Hanuman
Thai food Scholar and founder of Thaifoodmaster.com
Co-founder of Three Trees Doi Saket
Hanuman Aspler's passion for Thai food led him to dedicate over 30 years researching the history, culture and wisdom of Thailand's ancient culinary traditions. Since 1989, he has lived in Thailand, where he is known as a leading expert in pre-World War II Siamese cuisine.
At Hanuman's farm and culinary sanctuary called Three Trees Doi Saket, nestled amidst nature just 40 minutes from Chiang Mai, he provides one-of-a-kind Siamese culinary education tailored for professional chefs and serious food enthusiasts alike.
His workshops delve deeply into decoding centuries-old culinary manuscripts to extract the essence of ancient Siamese flavor principles. Hanuman views Thai cuisine as a language with its own grammar and lyrical quality, and he guides students to find their unique voice when cooking.
Rather than providing mere recipes, Hanuman offers a framework for intuitive, freehand cooking. By analyzing cultural context, decoding ingredients, explaining techniques and exposing the magical synergies that bring together a harmonious dish, he empowers students to create personalized interpretations from a foundation of authenticity.
At the core of Hanuman's teaching philosophy is the idea that creativity blossoms from deep understanding. He encourages chefs to embrace Thai cuisine not through rigid imitation, but as a storytelling medium open to improvisation when the "lyrics" are properly understood.
To facilitate this total immersion, Hanuman has cultivated an ecological sanctuary featuring a lush landscape and a large variety of edible and medicinal plants. This allows ingredients to be locally foraged just as families did in ancient Siam.
Amidst this serene atmosphere conducive to expanding one's horizons, Hanuman shares his rare expertise honed over decades of passionate scholarship. Much more than a cooking class, his culinary school aims to transmit ages-old Siamese wisdom to ignite creative brilliance in the kitchen.
Noppadol Srinorakut (Ton)
Software developer and Internet Business
Ton brings over 20 years of Internet software expertise to Thaifoodmaster. Prior to Thaifoodmaster, Ton was a senior system analyst of The Ganoksin Project. Ton got his start in Internet marketing and community building in the early 90's. He enjoys his work now even better as he gets the chance to taste everything that we cook in our test kitchen.
Thaan Khun (ท่านขุนฯ)
Regular Contributor, Consultant
“Thaan Khun” (ท่านขุนฯ) also known as “The cold-blooded royal chef” (In Thai: "Khun Wisaeht Leuuat Yen" ขุนวิเสทเลือดเย็น).
“The Cold-Blooded Royal Chef” ("Khun Wisaeht Leuuat Yen"), or in short “Thaan Khun” is the pen name of a former university professor who is devoting his time for studying and promoting the art of ancient Thai cuisine. Thaan Khun passion is the wisdom of age-old, traditional royal Thai cuisine to which he was exposed since early childhood.
During King Rama V reign (King Chulalongkorn the Great, 1868-1910), an era considered to be one of the most prosperous periods in the history of Siam. The royal court collected a vast number of precious recipes, culinary know-how, and techniques. Since the end of the monarchy rule of Siam in 1932, this knowledge is gradually vanishing.
With his diligent determination to promote and preserve the Art of Thai cuisine Thaan Khun offers consultations to restaurants and government organizations. He also helps setting up food stalls specializing in hard to find dishes, all across the kingdom, including locations such as the Royal Thai Air Force Airport and leading department stores.
In his research, Thaan Khun relay on historical data, archived documents and rare books dated from the 18th century (early Rattanakosin era) until 1932.
In July 2014 Thaan Khun had begun publishing a series of online articles about authentic, ancient Thai desserts. Within a short period of time, his unique style and well-researched articles drew a huge numbers of followers. Now, with over 200 articles published, Thaan Khun established the “Khun Wiset Culinary Center for the Study of Ancient Thai Cuisine.” through which he disseminates his knowledge and writings.
Thaan Khun has joined Thaifoodmaster.com team in late 2015 as a regular contributor and a consultant.
Thapakorn Lertviriyavit (Chef Gorn)
ฐาปกร เลิศวิริยะวิทย์ (เชฟกร)
Research, Recipe Development (2016-2017)
Gorn, doesn’t like to be called a chef – he believes that his profession is more than just cooking tasty dishes at the famous restaurant for which he works for. His taste in music is trendy and modern, but his passion in cooking is old-school Thai style. He immerses himself in a stand still world of old books, recipe notes and life diaries of generations no longer with us. He looks backward in time to find his future career. He is passionate to gain wisdom, follows, records, and remains respectful for the skills and techniques of the old Thai culinary wisdom. Almost anyone can cook well by practicing the same dish many times and Gorn who is known for his knife techniques keeps his senses open. His passion is to experiment, to test and taste, and revive old and almost forgotten culinary texts into up-to-date dishes. We are proud in Gorn’s talent for carefully examining and preserving the fading culinary arts of old Siam into tested recipes that he shares with us here on Thaifoodmaster.com
