AngloThai’s John and Desiree Chantarasak host a spring feast

By News Room Last updated Apr 16, 2025

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John and Desiree Chantarasak are the chef-sommelier couple behind AngloThai, the joyful London restaurant that opened last November, where contemporary Thai recipes meet top-quality local ingredients. It was awarded a Michelin star in February. Desiree’s wine list champions British and European producers focused on sustainable craftsmanship, while John’s menu, which changes with the seasons, is a celebration of his half-Thai, half-British heritage. Their colourful home in Battersea is decorated with posters announcing the pop‑ups they used to hold, and furnished with a well-stocked wine fridge and perhaps the most organised pantry in existence (“I love my label maker,” John says). At this time of year, they are celebrating Songkran — Thai New Year — the biggest event in the country’s holiday calendar.

John We are particularly busy these days as we juggle our restaurant and our young family. Rufus, our son, is three, and we recently celebrated our daughter Aubretia’s first birthday. However, we always find time to spend Sundays together, and often invite our family and friends over for lunch. My brother and his wife have two children who are close to ours in age, so lunch suits us perfectly. The kids can join before having a nap in the afternoon, which grants the adults an opportunity to open a bottle of wine and relax. I’m in charge of the cooking, while Desiree handles the drinks.

Sunday cooking remains a joy to me. I relish the therapeutic nature of preparing food for a small number of people. To make the day more enjoyable, I do as much preparation as possible before guests arrive and try to have everything organised — even down to crockery warming, ready to be plated up — so that while hosting, I can spend maximum time with our guests. My preference is to have something cold-plated available when people arrive, usually followed by a celebratory cut of meat or fish that might require the most last-minute cooking of the whole meal. With dessert, I like to have something prepared ahead of time, so it can be brought out at the end of a meal with minimal fuss.

I always cook seasonally, so during Easter there is an emphasis on spring ingredients such as lamb and wild garlic, with a nod to Thailand.

Desiree We take immense pride in welcoming people to our home. When I was growing up, my parents hosted dinner parties almost every weekend and had an open-door policy to guests, so I feel like hospitality was ingrained in me at a young age. The moment someone walks through our door, I like to offer a drink before almost anything else — something that feels celebratory and will whet the appetite. For me, a glass of sparkling wine does all the above. We tend to reach for small producers that are sustainably minded and offer a sense of place (like the ones listed).

Chalk Stream trout with sea buckthorn herb salad

Using a sharp knife, remove the skin from the trout fillets in a single piece. Line a baking tray with baking parchment, lay the trout skin on the parchment and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Lay another sheet of baking parchment on top of the trout skin, followed by another baking tray on top to hold it flat, then transfer to a preheated oven set at 190C. Cook the trout skin for 12 minutes until crispy, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Cut the trout fillets lengthways into slices half a centimetre thick. Lay the sliced trout on a serving platter in a single layer.
In a small bowl, mix together the palm sugar, fish sauce, sea buckthorn juice, lime juice and chilli powder, and ensure all the ingredients are well combined. This is your dressing and will taste sour, sweet, salty and a little bit spicy.
In another bowl, combine the coriander leaves, mint leaves, Thai basil leaves, spring onions, lemongrass and makrut lime leaf. Add half the dressing and toss the herbs to coat.
Sprinkle the sliced trout with sea salt flakes to season, then spoon over the remaining dressing. Scatter the trout with the dressed aromatic herbs and garnish with pieces of crispy trout skin that have been broken into shards.

Leafy radishes with whipped tofu and caviar

Clean the radishes in a large bowl of cold water. Drain off the water, ensuring the bowl is clean. Submerge the radishes in fresh cold water and leave until it’s time to serve.
Transfer the silken tofu to a fine sieve and gently press to remove any excess liquid. This will help to make a thicker final product with a richer feel.
Add the silken tofu, white miso, lime juice and sesame oil to a blender. Blitz until very smooth and thick. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill in the fridge until required.
To serve, drain the radishes on a kitchen towel then transfer to a serving plate with the whipped tofu topped with caviar.

Lamb sirloin with makrut lime and wild garlic curry

Make the curry paste by pounding the ingredients (dried chillies, lemongrass, galangal or ginger, makrut lime leaf, coriander root, shallot, garlic and shrimp paste) in a pestle and mortar until very smooth. Or blitz the paste in a blender, using a little water if necessary so the paste blends smooth. Alternatively, use a good-quality, shop-bought red curry paste.
Combine half the coconut milk with the coconut oil in a pan and warm over a medium heat until the cream separates and develops an oily sheen, about three minutes. Add the curry paste and cook until fully incorporated with the cream, about five minutes. Season with the palm sugar and fish sauce, then add the remaining coconut milk and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for a further five minutes until the sauce develops a slight oily sheen on the surface.
Add the makrut lime and cook for two minutes so the fruit imparts its citrus flavour to the curry and gives a pleasant tart brightness to the sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the curry to sit for a few minutes so the flavours can develop.
Meanwhile, season the lamb sirloin with sea salt and place it fat-side down in a cold frying pan. Turn the hob to a medium heat and allow the lamb fat to render and take on a deep golden colour. Remove the lamb from the pan (and tip off any excess fat into the curry sauce) then turn the heat to high so the pan can get hot. Sear the lamb all over, giving colouration to the meat. Transfer to a preheated oven set at 190C for 10 minutes. Remove the lamb from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before carving into 2cm-thick slices.
To finish the curry, remove and discard the makrut lime. Bring the curry sauce back to a simmer and wilt the wild garlic leaves in the sauce. Remove from the heat and transfer the sauce to a serving plate. Top the curry with the portioned lamb sirloin.

Jersey Royal potatoes with Thai green sauce

Green Sauce

Wash the potatoes of any grit under cold running water. Add the potatoes to a wide pan so they roughly sit in a single layer. Cover with cold water and season with sea salt as you would pasta water (this is your chance to season the potatoes).
Bring the water and potatoes to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the potatoes to cook for 10 minutes until tender (the tip of a knife should push through without resistance).
Meanwhile, make the green sauce by pulsing the herbs, capers and garlic in a food processor until chopped fine. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to your desired texture. The sauce should have some texture like a chimichurri or pesto. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and lime juice. Set aside until required.
Drain the potatoes then add the butter to the pan. Once the butter is melted, add the potatoes back to the pan, mixing them to ensure they are nicely coated. Cover with a lid and set aside for 20 minutes to allow the potatoes to soak up the flavour of the butter.
To serve, drain the potatoes of any excess butter then add to a bowl with the green sauce and toss so they are evenly coated.

Asparagus with Sichuan pepper vinaigrette

In a dry pan, toast the Sichuan peppercorns over a medium heat to release their oils. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and grind into a powder, or blitz in a spice grinder.
Add the white miso, palm sugar and warm water to a bowl. Whisk to combine and dissolve the sugar, forming a thick paste.
While whisking, add the rapeseed oil one tablespoon at a time so that the oil emulsifies and thickens the vinaigrette. Once all the rapeseed oil is used and you have a thick base, add the vinegar, lime juice and ground Sichuan peppercorn, whisking to combine well. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Season the water with salt then add the asparagus and cook until tender but with an al dente bite. Timings depend on the thickness of the asparagus.
Drain the asparagus and allow them to cool slightly. Transfer to a mixing bowl and dress with the Sichuan pepper vinaigrette. Transfer to a serving plate.

Citrus posset with palm sugar cakes

Citrus posset

Palm sugar cakes

For the posset, combine the cream, sugar and lime juice in a pan and place over a medium heat. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for a further minute to ensure the sugar has fully dissolved into the cream. Add the salt and whisk to combine.
Remove the cream from the heat and pass through a fine sieve to ensure it is smooth. Divide between four individual serving bowls or ramekins and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, or overnight.
For the palm sugar cakes, whisk the sugars and eggs until they are a pale yellow. Melt the butter and honey, then slowly combine with the pale creamed eggs, whisking to ensure the eggs don’t scramble.
Sieve the flour and baking powder, then fold into egg mixture. Transfer to a piping bag or an airtight container and rest in the fridge for two hours, or overnight.
Remove the citrus possets from the fridge 20 minutes before serving.
Transfer the cake batter into greased moulds or cupcake cases and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the cakes from the mould and serve alongside the citrus possets.

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