PTTGC, in collaboration with Rayong province and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), selected the top community chefs as part of the“Chef Chumpol Builds Community Chefs” initiative organized by PTTGC, who created the most liked menus. These 10 menus have been developed by Chef Chumpon, Thailand’s Iron Chef, using local ingredients and presented as provincial menus, making these menus become well-known in the national level. The campaign has been promoted in conjunction with tourism promotion, with the objective of distributing income to communities and boosting Rayong’s economy as a whole.

Khun Prasert Bunsumpun, Chairman of the Board, Khun Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Chief Executive Officer and President, PTT Global Chemical PCL, Khun Kanokkittika Kritwutthikorn, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand – Rayong Office, and Chef Chumpun Jangprai, Advisor and Ambassador of “Chef Chumpol Builds Community Chefs” initiative organized by PTTGC, jointly participated in the “Enjoying Rayong’s Local Dishes with Community Chefs” event.

On this occasion, Khun Supattanapong Punmeechaow, stated that, “it is the Company’s policy and determination to take part in developing the economy and generating income for the community and Rayong province. Rayong is home to several beautiful tourist attractions and a lot of unique local ingredients that can be cooked in different dishes. Thus, the Company decided to collaborate with Rayong province, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Rayong – Chanthaburi Office, and Chef Chumpon Jangprai; Thailand’s Iron Chef and an expert specializing in Thai food, in organizing the campaign “Chef Chumpol Builds Community Chefs” initiative organized by PTTGC in order to select community chefs who will create ‘8 Signature Dishes’ that will be developed into 8 provincial menus of Rayong, together with ’10 Menus of Rayong by Chef Chumpon’ that have been created by Chef Chumpon himself and presented to Rayong province, whereby recipes are to be shared and trained to those who are interested in operating the restaurant business or incorporating these menus to their existing ones, free of charges. Furthermore, the campaign host will be preparing Rayong Guide Brochure to introduce local food and restaurants owned by 8 finalist chefs that are not to be missed when visiting Rayong. This will help improve employment rate and income generation in Rayong on a continuous basis.”

Mrs. Kanokkittika Kritwutthikorn, Director-general of the TAT Office in Rayong said, “Tourist behavior is currently changing as they are increasingly deciding to take trips for several reasons such as visiting family and friends or to have a ‘see, eat and shop’ experience. Being able to eat delicious local foods can make their trip truly unforgettable while those local delicious foods can also lure large numbers of travelers to the province. This results in supporting local income distribution to communities and an understanding of local foods and heritage. The “Chef Chumpol Builds Community Chefs” initiative organized by PTTGC will bring about creative and delicious menus mainly using local ingredients. As a result, this will create a new tourist attraction through a food tourism approach in support of community chefs. It can also become a good example of an integrated operation and enable collaboration between the public and private sectors to promote TAT’s “Thailand Best Local Food” and “Increasing Travel to Thailand, Supporting Local Sufficiency” campaigns as well as the government’s tourism policy to increase incomes and stimulate increased economic development at the grassroots level.

The cooking competition in search of the best community chefs and signature dishes consists of three rounds: 1) the first qualifying round for 20 finalists; 2) the second qualifying round for eight finalists who will be given training and instructions by Chef Chumpol and; 3) The winner of the final round will be based on voting and a review by the public and a competition committee. When the project wraps up, the ownership of the new dishes will belong to the public in order to further develop local foods and increase local incomes for Rayong in the future.

In the event, these 8 signature dishes created by community chefs and 10 menus of Rayong by Chef Chumpon had been shared. The event also featured the certification presentation ceremony, while the 10 recipes were presented to Rayong’s Governor.  Besides, the winner award had been announced, which was “Chamuang Pork Curry” by Baan Nern Sawang Community Enterprise, Rayong. Well-selected chamuang leaves; the key ingredient, were used in this menu. The event was held on July 21, 2017 at HEAVEN Bangkok, 18^th floor, ZEN WORLD Building, Bangkok.