About

I have been traveling to Thailand since 2003. Years later my brain bore questions I could no longer find answers to in my volumes of English language Thai cookbooks and familiar online resources. In 2014 I consequently planned a six week trip to Bangkok to take an intensive crash Thai language course with Nim, a teacher I found on the internet (who would turn into a long term friend and teacher). In that brief time Nim managed to strong-arm the nuts and bolts of Thai into my gray matter, to the extent that I could read and write the script even if I didn’t know what the words meant. This gave me the foundation to continue learning back in the UK, and to be able to read the many Thai language cookbooks I had already acquired.

Aside from cooking and studying Thai cuisine, I am also a graphic designer (though I do progressively less and less work in this domain). I love developing recipes. I have been blogging at messyvegancook.com for many years (the blog, under another name, began in 2006). You can find some of my Thai recipes and travel notes over there.

I’m also a keen reader and read widely. I love wine, art, and cats. Making food is my favourite creative outlet. Practising a kind of politics of uselessness (engaging in randomness devoid of implicit meaning and consumerism) brings me joy.

The supper clubs

I moved from suburbia to London in 2017 and in 2018 decided to open my home to guests interested in exploring vegan Thai cuisine beyond the usual options repeated across nearly every Thai restaurant menu outside of the kingdom. I wanted to introduce people to Thai food that wasn’t based on central and royal cuisine (as most menus outside of Thailand do) and to show how Thai dining etiquette informs different styles of eating.

Since that first visit to the country in 2003 I have devoted countless hours to studying the food of Thailand. I love to share my experiences with others and to show that Thai cuisine is not limited to tom yum or pad thai. Another goal is to mythbust misconceptions such as Thai food isn’t vegan friendly and all Thai food is spicy.

My most popular events are the gap khao and noodle supper clubs, which I host regularly. I also run Southern and Northern Thai supper clubs from time to time. I always have more ideas in the works, so stay tuned.