Who's minding the kitchen? Chefs of world leaders gather in Thailand

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BANGKOK, Nov 7, 2002 - Dozens of world leaders and royals may be microwaving frozen dinners this week as their personal chefs gather in Thailand for a week of culinary revelry and a break from their demanding duties.

The expert ensemble is comprised of 36 top-notch cooks, all members of the Club des Chefs des Chefs, or Club of the Chefs to the Heads of State, which describes itself as the world's most exclusive gastronomic grouping.

The personal cooks to kings, princes and presidents have come to Thailand for their annual gathering where, in a rare reversal of fortune, they are wined and dined as if they themselves were the leaders of nations.

"Not all of them are here in Thailand," Frenchman Gilles Bragard, who founded the club on a lark back in 1977, quipped of the club's 50 members. "Some of them have to work."

Indeed, French President Jacques Chirac's personal chef was unable to attend after being called into duty for a state visit, Bragard noted.

For those here, it is a chance to discuss global culinary trends, sample local specialities, and perhaps pick up a recipe or two to try out on their employers back home.

"The chefs here do such a wonderful job of feeding us beautiful ethnic food," said Walter Scheib, who is chef de cuisine to US President George W. Bush and holds the club's presidency.

"I love Thai food's gingers and chillis and the wonderful curry pastes. I use a lot of the influences of that when I'm cooking for the president and the first lady."

Don't expect a "Kitchen Confidential"-type expose by Scheib or any of the other elite chefs, however.

"We're all required to be discreet," Scheib says.

Yet they did reveal that security has been boosted in their leaders' kitchens over the past year due to the September 11 attacks, the subsequent war on terrorism and perceived threats against Western interests.

"Yes, it's increased substantially," Scheib told AFP at a briefing where two dozen of the chefs were kitted out in traditional white jackets and tall hats.

"I can't get into what they are," he said of the heightened security measures, "but suffice it to say that the chain of flow of the product is more secure than it's ever been. And I think that is across the board".

Lionel Mann, the long-time chef to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, says the primary focus of concern in the kitchen now rests with outside suppliers.

"All commodities are checked in thoroughly for weight and quality and quantity," Mann said. "And while we're doing that, obviously we're aware if anyone puts a hand-grenade in the pineapples."

The chefs dropped some other tasty morsels as well.

Prince Albert of Monaco is "quite fond of cooking", according to his chef Gilles Brunner, who often helps the prince through tricky dishes when he prepares a meal for his private guests.

While the club sees its members as "ardent defenders of their own national gastronomy", Denmark's royal family perhaps has a looser view of culinary traditions -- it boasts a Japanese chef.

"I guess I tried harder than other Danes," Takeshi Kondo muses about how he got the job, although he declined to say whether sushi and other Japanese favourites were fixtures on his menu.

Clearly the most intriguing tale, if ever it could be told, would come from Mann, Queen Elizabeth's chef who is retiring this month after 42 years of service in the royal household.

But Mann, a model of discretion, would only speak generally of the fare consumed by the royals in Buckingham Palace and elsewhere.

"I'd describe the cuisine during my time there as classical French and traditional English," he said, adding that the royal menu has not changed significantly since he began as a junior cook.

The chefs were due to jet off to Cambodia's famed temples of Angkor Wat for a bit of sightseeing, and then take a breather on Thailand's resort islands before returning home.

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the daughter of Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, will preside over a dinner for the chefs Monday at which she will prepare "som tam", Thailand's traditional papaya salad.

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