Tom Kime full biography : Deborah McKenna

Tom Kime

Full Biography

An insatiable appetite for his craft has taken Tom Kime around the world, cooking and learning the techniques involved in an array of international cuisines. His practical experiences have given him a unique perspective on the world of food that he loves to share.

Tom cut his catering teeth in some of the most famous restaurants in London, including 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.

In order to develop his knowledge of seafood, Tom packed his bags and moved to Sydney, Australia. Here 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. That was the start of Tom's journey to learn more of the wonders of authentic Asian flavours, spices and recipes.

From May 2000 until September 2002, Tom was the head chef of Felicitous, a fine provisions delicatessen in Notting Hill Gate, London. He was responsible for all of the outside catering produced by that company.

Tom travels frequently to Southern Thailand and Vietnam. 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 cooked dishes from the north to the south of Vietnam, exploring the diverse cuisine and culture, and bringing it to the British public. 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 series on Thai food for UKTV Food, the BBC Worldwide/Flextech digital food channel, which aired in January 2002. Tom now appears on TV regularly for the BBC's Saturday Kitchen, UKTV's Market Kitchen and Good Food. He also appears regularly on the Australian daily cooking program Fresh, and on Mornings with Kerri - Anne. For Channel 7 he regularly appears on Sunrise, and with Jamie Durie on The Outside Room. In February 2008 Tom was filming with Rick Stein in Vietnam for an upcoming BBC TV series.

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 supermarket Waitrose. He has developed a Thai range for Tesco supermarkets and Mediterranean ranges for other well-known retailers and suppliers.

From May to October 2005, he became the executive chef of an exciting new London restaurant, Food at the Muse on Portobello Road, London. In the final months of 2005, Tom was invited to develop a restaurant in Malta as part of an exclusive five-star hotel complex called the Fortina Spa Resort. The resort's owner, Michael Tobana, was so enticed by the Tom Kime brand, he licensed the use of the name "Taste by Tom Kime" - by which the new venue was known for 3 years.

Tom Kime Chef is Tom's catering company. Under this banner he works as a private chef on large and small catering events - from private parties to Royal Thai banquets, 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.

Tom's love of food spills over into specialised courses on international food styles that he writes and conducts for independent cooking schools, including the Cutting Edge Cooking School, where he is the head chef, Leith's School of Food and Wine, Authentic Ethnic, Books for Cooks and Petit Gourmet. He also shares his skills with corporations, such as Lever Faberge, and 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 combine wine and foods for all events. All of his courses are based on his extensive culinary and cultural knowledge.

Tom's first book, Exploring Taste and Flavour, reveals the secrets of how we taste and eat. It was published by Kyle Cathie Ltd in October 2005 and was awarded the prize of "Best first cook book in Britain 2005" by the World Gourmand Awards. In 2006 Exploring Taste and Flavour was a finalist in the chef and restaurant category in the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) awards in the United States. In 2007 Exploring Taste and Flavour was a finalist in the Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards

Tom writes regular articles and recipes for Olive and BBC Good Food magazines. Tom has 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, The Age in Melbourne and in The Australian newspaper.

His second book, Street Food, published by Dorling Kindersley, was launched in Sydney and London in 2007, sparking great industry and media attention. Street Food has recently won the silver medal for the best foreign cookbook from the World Gourmand Awards. His third book, Asian Bites, was released in May 2008 to critical acclaim.

Tom's fourth book entitled Tom's Table was published in the UK by Paragon in 2008 and was voted Best Entertaining Cookbook at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2008. Tom's fifth book, Fish Tales was published in late November 2009 by Kyle Cathie Ltd.

Books
Fish Tales                                         Kyle Cathie, 2009
Tom's Table                                     Parragon (2008)
Asian Bites                                       Dorling Kindersley, 2008
Street Food                                      Dorling Kindersley, 2007
Exploring Taste and Flavour           Kyle Cathie, 2005

Television
BBC 2008 filmed episode with Rick Stein in Hanoi Vietnam for his new Asian series
Market Kitchen               2007 and 2008
BBC1                              Saturday Kitchen, 2007
UKTV Food                   Great Food Live, 2002
Taste TV/CFN                Our Man in Vietnam, 8-part series, 2001

AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION

Channel 9 Fresh 2007 and 2008
Channel 9 Mornings with Kerri- Ann 2007 and 2008
Channel 7 Sunrise 2007
Channel 7 The Outside Room with Jamie Durrie