Montara, the award-winning hospitality group behind luxurious resort Trisara and Michelin-starred Pru restaurant, which is currently the only restaurant with a Michelin Star outside of Bangkok, is set to unveil its new innovative dining concept, “JAMPA,” within the new wellness community in Phuket, Tri Vananda.
“JAMPA is an extremely exciting project, which will focus on Local Ingredients, Live Fire, Zero Waste Cuisine and it will have a key role at Tri Vananda’s Community House,” says Quentin Fougeroux, Group Director of Food and Beverage. “Being the center of the community, it is a space for sharing, learning and focusing on the good life, as well as being based on the principle of Self-reliant “Living”. It is a gathering place, where food and craft are of the utmost importance”.
The name JAMPA is derived from the Magniolia Champaka, an indigenous, fragrant flower found around Phuket, but is also coming from the name of the small village where the group farm is located, Pru Jampa. The first half of the village name was given to Montara’s award-winning restaurant, PRU, and it came naturally to use the second half for this new concept.
JAMPA’s culinary team aspire to position the restaurant at the forefront of culinary innovation in Phuket by only using live fire to transform local ingredients into amazing culinary creations with an emphasis on healthy, balanced food that is good for the soul.
The JAMPA team will be helmed by Chef Rick Dingen, formerly of Madison in Bangkok, as well as having worked with Michelin-starred restaurants in Thailand and in his native Netherlands, including three Michelin-starred Inter Scaldes and renowned farm to table Restaurant De Kas, which is dedicated to showcasing the ingredients harvested on the day using open fire cooking to showcase the natural benefits of each ingredient.
“For us, it was important to showcase the locally sourced, seasonal ingredients in the best way possible,” says Chef Rick. “Cooking is a craft, and service and setting the scene are amongst the most beautiful arts that exist. We want guests to connect with the chef's emotion, to share with them why we have selected these ingredients, why we cook them the way we do and our guest are welcome to come and learn from us. We often do outdoor open fire cooking at our weekly pop-up, Hideaway by JAMPA, where we experience new ingredients and we get creative ideas. We try things, we laugh, and it is something that our guests can experience as well”.
The restaurant will be located in Tri Vananda’s Community House, a stunning building designed by award-winning Habita Architect and Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts, with the interior design by AvroKo, who has earned a reputation as one of the most innovative design firms in the field. Surrounded by sand dunes and beautiful landscape, the Community House will serve as the center of Tri Vananda wellness community, a place where residents can meet and share. Residents and guests alike will able be able to focus their energy on taking parts of community projects around sustainability, gastronomy and well-being, which will be organized regularly by the Tri Vananda team.
The restaurant, which was mentioned in the “Newest Opening” section of Phuket 25 Top Restaurants by Amazing Thailand, will also feature a state of art bar, where beverages are beneficial for health, body and mind and served in a form familiar to bar lovers, as well as an exciting zero-waste grocery offering the day harvest, freshly baked bread and other fine food to residents and visitors alike.
The zero-waste, no plastic grocery will also be a focal point of the Community life. Here, residents and guests can discover homemade products, fruits, vegetables, and herbs harvested on the day, freshly baked bread still hot from the fire oven, local cheeses and vegan cheeses as well as many other products available via refill stations. Additionally, the chefs will always be available to give some advice or tips on how to best use each of these products.
Also, the restaurant aims to become the first in Phuket to achieve zero waste to landfill cuisine. “We want to exert the absolute minimal impact upon the earth and we break down all our kitchen waste to ensure nothing goes to landfill,” says Quentin. “Our waste is separated, and food remnants are turned into animal feed or composted at our farm. Manure and compost are used are fertilizer to grow our vegetables, thus completing the cycle of life”
Besides Pru and JUMPA, Montara Hospitality Group also owns a number of Michelin-recognized restaurants in Thailand, including Seafood at Trisara and Praya Dining, both of which have earned the coveted Michelin Plate accolade.
For additional information, you may contact 076 310 100 or visit jamparestaurant.com, Facebook: facebook.com/
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