Balancing flavours
An insatiable appetite for his craft has taken Tom around the world, cooking, teaching, consulting and absorbing the techniques involved in an array of international cuisines. His practical experiences in everywhere from New York to Syria, from Ecuador to Vietnam, have given him a unique perspective on the world of food, which he loves to share.
Tom cut his catering teeth in some of the most famous restaurants in London, including Terence Conran’s Le Pont de la Tour, and The River Café. He worked with celebrity chef Rick Stein at the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, before heading to The River Café for three years. While at The River Café, Tom was made a sous chef in 1997.
In order to develop his knowledge of seafood, Tom moved to Sydney, Australia. Here in 1998 he worked at the award-winning restaurants Cicada and Darley Street Thai, which was voted one of the top ten Thai restaurants in the world. Under the tutorage of head chef David Thompson (who had previously worked for the Thai royal family), Tom learned the refined traditions of Royal Thai Cuisine. Thus began Tom’s quest to discover the secrets of authentic Asian flavours, spices and recipes.
In August 2001, Taste TV/Carlton Food Network (UK) aired the eight-part television series, Our Man in Vietnam, which Tom wrote and presented. During the series, Tom travelled and cooked dishes from the north to the south of Vietnam, exploring the diverse cuisine and culture. He wrote a cuisine guide with recipes to accompany the television series, as well as an internet diary of the trip. Tom also presented a second television series on Thai food for UK Food, the BBC’s digital food channel, which aired in January 2002.
Tom Kime Chef is Tom’s catering company, which he first established in 2002. Under this banner he works as a private chef on catering events large and small - from private parties to Royal Thai banquets, from media celebrity launches to corporate events for one thousand people and more. Tom Kime Chef works closely with events for charity organisations such as Cancer Research and Save the Family in the UK, and the Childrens Hospital at Westmead in Sydney.
From May – October 2005, Tom became the executive chef of a new restaurant, Food at the Muse in London’s fashionable Notting Hill Gate. Tom was involved to write and develop the menus, and recruit and train the staff. He oversaw the operation of the kitchen, and the launch of the restaurant was well received by London’s food critics and in the press.
In the final months of 2005, Tom was invited to develop a second restaurant, this time in Malta, as part of an exclusive five-star hotel complex called the Fortina Spa Resort. The resort’s owner, Michael Tobana, continues to licence the use of the name “Taste by Tom Kime”, by which the venue is known, and the use of Tom’s menus and recipes. Tom will continue in his role in Malta as consultant Executive Chef of this restaurant throughout 2006 and 2007.
Kyle Cathie Ltd published Tom’s first book, Exploring Taste and Flavour, in October 2005. In it he reveals the secrets of how we taste, and demonstrates his theory of balancing flavours in 150 recipes for all occasions. Tom writes regular articles and recipes for Olive and BBC Good Food magazines. Tom’s articles have also been published in The Sunday Times’ Style magazine, Food Illustrated, BBC Good Food, Food and Travel and Olive. He has written articles for the Guardian and the Independent on Sunday Travel supplement. Articles on Tom have also appeared in the Sun Herald and the Sunday Telegraph in Sydney.
In late 2005 Exploring Taste and Flavour was awarded the prize of “Best first cook book in Britain 2005” by the World Gourmand Awards. In March 2006 Exploring Taste and Flavour was nominated as a finalist in the Chef and Restaurant category in the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) awards in the United States.
Dorling Kindersley DK published both the American and German editions of Exploring Taste and Flavour in September 2006. Dorling Kindersley has also commissioned Tom to write two further cookbooks, Street Food, which is to be published in June 2007 and Asian Bites, which is due for release in April 2008. Tom’s travels to research books two and three have taken him to South America, the Middle East and North Africa where local contacts have expanded his palate further.
In his work as a food development consultant, Tom has created a Thai food range for Tesco supermarkets and Mediterranean ranges for other well-known retailers and suppliers. In 2004-5 Tom developed a range of healthy eating sandwiches for the chain store Boots, a series of back of pack recipes for Campbell’s and led specialist flavour workshops for supermarkets Waitrose, Marks and Spencer and Baxter’s food group.
He is currently working with Marks and Spencer to develop a series of new ranges of dishes for 2007 and beyond. Tom is also working with the supermarkets’ suppliers ahead of their presentations to Marks and Spencer, in order to help them get future ranges approved and on the shelves.
Tom’s love of food spills over into the specialised courses on international food styles he writes and teaches for independent cooking schools, including the Cutting Edge School of Food and Wine, Leith’s School of Food and Wine, Authentic Ethnic, Books for Cooks and Petit Gourmet. He also teaches for individual corporate events and groups of private clients. He works with wine merchants, teaching their clientele about food and wine. Tom has completed his advanced wine certificate and is able to match wine to specific cuisines for all events.
Tom is now sharing his time between Sydney and London.
Tom has recently formed a Corporate Catering company called Tom’s Kitchen, which provides sumptuous evening catering using the freshest ingredients and a perfect balance of flavours, delivered daily to your office, in Sydney’s central business district.
He has recently appeared cooking dishes from his books on Australian Television programmes including “Good Mornings with Kerri-Anne” and “Fresh” on Channel 9, and the breakfast programme “Sunrise” on Channel 7.
He is currently developing a project to launch a restaurant in one of Australia’s premier wine regions, the Hunter Valley.
Tom was born in Wiltshire, UK, in 1974. He is married to the Australian journalist and executive coach Kylie Burgess-Kime.