Dining out with your family is special. But for Viput Wanglee, the weekend visits he makes to restaurants with his family are just the start of something bigger.

“My mother always asks for the recipes from the chefs and tries them out at home”, says the son of one of  Thailand’s major business families. “Although she can’t get the tastes exactly right, we always have lots of fun.”  
 Wanting to share the experience with others, Viput has asked 60 hi-society families for their favourite dishes from their most-loved restaurants for his just-launched cookbook “Chef@home”. The recipes have been donated by the chefs themselves.   
Sarah Malakul Lane, model and emcee, plumped for grilled lamb chop with shallots from La Gritta restaurant. Tinnakorn Assavarak of Kudo Ltd thinks that nothing can make our mouths water more than the fried chicken wings from Greyhound Cafe. Charuwadee Kootalad, owner of the Charuvej Kindergarten School, disagrees; his pick is the head of Salmon steamed with soy sauce served at Radisson Hotel’s Nishiki Japanese Restaurant. And columnist Ploy Chariyavej and her husband Tong Po Yok recommend the pork braised in ginger and sweet soy sauce from the kitchens of Liu at the Conrad.
Some of the families joined the recent book launch at Six Degrees on Silom Road. Sarah Malakul Lane, Mark Eiam-Amornpan even cooked their chosen dishes.  
“It’s a real family treat today,” said Sarah after trying her hand at making crispy shrimp salad with the help of her mother and elder brother.  
“It’s the first time I’ve cooked in public, but it’s made me feel more confident about my kitchen skills,” said Mark, who served up steamed rice-stuffed pineapple. 
Viput, the assistant managing director for sales and marketing at Chaitip Co Ltd, the company that supply rice to many of the restaurants featured in his book, pronounced himself well satisfied.   
The “Chef@home” cookbook is available now at Bt495. In honour of the occasion of the 60th anniversary of His accession to the throne, proceeds will be presented to His Majesty the King.