Hard work and persistence can bring your dreams to life
Stubborn, positive, and hard-working are probably the words that best describe Dak. She moved with her family from Thailand to Denmark at the age of 7 to settle in West Jutland. The West Jutland warmth is not far from her, but behind the positive exterior lies a drive that many would find hard to match. As head chef at ‘Kiin Kiin‘, she helped maintain the restaurant’s Michelin star, which is only the second Michelin star awarded to a Thai restaurant outside of Thailand.
“When we got the Michelin star, it was a bit bittersweet, because at the moment it was super cool, but then the pressure came afterward because we had to maintain it. It was a big deal as a 25-year-old to stand with that honor, and it was only two years after I had graduated. So it was an amazing feeling just when we got it, but that feeling disappeared quite quickly because we suddenly had to live up to a whole different ideal. The focus suddenly became that we had to keep the star, and I’ve never had a dream of having a Michelin star. So we kind of went into our own bubble, where the pressure just increased to hold on to the title we had received,” she says.
Her achievement of gaining a Michelin star as a newly graduated chef is a great picture of how stubborn and hard-working Dak is. She never says no to a challenge, even though she sometimes might fumble a bit in the dark. But as she puts it in a modest West Jutland manner:
“I never thought I would become a chef, but I’ve come this far, so now I just try to run with it,” she says with a small laugh.
Dak chose to become a chef because it was the only field that really appealed to her. However, she had one wish regarding her education.
“I chose to become a chef because I like being in a kitchen, and I think it’s fun. Besides, I chose to take the international education in Silkeborg because I wanted to travel, and that’s what appealed to me. I knew that I couldn’t attend high school or other educations – but cooking, I could manage, so it was kind of obvious for me. My internship was in Manchester, England, where I went twice,” she tells.
She graduated in 2009 at the restaurant ‘Koch – Det Glade Vanvid’ in Aarhus, where the two brothers Jesper and Michael were responsible for her training. She believes it required great commitment and hard work to do well during her apprenticeship and shape her to where she is now.
“I wouldn’t change it, and there have also been many good experiences. The 4 years of apprenticeship have shaped me for the jobs I’ve had, but that’s also what’s been great. I don’t regret it the slightest. When I was an apprentice under the two Koch brothers, those were the 4 toughest years of my life, but also the best. When you know a little about the restaurant industry, you don’t achieve anything by sleeping when you’re an apprentice under them. I don’t think I would have come this far if I hadn’t had 4 years with them, both professionally and personally,” she says.
Today, she is one of the judges on ‘Masterchef DK‘, which she believes is a golden opportunity to pass on her enormous knowledge to others.
“Passing on some basic knowledge to others, who can then transform it and use it in a creative way, I think that’s really cool. We live in a country where the interest in good food is great, and enthusiasm drives people to make better food at a higher level. I think it’s cool to help them along the way. For example, with amateur chefs who just go all-in, I think that’s really cool,” she says.
What the future holds for this star chef is not set at the moment, as she has just become a mother and is therefore on maternity leave. Despite this, she has some ideas about what the future might hold.
“Right now, I am a permanent judge on Masterchef, so I’ll be doing another season, which fits well with my maternity leave. After that, we’ll see where my interests lie and how the wind blows. So my focus right now is maternity leave and Masterchef, but I could imagine running a cooking school or teaching, and then we’ll see if I’m done with the restaurant life,” she tells.
We ask – Dak answers
Get to know one of Denmark’s most inspiring chefs when we ask her a series of personal questions. Among other things, you can read about what a star chef’s guilty pleasure might be and which dishes she feels create a good experience.
What is your best memory from the kitchen?
The best memories are those I’ve had in the kitchen with my own parents. They paved the way for me to go down the chef path. It was a love for food and the feeling you got from experiencing what cooking could give you. It brought the whole family together, and we never invited anyone over without everyone being part of the cooking. My mom is amazing at cooking, and I think she can beat me anyday. Often, it was a mix of Danish ingredients with a Thai twist. So it could be meatballs with papaya salad, and that was actually what appealed to me. There was no wrong result.
What dish do you like to cook the most?
I love something that takes care of itself, so simmer dishes are definitely a favorite. Otherwise, something that can be shared, like spring rolls, where you sit and fold everything together. I really like that. So dishes where you can include people who normally can’t cook, to become part of the cooking process. Everyone can, for example, peel a carrot.
What is your show-off dish?
I don’t really have a show-off dish, because most of my friends are quite impressed with the Asian kitchen and its way of combining acidity, sweetness, salt, and bitterness. It’s a cuisine where it’s easy to impress people, but when I invite someone over for food, I always make spring rolls. It’s easy, everyone can join in, and everyone loves spring rolls (she laughs, ed.)
What is your nemesis?
I would like to get better at Middle Eastern cuisine. I’m not very good at it, but I think it’s delicious when it’s served to me. I don’t really understand how to succeed in it yet, so I need to get better at that. For example, curry is not just curry, because it has so many nuances.
Do you have a favorite cuisine?
I think the Asian cuisine is one of the best, because the range is just so wide. You can go in all directions, whether you go the heavy curry route or the light salad route. It’s so broad and versatile and offers so many different taste experiences. It also stands out compared to European cuisine, where the differences aren’t as big, whereas there is a huge span between Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai.
What is your favorite ingredient?
I can’t do without fish sauce! It gives salt, umami, and strength to the dish. However, I don’t make my own fish sauce because the process is immensely complex. I’ve tried, but it didn’t turn out well.
What is your favorite meal?
I don’t have a favorite meal, because it depends on what I’m in the mood for that day. I’m very specific there, so if I want Mexican, I don’t eat sushi.
Where and when were you last impressed?
It was when I went to eat at the new ‘Substans’ in Aarhus. I was really impressed because I had set my expectations quite high, as I knew what Rene wanted with that kitchen, and I thought it was quite a pressure to put on himself. I was eager to see what he had done to improve the menu, and I wasn’t disappointed at all. The whole dining experience was fantastic. I got everything out of that evening that I think Rene wanted his guests to get out of such an evening.
Do you have a favorite restaurant?
No, not really, because it’s hard to compare the restaurants in Denmark with each other. They all deliver something personal in the dishes they serve. But there are places I would return to, like ‘Søllerød Kro’. But it’s just one of my favorites because, again, it depends on what I’m in the mood for.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
I have many, but I really like pizza rolls, sausage rolls, and toast. It’s very straightforward and simple, maybe it’s a bit of a nostalgic thing. I grew up in West Jutland (she laughs, ed.)
Do you have a type of knife you use the most?
Not really, it just has to be good and solid, fit well in the hand, and ideally have a bit of weight to it.
What brand are your knives?
If I’m completely honest, I think ‘Victorinox’ makes really good knives. You don’t get heartache if you drop them, they’re easy to maintain, and they feel good in the hand.
Do you have a favorite kitchen appliance?
I can’t live without my rice cooker, mostly because I can’t figure out how to cook rice without it. And it can do all sorts of other things, like you can use it to cook soups.
What equipment do you have a strained relationship with?
A plating tweezer. When you have your fingers and hands, use them instead. The other becomes a bit too pretentious, and it doesn’t make any sense. Some people just use it for the sake of using it.
Can you mention the three most important techniques you use as a chef that others can benefit from?
Have a dishcloth under your cutting board, so you don’t slide around when you use it. And you should have some good sharp knives because the tool should be in order, and then use good ingredients, because it’s not hard to make good food. It’s hard to make good food with bad ingredients, but it’s easy to make good food with good ingredients.
What fundamental dishes are the most important to master?
It has to be sauces because if you know your bases in sauces, you can get far. And then your cooking methods and techniques. Different ingredients require different cooking, so you must also have a good understanding of the ingredients you use. The better the understanding, the greater the chance that the dish will succeed for you.
Is there something people almost always do wrong in the kitchen that could be done differently to advantage?
I have a feeling that people don’t read their recipes thoroughly before they start. You need to have an overview and an understanding of the whole process, otherwise, you spend more time correcting the dish than if you have a solid plan for the process.
Fact box
Name: Dak Wichangoen
Age: 34
Residence/City: Aarhus
Job: Chef and TV personality
You can follow Dak and her work on Instagram under @dak.wichangoen.
/Photo:/ Mie Friis Justesen