In this series created in partnership with The Balvenie’s Handcrafted By campaign, we explore the pursuit of craftsmanship between MICHELIN Guide restaurant chefs and The Balvenie’s whisky makers.
Food is central to one’s identity, both personal and cultural. For Chef Andrew Martin, the pursuit of his identity is a lifelong adventure that has brought him from Canada to Asia, and to Thailand in particular.
It has also brought him full circle, from joining 80/20 as chef de cuisine in 2016, then hitting the road again in 2018, to currently head chef of 80/20 since 2021. “I see craftsmanship in my daily life in Bangkok, everywhere. It’s the smoke in the markets, the colours, the rich, the poor, everything in between. It’s the city of contrasts and one of the most exciting places in the world,” he declares.
80/20 has evolved in that period too. It was originally named for the ratio of its use of Thai to imported ingredients. But, after reopening in 2019, the restaurant now uses 100 percent homegrown produce. It earned its first star in the 2020 edition of Thailand’s MICHELIN Guide, a feat it has maintained every year since and one that Martin is determined to continue.
“I want to make everything by hand, by grilling over charcoal or pounding with the mortar and pestle. It's important for me to maintain these traditions, because I believe that I owe it to the culture here.”
The chef with the multicultural childhood brings a profound respect and sense of exploration to the new menu. “What I see in day-to-day life here, I try to use it to craft my dishes. I’m not trying to change Thai food, not to make a new version of a green curry, or make foams and gels. I want to make everything by hand, by grilling over charcoal or pounding with the mortar and pestle. It's important for me to maintain these traditions, because I believe that I owe it to the culture here,” Martin emphasises.
It is in this spirit of craftsmanship that Martin recognises a kinship between The Balvenie whisky and 80/20. “They are small batch and family owned, and still care very much about the quality and consistency in what they do,” he expounds. “And we very much believe in the same thing in our restaurant.” The Balvenie stays true to the Five Rare Crafts of whisky-making, which begins from cultivating its homegrown barley, to using traditional maltings and copper stills, with expertise shared by its own cooperage and malt master David Stewart.
Bold Pairings With The Balvenie
Creating dishes with The Balvenie has given Martin the opportunity to reflect on his journey and identity as a chef. “For me, cooking is all about feeling emotions, telling stories, and using the ideas I get from the places I visit. I was adopted into a French-Canadian-Japanese family. My dad’s family are Canadian farmers and my mother’s family are Japanese fishermen. We would go out fishing or into the woods to collect mushrooms, bringing it all back for my grandma to cook. It was all about doing something fun and seeing what was out there. And that’s where I gained my appreciation for having adventures that revolve around food,” he recounts.
For the first dish, Martin uses The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old to evoke the senses of walking through a Bangkok market. “I aged the beef by marinating the meat with The Balvenie, drying it overnight and then cold-smoking it for 30 minutes,” he elaborates. “We finish it with a bunch of different herbs and spices that we find fresh in the market, which will complement the smoky tartare really well. The whisky itself is a little spicy and dry with a nice sweet underlying note that carries over well with all the ingredients.”
The second whisky that Martin has his focus on is The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 Year Old, which evokes the same warmth and beautiful sweetness of the DoubleWood, but with more hint of vanilla. “Whisky is a good drink with a lot of underlying notes, not just - boom - alcohol,” he quips. “There’s character in how they age the single malt, so you can sense the different aromatics and spiciness. That’s actually what’s really fun about The Balvenie.”
This second dish calls for the seasonal ingredient of khai mod dang – red ant eggs from Isan. Martin makes a chocolate cake which incorporates the ant eggs in the cake itself, which is then seasoned with The Balvenie Caribbean Cask, similar in style to a rum baba. It is accompanied with ant egg cremeux and an ant egg powder, together with different wild herbs and wild fruits from the market.
Continuing the Journey
“I really love to cook for people. That’s when I feel like I am in my element. When I am in the kitchen, I am a very excited person,” Martin reflects. “My inspiration comes from what has happened in my life, and coming to Thailand has been a part of that. That’s why I love Thai food so much and want to honour its traditions.” In an echo of his childhood experiences, Martin has been drawing on his Thai explorations to continue building his vision of Thai flavours with a modern outlook. Whether a squid fishing trip to Kanchanaburi, a jaunt in Kaeng Krachan National Park or the beaches that first caught his imagination, each foray brings a meaningful layer to his dishes. “Sometimes it’s not even about the ingredients but about the trips I make to collect them. Cooking with them reconnects me with those memories and emotions,” he smiles.Discover a collection of short films that explore the pursuit of craftsmanship between MICHELIN Guide restaurant chefs and The Balvenie here.
