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Photos: IGNIV Bangkok
In 2019, chef Arne Riehn was given an offer he couldn’t refuse: Uproot from Switzerland and move halfway across the world to Bangkok, where he would help European culinary phenom Andreas Caminada of three-Michelin-starred Schloss Schauenstein in the expansion of his IGNIV empire as both sous and pastry chef at the renowned restaurateur’s newly opened outpost in the Thai capital.
It’s been five long years, more than a dozen seasonal menus, and a Michelin star — earned barely a year after opening and held in the years that followed — and German-born Riehn, who worked at IGNIV Bangkok as its pastry and sous chef, hasn’t looked back.
The freshly-minted head chef of IGNIV Bangkok now eats, lives, and breathes Bangkok in all its effervescent gastronomic splendour. He scours the city for street food like larb moo tod, an Isaan-style snack of crispy pork meatballs, and when something more substantial is required, jim joom, a hearty hotpot loaded with herbs, meat, and vegetables served bubbling over a charcoal stove.
For dessert, the confectioner and baker by training munches on bua loy, a sweet, creamy bowl of sesame paste-stuffed glutinous rice balls swimming in coconut milk.
He visits the famous Mahanak Market often, wending his way through the chaos of the wholesale produce market in the central Bangkok district of Dusit to score fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, and seafood.
Executive chef Arne Riehn of IGNIV Bangkok. (Photo: IGNIV Bangkok)
It’s about as far-flung as it can get from Riehn’s previous life as an alum of Caminada’s prestigious culinary scholarship programme, Fundazin Uccelin, which saw him placed in European fine-dining establishments such as three-starred Pavillon Ledoyen, two-starred Domaine de Chatauvieux of Geneva, and most recently, Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, Switzerland, where he tended to the wood-fired stone oven bakery in the three-Michelin-starred restaurant.
But that stark difference just makes Riehn appreciate “Asia’s incredible culinary heritage and produce” all the more. Says the chef, “What I love most about Bangkok’s food scene is its amazing diversity and vibrancy. From delicious street food to high-end restaurants serving innovative dishes, there’s something for everyone.”
“The city’s culinary landscape is a melting pot of flavours and traditions, where you can find authentic Thai cuisine alongside global influences. This dynamic mix creates an exciting and ever-evolving food culture that inspires and excites me.”
Ruling the roost
A dish from IGNIV Bangkok’s Spring menu features caviar, an ingredient that one usually wouldn’t think to be produced in Thailand, along with trout and chocolate. (Photo: IGNIV Bangkok)
As Riehn steps up to take the mantle of executive chef at IGNIV Bangkok, he will now have greater freedom to express his culinary creativity and gastronomic chops than ever before.
It’s a role that carries a heavy responsibility, considering the success that the Thai outlet and its sister restaurants in Bad Ragaz, Zurich, and St Moritz (now closed) managed to achieve under Caminada’s wing, with each of the four outposts snagging one or two Michelin stars at some point in their respective runs.
Even so, the chef is facing the challenge head-on, cognisant of — and committed to — the IGNIV ethos in its entirety.
“The name IGNIV, meaning ‘nest’ in chef Andreas’ native Romansh, symbolises our inspiration from a bird’s family using materials from their surroundings to build a nest and feed the family,” he says.
A dessert from the summer menu: Milchreis (German rice pudding) paired with peaches and passionfruit. (Photo: IGNIV Bangkok)
“This guides my approach towards the menu, and I take inspiration from our suppliers who bring in amazing produce — what’s in season and available in small batches — which really drives our creativity,” adds Riehn. “When you have a great product, you build around it, and I love to keep it simple to really let the ingredients shine.”
A love affair with Thai chocolate
Both locally produced figs from the city of Nonthaburi and peaches (above) cultivated by the hill tribes of northern Thailand are featured on the current summer menu, along with one local ingredient that’s truly captured the chef’s heart: chocolate.
“One local ingredient I adore is the chocolate, which I believe surpasses Swiss chocolate!” says Riehn. “As such, Thai chocolate is always featured on the menu. For our current summer menu, we use 70 per cent single-origin chocolate from Chanthaburi province, located east of Thailand.”
IGNIV Bangkok uses chocolates from the provinces of Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, and Chanthaburi. (Photo: IGNIV Bangkok)
“The note is fruity, which works well for our chocolate bars at the Candy Store and one of our desserts, paired with Cascara and pickled rose petals, both from Thailand (pictured above),” he continues. The Candy Store refers to a takeaway service available at all IGNIV restaurants that sees guests heading home with a selection of their favourite sweets.
At the Bangkok venue, these takeaway nibbles include fruit jellies, chocolate bonbons, and chocolate-covered nuts made from local ingredients to honour Thai terroir while pushing the brand’s ethos.
The Candy Store, a fixture found at all IGNIV venues. (Photo: IGNIV Bangkok)
By the time you’ve read this, IGNIV Bangkok would’ve rolled out its first menu under Riehn’s oversight — an autumnal feast rooted in earthy, hearty ingredients like beetroot and game meat — and completed a pop-up at contemporary Irish joint, Cure, in Singapore. Here’s hoping that IGNIV family might soon want to build a nest somewhere closer to the Lion City.
