Chiva Som: Cooking with light

The healthy cuisine at Chiva-Som follows a philosophy all of its own

Light is life! This is the motto of the Thai Chiva-Som Health Resort in Hua Hin, Thailand - as can be read in the resort's cookbook "Cooking with Light". With great attention to culinary detail, kitchen director Paisarn Cheewinsiriwat has compiled the book with wellness recipes for conscious nutrition.

Amateur chefs will find suggestions for all meals, salads, snacks for in-between meals, soups and desserts, as well as surprising combinations for fresh juices and dressings. Healthy and calorie-conscious eating - at Chiva-Som, this means that ingredients and products are carefully coordinated and the portion sizes of the three meals a day are also consciously defined. And all this is done in such a comprehensible way that guests can implement the tips at home in their everyday lives. One of Chef Paisarn's most important secrets: when frying all dishes, oil or fat is replaced by a vegetable stock. This allows food to cook gently and preserves vitamins and nutrients. Another trick is to eat slowly, as our brain receives delayed feedback from the body that we are full and we have often already eaten too much.

Chef Paisarn incorporates his many years of experience in wellness cuisine as well as new findings into the menus, surprising his guests with different taste experiences every day. His most important ingredients for the wellness cuisine at Chiva-Som: fresh products, detoxifying spices, unsaturated fats, which Paisarn skillfully combines for a low-salt diet and low-calorie dishes. In addition, the award-winning cuisine uses only organically grown fruit, vegetables and spices, mainly from Chiva-Som's own garden. One of the organic gardens is located in Hua Hin, just a few minutes from the resort, while another is a little further away in the mountains near the Pala-U waterfall.

Chiva-Som's healthy gourmet cuisine is served in the two food temples Emerald Room and Taste of Siam, the beach restaurant. All staff here are trained to cater to guests' individual allergies, intolerances and detox wishes. A little tip: The Emerald Room has been decorated in green, as this color curbs the appetite.

More information: www.chivasom.com