With fresh herbs from his garden and ingredients from the royal project, executive chef Dominique Bugnand offers a veritable feast in Chiang Mai

Much has been written about the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai. The unique Lanna design, the spaciousness of the hotel stretching over nearly 60 acres - these subjects and more were covered extensively when the hotel opened nearly two years ago.

Dhara Dhevi, however, continues to transform itself. New facilities are being opened constantly, and functions are launched, such as the recent Wedding Festival, which featured suggestions for both Western and Chinese ceremonies (as well as displays of lots and lots of diamonds).

Also on board for the past seven months is executive chef Dominique Bugnand, whose culinary skills span all ranges from Asian to European cuisine (and a lot in between). For absolute freshness, Bugnand has found a bit of space on the spacious Dhara Dhevi property for his very own vegetable garden, where he grows fresh herbs, such as lemon thyme, lemon balm, parsley, sage, rosemary, spearmint, mint, cucumber and tomatoes.

He doesn't have to grow everything, though. Of the raw materials used in the hotel restaurants, only 1 per cent is imported.

"The other 99 per cent come from the royal project," he says, pointing to the crayfish that's marked for the hotel's French restaurant Farang Ses, trout for the Mediterranean restaurant Akaligo, and vegetables and fruits that will be shared by all the restaurants. Just recently, he himself was "pulled into" the royal project, when HSH Prince Bhisatej Rajani, the Royal Project Foundation president, invited him up to Angkhang to present a gala dinner for around 100 guests.

Chef Bugnand was up to the challenge. Angkhang, nearly four hours away by truck, has a restaurant of sorts, with a basic kitchen and not much else. Since he wanted to show the guests that the project produces products that are fine enough for haute cuisine, Bugnand along with his sous chef Prapat Keawwannee and pastry chef Fabrice Leblus, thought up a menu that would out do any fancy wine dinner in Bangkok.

Think terrine of marinated trout from the royal project with artichokes, herbed chantilly and mixed lettuce leaves from Angkhang gardens; velvet crayfish cappuccino with star anise foam; and roasted pheasant ballotine with red cabbage and Macadamia potato dumplings with a juniper berry sauce.

Back in Chiang Mai, Bugnand has been busy as well. At Akaligo, the Sunday lunch buffet was recently "updated" to a jazz brunch buffet with Western, Thai, Chinese and Japanese dishes, plus imported cheeses. Try the Caesar salad with its lovely dressing and all the anchovies you can eat. The tariff is Bt880.

If you don't want to go overboard indulging yourself, the restaurant offers some delightful pasta dishes a la carte, such as grilled organic vegetable lasagne with a pomodoro sauce (Bt310) and potato gnocchi with lobster Bolognaise (Bt450). And prices are reasonable - appetisers go for between Bt260 and Bt450; soups for Bt210 to Bt310; main courses, Bt480 to Bt980; pasta from Bt320 to Bt480; and desserts Bt240 to Bt290. Akaligo is changing its evening a la carte menu some time this month.

Plus, Bugnand is planning an unforgettable brunch for today, which is Easter Sunday.

The feast is set to include smoked salmon and poached quail egg jelly with vodka cream; asparagus with poached quail eggs with a white truffle mousseline; pan-seared salmon with champagne tarragon sauce to name a few, along with all you can eat sushi and dim sum.

The spread is priced at Bt1,500 per person. Judging from just this banquet, it's clear that chef Bugnand is looking for people seeking opportunities for some serious eating.

Laurie Rosenthal

The Nation