Bringing True Thai Flavors To India : An Exclusive Interview With Michelin Star Bo.lan’s Celebrated Chefs

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Bengaluru is ready to revel in some gastronomic delight this weekend when Michelin starred Bo.lan from Bangkok shall be at The Oberoi Bengaluru's Thai restaurant, Rim Naam for a special 3 day Pop up. This food event shall showcase the culinary finesse that the two talented founding chefs of Bo.lan will bring forth to the table.

We had a chance to chat with Chef (Mrs.) Duangporn 'Bo' Songvisava and Chef (Mr.) Dylan Jones, ahead of their first debut in Bengaluru, bringing the best of Bo.lan to India.

The Culinary Journey

Chef Bo grew up surrounded by amazing food as both of her parents were fantastic cooks. Her parents insisted she go to university where she pursued a few different courses but ended up with a Master's in Gastronomy, Food and Beverage Management. Soon after she started working as a cook in Bangkok. Through that job an opportunity took her to London and that's where she met Dylan.

The story of how Dylan landed in London is quite amusing. His love for travel landed him a cooking job in London where he initially thought of carrying on for 6 months before trying another cuisine somewhere else. However, he fell in love with Thai food with it's distinct flavours, new ingredients and techniques. After the duo met in London and discovered mutual interests apart from cooking thai food, they decided to shift to Bangkok where they opened Bo.lan.

The Birth Of 'Bo.lan' Bangkok

In 2008, Bo and Dylan landed in Bangkok and realised very quickly the dearth of stand-alone high end Thai restaurants. Thai eateries serving great food were everywhere, but the ambience and dining room were stripped back and super simple. The only option for luxury dining were the lavish dining rooms in hotels but the food was a bastardised version of Thai cuisine aimed at foreigners.

During their first few years they focussed more on sourcing of ingredients but they soon started to look at other elements of the restaurant and realised a more holistic approach to the business was important. "We don't run a zero waste restaurant that's impossible, what we try to do is run a zero waste to landfill restaurant and have several different upcycling programs to help us achieve this", says Bo.

Favourite Cuisine & Signature Dishes

Both Dylan and Bo love Thai food and can never get enough of the flavours, textures and techniques involved in the cooking. Indian cuisine comes a close second owing to vibrant flavours and diversity.

When asked about their signature dishes they both said, "We don't have a signature dish because our menu is constantly changing and evolving, We do try to really showcase how Thai's eat so our mains are all served together with rice. If you really had to pin us down to a type of dish that would be our signature we'd say either our curries as they are hand pounded and made using fresh organic coconut cream or the relishes which are a great example of Thai biodiversity and really represent Thai food better than any other dish"

Cooking In India

Though these talented chefs had once participated at a gourmet festival in Mumbai years ago, the pop up at The Oberoi Bangalore feels more formal as they are doing three dinners in a row and more in sync with their menu at Bo.lan.

The chefs love Indian food, especially the curries that are hotter and richer in gravy. The 'tandoor' fascinates them both with the flavour that it lends to anything cooked within. The 'dosa' is another one of their favourites and since they are in South India, they will get to sample the best varieties of this popular form of breakfast.

Food gourmands in Bengaluru can expect the quintessential Thai cuisine at Rim Naam from 14th March to 16th March 2025 at The Oberoi Bengaluru. Thai cuisine, served in a contemporary way with a focus on biodiversity. Rest assured, it's not going to be adulterated or changed to suit a different market but it will be welcoming and different from the majority of Thai food you get overseas.

The chefs hope to also incorporate as much produce from local farmers as possible into the meal. Doesn't that sound like a delightful meal?