But ask Sydney gourmets about the city's top French restaurants and North's Becasse will likely be on the list.

North, 31, uses classic European techniques to cook the best New World ingredients he can find. He'll be at Cy'an in the Metropolitan Bangkok on June 30 and July 1 to serve a seven-course sampling of his most acclaimed dishes.

Among them: lobster tail carpaccio with osietra caviar and crème fraiche; fricassee of freshwater crayfish and calves sweetbreads with black truffles; and a ballottine of baby rabbit with "bread sauce" velouté, sweet corn and smoked bacon. Guests can order either squab with beetroot puree and Armagnac foie gras sauce or Wagyu beef with a sauté of pine mushrooms, white asparagus and oxtail.

North is a New Zealand native who dropped out of school at 15 to work as an apprentice chef in Wellington. After winning a slew of awards, he moved to Sydney where he honed his skills with some of Australia's leading chefs, including Liam Tomlin of Banc and Dietmar Sawyere of Forty One.

During the late 1990s, he worked three years for Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxford, Britain, becoming its youngest sous chef at age 22.

He escaped whenever possible for Paris and the kitchens of Pierre Gagnaire, Guy Savoy and other Michelin-starred chefs to push his creative edge.

North returned to Sydney in 1999 again to work with Tomlin at Banc. This time, he was the sous chef.

Then, in 2001, North opened Becasse with his wife, Georgia, to heaps of acclaim. He serves modern French cuisine made from local ingredients, pairing his dishes with wines from one of the largest cellars in Sydney.

North has just published his first cookbook, "Becasse: Inspirations and Flavours", and his dinners at Cy'an will focus on many of its dishes using his favourite ingredients including truffles, crayfish, goat's curd and Wagyu beef.

The dinner costs Bt2,800. For reservations, call (02) 625 3391 or e-mail fb.bkk@metropolitan.

como.bz.

Hal Lipper

The Nation