Chef Norbert offers ready-to-heat greatness

One thing I always remember chef Norbert telling me, during my years as a food journalist, is that no matter how persevering a cook you are, you can never cook a great dish without good ingredients.

“You know. It’s like women. You just do a little doll up on an already pretty one and can turn her into a beauty queen,” he said as his eyes sparkled with passion.

An esteemed culinary master much-loved by highbrow epicures and chefs across Thailand, Norbert Kostner had for four decades until 2015 served as the executive chef of the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.

During that time he made the hotel renowned for its second-to-none restaurants and banqueting as it picked up multiple Best Hotel in the World awards.

Today in his mid 70s, the legendary…