One thing I always remember chef Norbert telling me, during my years as a food journalist, is that no matter how persevering a cook you are, you can never cook a great dish without good ingredients.
"You know. It's like women. You just do a little doll up on an already pretty one and can turn her into a beauty queen," he said as his eyes sparkled with passion.
An esteemed culinary master much-loved by highbrow epicures and chefs across Thailand, Norbert Kostner had for four decades until 2015 served as the executive chef of the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.
During that time he made the hotel renowned for its second-to-none restaurants and banqueting as it picked up multiple Best Hotel in the World awards.
Today in his mid 70s, the legendary cooking veteran is still on fire and embarking on a new entrepreneurial venture.
Partnering with Patcharin Hame-ung-gull, managing director of Gourmet One Food Service -- another familiar name in fine dining circles, he has recently come up with Gourmet Box by Chef Norbert, an upscale delicatessen that gives access to his exceptional cuisine.
Located on the ground floor of The Mall Ngamwongwan in northern Bangkok, Gourmet Box by Chef Norbert was conceived to meet the new normal needs of contemporary diners.
There you will find a selection of ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat dishes meticulously crafted by chef Norbert and his high-achieving son chef Christian-Johann.
Among the wide range of items on offer, highlights include rotisserie spring chicken, the restaurant's signature dish using free-range, cross-breed Thai-French chicken cooked in a top-rated rotisserie oven imported from Spain; and homemade Italian sausages prepared according to the Kostner family's secret recipes.
The sausage varieties, available in separate packs and as meal set, include Cumberland, Nuernberger, Italian, foie gras, truffle, chorizo, Toulouse, and cheese and bacon.
Plump and juicy and made only with sheep casing, the sausages promise a wonderful crunchy exterior encasing a tasty coarse-grained filling, a very fine skin that burst release a silky soft meat when bitten.
Of the ready-to-cook selection, there are beef steak, lamb chops and pasta. Customers can select various cuts of beef from Australia and USA while the lamb comes from New Zealand.
Each steak set is accompanied with red wine sauce and side items of sautéed mushrooms and velvety mashed potatoes. Grilling services are also provided on request.
"We only use cuts of wet-aged beef refrigerated in vacuum-sealed bags so the muscle can rest and let the natural enzymes tenderise from within, thereby enriching the flavour," explained chef Norbert.
"The advantage the wet ageing has over dry ageing is that there's no moisture loss, so it's fresher, juicier, more substantial and higher yielding."
For the pasta menu, the shop only offers imported pasta from Italy. Cooked al dente, the pasta is offered with various sauces, from Bolognese and carbonara to truffle cream, prepared with authentic Italian ingredients.
"I always enjoy cooking meals at home as well as for customers, so all the dishes we offer here are of my own recipes and ones I love," chef Norbert said. "Christian, my son, who is our restaurant manager, also helps me with some dishes and we pay meticulous attention to every step, especially selecting ingredients, which always strongly influence the ultimate flavour of any dish."
Patcharin added: "The Covid-19 pandemic has changed consumers' dining behaviours and the entire restaurant industry. So we absolutely have to adapt and our response is to create a takeaway restaurant that serves exceptionally palatable food conveniently. Each dish is crafted and prepared by the inimitable chef Norbert ensuring that our customers can enjoy authentic fine dining experiences in the coziness of their homes whenever they feel the urge."
All dishes come in professionally-sealed containers and are offered with serving directions. A QR code on the packaging also provides cooking information.
Meanwhile, if the customer has some special cooking request or needs some advice, chef Christian is on standby to take their call or pass on a tip or two.
The two-week-old deli sees itself as a takeaway-only restaurant and also has a partnership with online food delivery service platforms. Stay-at-home consumers are now offered the convenience of having 5-star food delivered to their doorsteps.
Gourmet Box by Chef Norbert is located in the Gourmet Market zone on The Mall Ngamwongwan's ground floor. For more information or to place your order, call 082-490-3443 or Line @gourmetbox or via the Robinhood delivery app.
