The first bite of Aulis Phuket’s early summer menu, Simon Logan’s new chef’s table, is a guava and pomelo tartlet stuffed with salted giant trevally sourced from local fishermen.
The fish loin is drizzled with coal oil to give it a smoky flavor, and the skin of calamansi grown in the restaurant’s garden adds a spiciness. It contains an emulsion of oysters sourced from the neighboring province of Surat Thani and refreshing pearls of pink finger limes from Chiang Rai.
Pomelo grains are piled high on the plate and tossed with lime juice and fish sauce made from horse mackerel fillets. A particularly sweet and juicy pomelo variety, Tubtim Siam, is designated as a geographical indication and is grown only in southern Thailand.
The concept of this dish is unmistakably European, but the soft, chalky tropical notes of guava and the bright sharpness of citrus bring a touch of Thai sunshine to the plate. Tartlets are not just for eating. It is also an ethos of applying traditional European cooking techniques to local, seasonal and organic ingredients. Aulis Phuket is located at Iniala Beach House in Phang Nga province in southern Thailand and uses high quality Thai ingredients sourced as close to the restaurant as possible.
farmer chef
Logan has spent the past 20 years honing his approach to cooking at Llanculum, a 13th-century blacksmith’s workshop in the village of Cartmel in England’s beautiful Lake District. The restaurant finally received three Michelin stars in 2022, having held two stars since 2013. Since opening L’Enclume in 2002 with a team of five, there have been two at the stove, two in the dining room, and one as kitchen porter. Currently run by Logan, the Lake District has four restaurants, one shop and approximately 200 staff. He also runs his chef’s table brand, Aulis, in London.
At the heart of these operations is Our Farm, a lush 5-hectare biodynamic cultivation facility where nearly all of the fresh produce used in Logan’s restaurants is grown. He also has a beehive, a wonderful natural compost system, and plans to expand his current farm to include a pig farm.
Mr Logan set up his first farm in 2007 and is considered a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement in the UK. “We decided overnight that we would stop using imported ingredients and that was it. We would no longer use lemons. We grew alternatives like oxalis,” Logan said, pointing to the plants as he walked across the farm’s raised growing beds.
Here, farm manager John Rowlands grows around 165 varieties of fruit, vegetables and herbs. These include Coca-Cola-flavored geraniums, sage-tasting pineapple, meadowsweet for a vanilla replacement, and, in Rowlands’ words, “spinach that tastes like beef flavor.” “Monster Munch” (British grilled corn snack).
However, it took years of trial and error to get to this point, trying different plant species to manage pests and attract pollinating insects.
“Organic farming can be heartbreaking,” Logan says. “Sometimes we have aphid outbreaks, and sometimes slugs attack our cruciferous plants without us being able to do anything. All we can do is plant enough so that we have a crop left over. And then there’s climate change, more volatile and extreme weather that’s impacting agriculture. But I’m proud of what we’ve become. It’s a world-class growing business. gives us great raw materials.”
Logan’s first foray into restaurants outside the UK was when he opened Auris Hong Kong in early 2019. A month later, he opened Loganic, which has a Michelin star and became the city’s first restaurant to receive a Green Star for sustainability. He also runs The Baker and the Bottleman, a casual bakery and natural wine bar in Hong Kong.
Logan then took over Aeon Harbor in Malta in March 2023. In April this year, the restaurant at Iniala Harbor House Hotel (Auris Phuket is housed in sister property Iniala Beach House) became the first restaurant on the island to be awarded two Michelin stars. .
The restaurants in each of these destinations are underpinned by the same ethos of local, seasonal and organic, and are grounded in an attempt to minimize waste and provide a supportive working environment for employees. .
Thai on the table
For a chef passionate about organic farming, he describes Our Farm as “the hub of organic farming.” Sometimes we have aphid infestations, and sometimes slugs attack our brassicas without us being able to do anything. ” Opening restaurants in Hong Kong, Malta and southern Thailand may seem surprising, but Logan said he always enjoys a challenge.
Rather than relying on his own farm (though he grows on a very small scale in the garden at Iniala Beach House and in high-tech hydroponic machines at Loganic Hong Kong), he works closely with local farmers and fishermen. We cooperate with them to procure ingredients. needs.
Logan says the process of building these networks is the most difficult part of getting a new restaurant up and running. Thailand was especially difficult.
“I was probably most nervous about Thailand. I had been to Hong Kong before opening Aulis and Roganic there, and the owner of Iniala approached me about opening in Thailand. “I had no idea what to expect,” he says. “But like in Hong Kong, if you’re really determined and passionate, you’ll find what you need. We were pleasantly surprised to find out there was more than we expected. Rumors quickly spread It spread, and fishermen and farmers started coming to us and offering us everything from goats to chocolate.”
When Auris Phuket opened last December, it relied on about 10 imported ingredients, including a variety of cheeses and caviar. Currently, only truffles are imported. Logan says the caviar comes from Hua Hin, but because it’s not up to standard, it’s only smoked or used in sauces. The BMS 11 grade Wagyu beef, sourced from farmers in northern Khon Kaen, is some of the best he has tasted.
Logan is eyeing land just down the beach from Iniala as a potential farm site, but in the meantime his team, in the capable hands of young head chef Charlie Wilson, is growing a long list of produce. We are procuring. Red okra, black beans, banana blossoms, peanuts and sunflowers from Farmer Family, an idyllic, flower-filled reclamation plot founded by the husband-and-wife team of Kissana Phongsadet (known as Tan) and Pisamai Goken. such as lemongrass. 45 minutes by car from the restaurant.
At Lai Na Rak, founded by young ex-chef Konratee Sittichaivisit (Pete), the team sources coffee and sato (an alcoholic drink made from sticky rice from Isan province). .
Southern Thailand is known for its soil, climate unsuitable for many crops, and increasingly variable weather, from drought to flood.
Despite the unfavorable conditions, the island has gained a reputation as a farm-to-table hotspot, with Trisara Hotel’s Prue and Trivananda’s Jampa (who share a farm) awarded the country’s four Michelin green stars. Bangkok has received two of them (the other two are one star). In fact, Pru’s executive chef and co-owner Jimmy Ophorst helped connect the Aulis team with local farmers.
Logan says Asia is 15 to 20 years behind Europe when it comes to sustainability, but thinking can change quickly. “When we arrived in Hong Kong in 2019, there was no recycling, let alone composting. We couldn’t go back for a few years due to the pandemic, but when we did manage to come back, we realized how different people thought about waste management. I was impressed by how things are changing.Regenerative agriculture is starting to become popular in Thailand as well.
Logan has played a key role in inspiring chefs in East Asia to become more sustainable, and is considered a bellwether of green gastronomy, particularly in Hong Kong. “Many chefs and restaurateurs have come to ask about our Green Stars, and since COVID-19, there are now four Green Stars in Hong Kong. It’s humbling to know that we’ve set a precedent for this to happen,” Logan said.
“Of course it’s great to win an award,” he added. “But for me it’s always about doing something different and inspiring the next generation to do something better.”
(All images: Auris Phuket)
Information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
