December 11, 2013. The star golfers gathered for the Thailand Golf Championship, which begins at Amata Spring Country Club tomorrow; do not want to miss the best things from native tradition, specially the Thai cuisine. Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel and Hunter Mahan joined Thai star, Thongchai Jaidee as they immersed themselves in local culture and learned to create two of the country’s most famous dishes.
The four players learnt the secrets behind making good Som Tum( Green Papaya Salad), and Pad Thai, the stir-fried noodles dish commonly served as a street food and at casual local eateries all over Thailand by Chef Dong, Executive Sous Chef at The St. Regis Bangkok..
World number 31 Hunter Mahan, who is a self-confessed cooking fan and pursues this interest often at home, was excited to be offered the opportunity to learn from a top chef:
“I enjoyed today very much. It is a real honour to cooking with a great chef at the St. Regis. I love cooking and I love Thai food so it was a great experience. (This was all new to me because it was) different greens mixing with different flavours but it is all good and I enjoyed doing it.”
The players were made to participate in a Thai cookery contest after the cooking lesson. In a friendly contest, 2012 Masters Champion, Bubba Watson was declared top chef of the day, a win that he was clearly not expecting:
“I am surprised to have won that! I have never cooked in my life, this was the first time. Maybe I am better at cooking than I am at golf, who knows! I am not very good in the kitchen and my wife lets me stay out of there,” said Watson.
The third edition of theUS 1 million Thailand Golf Championship is scheduled from December 12-15 and features a stellar, world-class international line-up that includes three Major Champions and seven of the world’s top 40.
