Tell us about your background?
I was born in Roi Et province where my parents were farmers. I really admired my dad’s cooking, so I dreamed of becoming a chef. But when I grew up, I decided to study tourism and hotel management and become a waiter.

How did you become a sommelier?
I was working at a steak restaurant and I noticed that people love to eat steak with wine, so I wanted to learn more. I mostly taught myself but I also went to some training programs that the hotel sent me to and got advice from many senior sommeliers. Within a year, I could distinguish between different types of wine. I tried to test as many varieties as possible by pooling money with friends in Phuket who were also sommeliers. Finally, I got a job at Anantara Phuket Villa’ Sea.Fire.Salt as a sommelier.

How do you go about pairing wine with food, especially Thai cuisine?
Finding the perfect wine is really down to personal taste. For me, Thai food is the most difficult to pair with wine because it contains so much depth of flavor. With wine pairings, I must consider the ingredients of the food, what type of meat, sauce, herbs and even how it is cooked. In the final round of Thailand’s Best Sommelier Competition 2012, I paired a white wine with gaeng massaman nue (thick peanut curry with beef) while others paired it with red wine as it contained beef. In my personal opinion, the curry is really heavy due to the coconut milk and beef, so it’s better to lighten it with white wine. It turned out to be the right decision in that competition.

How do you take care of your senses?
I still eat my favorite somtam poo plara as per usual, but I have to have it long before I start my daily work at the restaurant. I also avoid eating things that are too hot because it destroys my taste for a couple of days. I don’t put on strong perfume and I don’t smoke. I exercise to stay healthy because taking medicine also disturbs my senses.

What is your dream?
I want to be a restaurateur who specializes in wine. I want to manage a restaurant and make it famous for great food and great wine with the very best sommelier. I hope to do this in Phuket because I know this place better than anywhere else.