While working at the Michelin starred Nahm, in London, Dylan Jones fell in love with both Thai food and a Thai woman.
Over the last decade, much of it learning the nuances and intricate subtleties of Thai ingredients and cooking techniques from famed chef David Thompson, Dylan has immersed himself in Thai culture and cuisine. There he met and fell in love with a fellow chef, Duangporn Songvisava, also known as Bo. After their time at Nahm they decided to move back to Bo’s native Bangkok to open up Bo.lan, a restaurant celebrating Thailand’s diversity- through its cuisine and agricultural biodiversity (both wild and cultivated seasonal produce).
Bo and Dylan work as a team in the kitchen, particularly collaborating on their seasonal or festival menus. Dylan tends to run the day-to-day kitchen operations but it is Bo who has the final say, especially in the taste of a dish. During the last five years they have been instrumental in setting up a Bangkok Slow Food Chapter and starting to work with farmers and foragers to teach their customers about the bounty of Thai produce and cuisine. Their hard work has paid off with Bo recently being awarded Asia’s Best Female Chef for 2013 and Bo.lan being recognized as one of Asia’s Best 50 Restaurants (#36).
Good Food Revolution recently caught up with Dylan Jones before dinner service at Bo.lan in Bangkok, Thailand, to shoot the video below.
Can’t see the video? Click here.
Cameron Stauch is a chef currently living in Hanoi, Vietnam. He is eating and cooking his way around Asia in search of cooks and producers who are focused on preserving and enriching their local culinary ingredients and traditions. Follow him @camcooks.
