Stories — Sebby Holmes

Stories, Thai Food, Chef LifeSeb HolmesJune 16, 2026Farang LondonThai Cooking, Thai Food, Chef Life, Learning to Cook, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Thai Cuisine, Kitchen Life, Chef Stories, Begging Bowl, Food Culture, British Thai FoodComment

You Never Stop Learning. That's the Whole Point.

I came to Thai food the wrong way. No family connection, no grandmother's kitchen smelling of galangal. Fifteen years later the water keeps getting deeper, and that is precisely why I haven't stopped.

Stories, Thai Food, Chef LifeSeb HolmesJune 16, 2026Farang LondonThai Cooking, Thai Food, Chef Life, Learning to Cook, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Thai Cuisine, Kitchen Life, Chef Stories, Begging Bowl, Food Culture, British Thai FoodComment

You Never Stop Learning. That's the Whole Point.

Stories, Tales from Behind the PasSeb HolmesMay 21, 2026Farang LondonThai Street Food, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, British Food Culture, Miang, Banana Roti, Nahm Yum, Som Tum, London Restaurants, Thai Restaurants London, Food Trends UK, Street Food LondonComment

Why Thai Street Food Is the Biggest Thing Happening in British Food Right Now

I've been cooking Thai food in London for fifteen years. For most of that time I was having the same conversation. Thai food is more than pad thai and green curry. Give it time. The time is now.

Stories, Tales from Behind the PasSeb HolmesMay 21, 2026Farang LondonThai Street Food, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, British Food Culture, Miang, Banana Roti, Nahm Yum, Som Tum, London Restaurants, Thai Restaurants London, Food Trends UK, Street Food LondonComment

Why Thai Street Food Is the Biggest Thing Happening in British Food Right Now

Opinion, StoriesSeb HolmesJune 03, 2025The Royal Thai EmbassyFarang London, Sebby Holmes, Thai Select, Royal Thai Embassy, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, Prime Minister Thailand, London Restaurants, Thai British Cuisine, Miang, British Seafood, Thai Awards, Chef Stories, Food CultureComment

From Highbury to Bangkok: Cooking for Thailand's Prime Minister

The call came on a Tuesday. The Royal Thai Embassy wanted to know if I'd be interested in cooking a demonstration for Thailand's Prime Minister during her official UK visit. I said yes before I'd finished reading the sentence.

Opinion, StoriesSeb HolmesJune 03, 2025The Royal Thai EmbassyFarang London, Sebby Holmes, Thai Select, Royal Thai Embassy, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, Prime Minister Thailand, London Restaurants, Thai British Cuisine, Miang, British Seafood, Thai Awards, Chef Stories, Food CultureComment

From Highbury to Bangkok: Cooking for Thailand's Prime Minister

Opinion, StoriesSeb HolmesMarch 25, 2025Farang LondonBritish Produce, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, British Farming, British Seafood, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, London Restaurants, Farm to Fork, Restaurant Stories, Seasonal Cooking, Chef Stories, Borough Market, Thai British CuisineComment

From Farm to Farang: Our British Sourcing Story

The fishmonger texts me at dawn. Not every morning, but often enough that I check my phone before I've had a coffee. Sometimes it's a load of British mackerel just landed. That's what working with suppliers who care actually looks like.

Opinion, StoriesSeb HolmesMarch 25, 2025Farang LondonBritish Produce, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, British Farming, British Seafood, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, London Restaurants, Farm to Fork, Restaurant Stories, Seasonal Cooking, Chef Stories, Borough Market, Thai British CuisineComment

From Farm to Farang: Our British Sourcing Story

Stories, Thai FoodSeb HolmesFebruary 19, 2025Farang LondonThai Curry Paste, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Curry Paste Recipe, Mortar and Pestle, Thai Cooking, Payst London, Thai Cooking Tips, Restaurant Stories, Chef Stories, London Restaurants, Thai British CuisineComment

Mastering Thai Curry Pastes: A Chef's Guide to Authentic Flavours

The first thing you learn about curry paste is that it takes longer than you think. The second thing is that your arm will hurt. The third is that it's worth it by a distance that makes every other shortcut in cooking feel trivial.

Stories, Thai FoodSeb HolmesFebruary 19, 2025Farang LondonThai Curry Paste, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Curry Paste Recipe, Mortar and Pestle, Thai Cooking, Payst London, Thai Cooking Tips, Restaurant Stories, Chef Stories, London Restaurants, Thai British CuisineComment

Mastering Thai Curry Pastes: A Chef's Guide to Authentic Flavours

Navigating the World of Negative Customer Reviews in Restaurants: A Chef's Perspective

We got a one-star review last year from someone who never made it past the front door. They tried to walk in on a Friday night without a booking, the restaurant was full, they left. Half an hour later: one star. "Wouldn't seat us. Very rude." We'd never met.

Stories, Thai FoodSeb HolmesJanuary 21, 2025Farang LondonThai Green Curry, Thai Cuisine, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Kaeng Khiao Wan, Green Curry Paste, Thai Food UK, Payst London, Thai Cooking, London Restaurants, Chef Stories, Thai British Cuisine, Coconut Curry, Restaurant RecipesComment

Thai Green Curry: The Real Version

Green curry is the most misunderstood dish in Thai cooking, at least in this country. Most people in Britain have eaten it, or think they have. What they've eaten is a sweet, mild, pale green soup from a takeaway box. It is categorically not the same thing.

Stories, Thai FoodSeb HolmesJanuary 21, 2025Farang LondonThai Green Curry, Thai Cuisine, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Kaeng Khiao Wan, Green Curry Paste, Thai Food UK, Payst London, Thai Cooking, London Restaurants, Chef Stories, Thai British Cuisine, Coconut Curry, Restaurant RecipesComment

Industry, StoriesSeb HolmesDecember 04, 2022Farang LondonPayst London, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Thai Curry Paste, Fresh Curry Paste, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, London Restaurants, Restaurant Stories, Food Business, Chef Stories, Small Business UK, Hospitality UK

Farang London Gives Birth to Payst London

The difference between a fresh curry paste and an ambient one is the same as the difference between a fresh tuna steak and a tin. The curry is one of the most widely eaten things in the country. The paste that goes into it has been, for most of that time, represented really badly.

Industry, StoriesSeb HolmesDecember 04, 2022Farang LondonPayst London, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Thai Curry Paste, Fresh Curry Paste, Thai Food UK, Thai Cuisine, London Restaurants, Restaurant Stories, Food Business, Chef Stories, Small Business UK, Hospitality UK

Farang London Gives Birth to Payst London

Industry, StoriesSeb HolmesAugust 14, 2021Farang LondonFarangdemic, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Pandemic Restaurant, Covid Hospitality, Farang Larder, Thai Food UK, London Restaurants, Restaurant Stories, Hospitality UK, Chef Stories, Restaurant Business, Dishpatch, Small Business UKComment

Farangdemic: How We Weathered the Shit Storm

It's late January 2020, and the team and I are heading to Bangkok for a week. By March we had twenty-five staff in a very expensive empty building and no income plan. We went from hero to zero in a matter of hours. This is how Farang weathered it.

Industry, StoriesSeb HolmesAugust 14, 2021Farang LondonFarangdemic, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Pandemic Restaurant, Covid Hospitality, Farang Larder, Thai Food UK, London Restaurants, Restaurant Stories, Hospitality UK, Chef Stories, Restaurant Business, Dishpatch, Small Business UKComment

Farangdemic: How We Weathered the Shit Storm

Industry, Opinion, StoriesSeb HolmesDecember 19, 2019Farang LondonOpening a Restaurant, Restaurant Mistakes, Farang London, Sebby Holmes, Hospitality Industry, Restaurant Business, London Restaurants, Chef Stories, Restaurant Tips, Small Business UK, Service Charge, Restaurant Bookings, Restaurant Management2 Comments

A Few Do's and Don'ts When Opening a Restaurant by a Man Who Opened One by Accident

There is no scripted way to open a restaurant. In my short few years opening Farang, I have made many mistakes. Some respectable, some just outright bonkers. With the right frame of mind, they've all taught me something.