Nice Thai

If I told you that the Australian chef David Thompson cooks Thai food, you may not be all that impressed. 'So what?' you might say. 'The guy at my local pub does Thai food. You can buy Thai ready meals at M&S. Frankly, who doesn't cook Thai food these days?'

Well, David Thompson isn't just someone who knocks out the odd Thai green curry. His London restaurant, Nahm, has won a Michelin star. He has trained with a former Bangkok palace chef. His book - entitled, with typically Australian directness, Thai Food - is regarded as the bible of Thai cuisine. Indeed, with its detailed exploration of the role of food in Thai culture, as well as plenty of recipes, the book runs to an appropriately biblical number of pages (although its retina-scorchingly bright pink cover makes it unlikely to be confused with the actual Good Book).

He is, in short, passionate and maybe even a tiny bit obsessive about creating authentic Thai dishes. So much so that when the Thai government wanted to set up a restaurant serving the very best of their country's cuisine, he was the man they called in to help. The bloke down at your local can't compete with that, can he?

If you ever happen to find yourself in conversation with this David Thompson, one subject to be avoided is fusion food. Just don't go there. 'I hate fusion food, hate it with a passion,' he is quoted as saying. 'In its trauma and enthusiasm it's like a gangly youth with pimples. I think it is dubious in the best of hands, but all too often it is done as an excuse to justify a poverty of imagination.'