, I already had six ‘themed’ bedrooms in the hotel which all transport guests to other parts of the world. My new one, which I dubbed the Lemongrass Room, became something of a mission.

The room needed to be big, 60 metres in total, to emulate the staggered effect of the paddy fields.

As each tier goes up, it is bathed in the finest handmade silks, with the final level featuring the vast bed.

After almost a year, I have finally finished it. And I love it.

At a cost of 250,000 there are, perhaps, cheaper keepsakes. But at least now, whenever I feel the need to be back on that magical mountainside, I just have to open the door to Lemongrass. Always remembering to knock first, of course.

INGREDIENT

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