The Enlightening Escapes evening
Friday 6th February was our first Enlightening Escapes event – the Cuisine Escape, Thai Edition with MasterChef finalist, Sam Kaeokon – and it was a great success!
The event took place in No 4 Studios, Old Town, Swindon, where Sam cooked the meal in front of our eyes.
Everyone arrived well on time and after mingling for a while, took their seats for the amazing food that they were about to taste.
With most of the dishes, Sam explained what they were beforehand – explaining what the ingredients were. He also talked about how he started to cook, explaining that in Thailand it is a family activity and he spent a lot of time watching his grandma cook. Sam also prepared alternative versions for people with food allergies or intolerances.
The meal started with
Canapes
Chicken Tom Kha -balls of chicken , sitting on a creamy coconut sauce
Thai-style scallops – fresh and spicy
Starter
Moo Pin – classic Thai street food – sticky rice served on a leaf, alongside a Pork skewer garnished with a spicy sauce
Main
Beef steak Kao Soi – an aromatic northern bowl of comfort where strips of beef steak were accompanied by lime, bok choy and both soft and crispy noodles in a wonderfully creamy sauce.
Sweet
Thai Tea Panna Cotta
Sticky rice with coconut served on a banana leaf
In between courses while Sam and his partner, Dan prepared the food, people were able to ask questions about the dish that had just been served.
After the meal everyone had the opportunity to ask Sam questions about his time as a finalist on Master Chef. He explained that each of the contestants had to send in the recipes they were going to cook, beforehand.
During the time on the show, he made friends with several of the people from the programme and is still regularly in touch with them. He was proud to be representing Swindon in the competition. Sam also learned a lot from taking part in the show – particularly new tips about cooking.
Master Chef was actually filmed a whole year before scheduled, and only Sam’s partner, Dan and a very few close friends knew about him taking part, and they had to keep quiet about it. He said it was incredibly hard to keep it a secret.
When asked what his best memory was, he answered that apart from the actual cooking, it was the time off camera where the contestants had time to talk to each other, and when they had time to make genuine friendships.
Asked about his future plans: he told us that this was his first private dining, because he has a full-time job – he’s a NVQ assessor for care, which he loves, however, he hopes to do more pop up and private events.
You could tell by the buzz in the room, and the empty plates, that the event was a great success.
We are running a second Thai Cuisine Escape on October 16 this year.
You can follow Sam here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samkaeokon/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573564905057
If you’re interested in future Enlightening Escapes, then visit our website: https://enlighteningescapes.co.uk/
If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe