Meet the Tongdam Team at Dulverton:
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TINO – Manager / Co Founder : Was born in a small village named Taitoong, near
the famous Chatree Gold Mine, half way between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, in the Pichit Province.
He entered the restaurant business back in Bangkok, quickly rising to the position of Manager at the Thai-Chin Restaurant, a beautiful Colonial building off Sathorn Road,
now owned by the Blue Elephant Restaurant chain and well worth a visit should you find yourself in Bangkok. He then moved to the equally beautiful Supattra River House Restaurant, built around the owner’s old family home and sharing space with their family museum and classical Thai Arts Centre. Resting on the bank of Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, it overlooks the spectacular Royal Grand Palace.
Tino was headhunted by a Bangkok based restaurant chain that had purchased a restaurant opposite London’s Harrods Department Store in Knightsbridge.
This gave him the opportunity he had been looking for and he packed his bags and headed for our famous British climate ! This move was short lived, but with his Thai contacts, joined the Management Team of the, now sadly closed, Sugar Hut Restaurant in Fulham, where he built a solid reputation. This stylish restaurant, which is the dining room pictured with Tino and friend at the bottom of our stairs, had a superb ambience.
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ROBERT – Co Founder : Born in Guildford, Surrey, but spent the last six years of childhood in Cornwall, schooling in Launceston and living in a small hamlet between Callington and Launceston, with the producer of Rick Stein’s favourite Cornish Clotted Cream, Barbara Lake as a neighbour, and when passing, still drops in to buy that irresistible product and which sometimes is available in the Dessert Menu !
His work history was not within the catering industry but it had been his passion to open a restaurant for over 20 years. He has lived and travelled within the Far East, living in both Singapore and Hong Kong. He has toured Malaysia, China, Philippines, Japan, Macau and of course Thailand. Whilst living in Hong Kong during the mid 80’s, he flew to Singapore and met with Bruno Vallette a good friend and superb French Chef and mused over the idea of opening an East-meets-West style of restaurant. The seed of an idea grew from that moment and 20 years on, became the seeds that have since flowered into the form of Tongdam Thai Restaurant, Dulverton. Incidentally, for many years, Bruno has worked closely with Master Chef Albert Roux, founder of the famous Le Gavroche in London, travelling the world and occasionally drops in at Tongdam to see how the Restaurant is progressing !
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JOH –Head Waiter : Born in Amnat Charoen in North East Thailand, he worked with Tino in Bangkok at the Thai-Chin Restaurant and later as Head Waiter for the Bangkok Blue Elephant Restaurant. He was to us the obvious choice, when looking to fill the post of Head Waiter. He joined Tongdam in the Summer of 2006, having never travelled out of Thailand before ! Bangkok to Dulverton, what better way to introduce someone to the UK ! Joh has since married his Thai fiancée, who has now joined him in Somerset. |
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SAYON – Head Chef : Born in Kohn-Kaen, which is in the North East of Thailand, his ambition was to be a chef from an early age. He moved to Bangkok at the age of 16 to work towards his goal of becoming a chef and after years of working hard, accepted an overseas position in the UK in 2006, becoming Head Chef at the Kruathai Restaurant in Dartmouth. Tragically in 2010, fire from a main fuse box swept through the listed building and the restaurant was destroyed. Their loss was our gain and Tongdam found
a new Head Chef !
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LEK – Second Chef : Born in Bangkok, Lek studied in Trat before joining the luxurious 5 Star Bangkok Shangri-La Hotel in Silom, where she spent eight years, rising to the position of Demi Chef. She then joined the Le Meridien President Hotel on the Surawong Road, staying there for 5 years before leaving as Chef de Partie to continue her carrier in the UK, where she joined us in 2009. Bringing with her a wealth of new ideas in both modern and traditional Thai cuisine, Tongdam has incorporated many of her dishes into its already extensive menu. |
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AOR – Assistant Chef : Born in Ubonratchani in North East Thailand, Aor studied Communication Design at Bangkok University, leaving with a Bachelor Degree and joining the Le Meridien President Hotel in Bangkok where she spent the next five years working within her qualified field of learning. It was during her time at the Meridien that she started gaining an interest in the hotel’s quality cuisine, where after five years decided to follow her new found passion and underwent a complete career change and took a cookery course at the Bangkok Oriental Hotel. We met Aor in the UK and became so impressed with her passion for creative and innovative food, that we asked her to join us. She has now been with us since 2009 and constantly amazes us with her ideas. |
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We also have a great supporting team who live within our community in the Dulverton area and whose faces are, I am sure, well known to many of you. |
