Artur — OMGD: The Wines of Bordeaux

Dear Members and Friends,

Outside ARTUR, tropical rain swept across Bangkok, turning Soi Ton Son into a blur of headlights and umbrellas. Inside, Champagne was being poured and conversation was already rising above the storm.

Members of the Bailliage de Bangkok-Rattanakosin had gathered for our Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs dinner on September 11, 2026, joined by fellow Chaîne members from Cambodia and Myanmar. The mood was easy and jovial, the kind of evening in which glasses were refilled almost unnoticed and conversations moved readily between tables.

At the centre of the room was Artur Kluczewski, whose old-world sense of hospitality has long defined the restaurant. In the kitchen, Chef Suriya led with an assured command of classical French technique, joined for the evening by Chef Hervé Frérard, Conseiller Culinaire of the Bailliage de Bangkok-Rattanakosin.

There was something particularly satisfying in seeing that tradition carried forward with such confidence. It was a fitting collaboration for a dinner rooted in exacting techniques that have become increasingly rare — yet here they felt neither nostalgic nor preserved for display, but simply part of the working language of the kitchen in Bangkok.

Then came the evening's defining moment.

A trolley rolled into the dining room carrying the roasted duck and a gleaming Christofle silver duck press. For a beat, conversation seemed to stop.

For many guests, this was the evening's great treat: the chance to witness Canard au Sang prepared as it was intended, in full view of the room.

The duck, specially imported from France, was carved tableside before its frame was placed into the press. The mechanism was slowly tightened, extracting the concentrated juices that would be worked into the sauce. What followed was meticulous but unhurried — carving, pressing, saucing and finishing taking place only a few feet from the guests who would eat it.

This was dining-room theatre in the classical sense.

Long before the modern chef's table brought diners into the kitchen, grand restaurants brought part of the kitchen's craft to the diner. Carving, flambéing, saucing and finishing dishes tableside were not embellishments to the meal; they were part of the service itself. At ARTUR, that distinction still matters. The ritual felt dramatic without being showy, practiced rather than performative — and all the more fascinating because so few restaurants still do it.

In the glass, Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2021 accompanied the duck, with Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux 2016 appearing later in the evening — serious Bordeaux that needed little introduction.

Dessert offered one final piece of old-school theatre.

Cherries Jubilee arrived at the table and, moments later, the pan caught flame. Blue-orange fire rose briefly above the cherries before settling into warm fruit and Madagascar vanilla cream. After the measured mechanics of the silver press, the sudden flare of the flambé felt like an exclamation point.

By then, the tropical rain had hardly relented.

Coffee was poured, madeleines and canelés appeared, and conversations carried on well beyond dessert.

Outside, Bangkok was still under umbrellas. Inside, nobody seemed particularly eager to leave.

Vive la Chaîne!