Frank The Man

Let’s follow… series, is a casual blog entry where we will follow a member of the Lebua family, as he or she goes through a typical day at work.

We will get to know what their job is all about, the ins and outs of the department and interesting facts and anecdotes.

LET’S FOLLOW…FRANK ZIEGLER

As the man hired to revamp the overall culinary offers in lebua, Khun Frank Ziegler comes with a string of impressive experiences that will not fit a page in a normal CV. Then again, his climb in the culinary world is nothing but normal, and is high up in the stratosphere that is best described as extraordinary.

Throughout various chats with Chef Frank (as he is fondly called here) in Mozu or any of the restaurants in The Dome, – I’ve managed to compile quite a selection of anecdotes. Today, we are presenting it sotto voce, kinda in point form too for easy reading.

-Here we go –

Having cooked for a certain French president back in the nineties, Chef Frank has had his picture on the front page of not one, but two of the national newspapers of France. After a series of experiences in 3 Michelin stars restaurants in France and Europe, Chef Frank ventured across the Atlantic, spearheading hotel openings (restaurant side). Doing more, sleeping less, from Miami all the way to Chicago, before finally being handpicked by Wynn Macau. Presently, of course, he is at the lebua Hotels and Resorts in Bangkok.

He cooked before, in Sarajevo – not for weeks, but 2 years, as part of the UNPROFOR team with a Five Stars French General Force Commander running a team from 38 nations. As the Executive Chef of lebua, Chef Frank oversees all the restaurants.

If you ever get a chance to seat at his table, you will know the amount of dedication and commitment to detail in the menu revamp, kitchen renovation etc. “Be in love with food is a true commitment”.

Food tasting is not the main event of the day for Chef Frank, though he does have to attend quite a few, always in a close cooperation and working in sync with the chefs de cuisine. Considering there’s Mozu for breakfast menu and all day dining plus the string of other great restaurants within lebua, this is no surprise.

Next to the kitchen admin, or otherwise refer to as “His Headquarters”, there is a new fruit peeling and fruit juice processing room, where all equipment are top-notch and hygiene is pivotal.

Hygiene management is something that Chef Frank champions. Evidently, there is an appointed hygiene officer by rotation to ensure all is in check and in sync across the various food departments for the vital safety of the customers.

Working closely with the Mozu expat chefs, he has recently achieved a new menu for Mozu Restaurant and a brand new in-room dining menu that will include, among others, a caviar and champagne breakfast for memorable stays of the hotel guests.

Chef Frank is immensely proud of the multi-restaurant concept that has the best expat chefs around Bangkok. If not having a food tasting session, he usually orders a bowl of wholesome chicken noodles in Mozu. Of course, that is after walking around the buffet line, looking for inconsistencies and checking the quality of the food.

His chef-suit is tailor-made and shipped in from New York. So does his whole entire core crew of chefs, while the service crew don a very effective cap of sorts, designed by Chef Frank himself. “The crispness and colour-coded staff uniforms has to be appealing to the eyes of the customers”. Even the kitchen ‘scalp hat’ is designed by him. “It is important that our crew work comfortably and safely.”

During breakfast, at Mozu – the home made yoghurt and jam is tastefully made and served in a small cup, that looks solid and is a cross between a measuring cup and a science beaker, imported from France.

Mezzaluna opens at 6pm, and the bread is baked fresh at 5pm. Served with olive oil that is exclusively imported from Morocco, the taste is hard to put into words. I suggest you to come and try.

Via a close collaboration with the lebua twin chefs Thomas and Mathias Sühring, Lufthansa will now feature selected masterpieces from their Business and First class guests only. Mezzaluna was transformed from an Italian restaurant to an exclusive new concept for gourmet diner, themed as “Modern Innovative Cuisine”. An epicurean and epic journey begins here.

Chef Frank came up with the term tectonic plate. You should hear the story behind the inspiration.

Bringing on board and working closely with Chef James Ho and Sam Leong was one more fantastic story to add on into my repertoire.

“I have experienced and worked around the planet in some of the most ‘hip and chic’ fine dining places. I have rarely seen such premium food ingredients and clean presentation so beautifully elevated on their tectonic plates. It is clear that the twin Chefs have gain my highest respect. It is time now for them to be recognized and discovered by the rest of the world as simply “the best”.

Chef Frank brought in Executive Pastry Chef, Gilles Delaloy to his innovative team. Since then, cakes in lebua is so artistic to look at, it becomes a tad bit sad before one starts spoiling it by eating. But then, one fork-full later, the heavens always come down, sort of. Many like me choose to have the cake at the beginning, not at the end of a meal.

I personally choose Chef Gilles based on my feelings and saw an open mind from the “new pastry Chefs generation”; his newly extended and unlimited creations are in perfect harmony and showcase his mastery of this amazing art. The breads, like French says are singing morning and night! You may find every morning at Mozu breakfast, bake 5 times daily, the best croissants as if you where having your coffee on the street of an early Paris morning on Champs-Elysees.

A tri-dimensional chocolate box was created too, for the exquisite Tower Club at lebua. Yes, by Chef Frank of course.

With Chef Frank championing the culinary and dining efforts from the top, lebua is bound to go places, if not already. “I always see challenges from different aspects and come with a different approach. I am thankful for the trust that my boss put in me”.

My nights in Hotels

This blog entry has no meaning. We are fast approaching the middle portion of the last month of the year. An entry with a reflective tone and no particular focus is only natural.

Last I checked, I’ve journeyed in 143 flights, a huge portion of it is domestic of course but I had my fair share of international ones spanning continents, leaving little room for complain. And along it, is quite a list of hotel nights. For most, a hotel is a place to put up, for a pillow on one’s head so to speak, when away in foreign land. For me, it is much more than that.

My first international destination was Singapore but I had no opportunity for a hotel stay. I was still a student back then, so my distant never-met-before uncle’s place is the best fit, financially speaking. I will never forget his fierce brown dog that guarded the entire unit, and I felt like I was trespassing each time I needed to go beyond the bedroom. So, technically speaking, Japan provided my first experience in a hotel abroad. I vividly recalled the television to be rather small, and the bathroom even smaller. And the vending machine outside sells access card for adult-movie channels. What I don’t remember is if I bought a card

For me, a hotel showcases an imaginary life; I can assume a different identity and experience something home cannot offer. My choices of hotels in my early years are a direct reflection of my spending power. The five-star hotels whose names are so melodic became a pursuit for me. And I like to think that I am/was not alone. I purchased my first premium membership to one such hotel, not because I could afford it, but I perceived that I could. The credit card helped, but as a young executive climbing the ranks, I gave no second thought to it. I wanted to taste the difference, and be seen in the hotel that is marketed as the epitome of luxury. I was seen there of course, too many times though all I drank was the cheapest drink on the cocktail menu. And yes, I was paying for it out of my own pocket.

Fast forward 7 years, and I realized there’s an evolving pattern and summarizing conclusion. I still find myself occasionally in a five-star hotel admiring the marbled floor and high ceiling, but at someone else’s dime now. My choices of hotels now do not reflect my spending power. I also decided that the other hotels with less stars maybe equally hospitable or at times, more. In Hong Kong, I have a favorite because there’s always an upgrade and checking in from the 14th floor feels regal, and is a lot faster. I felt pampered each time I returned. You see, that pampering is part of the imaginative cocoon I draw up each time I travel. I don’t demand it, but I appreciate it very much each time I get it.

In Bangkok, I make regular trips to lebua for the view and the myriad of cocktails available, created by their very own full time mixologist, Alex. Each time I step into their river view suite, I ignore the free fruit platter and the kitchen amenities. But months after each stay, I can still vividly recall the delicious complimentary homemade chocolates and the Bvlgari products in the bathroom. Such are the magical effects of a great hotel.



When in Nagoya, I stick with the first hotel I stayed during my first trip because to make up for the lack of English speaking crew, they always checked us in so swiftly that before I fully used up the cold towel, the key is presented. Rooms are small but really new, hats off to their housekeeping team. Not marketed as a 5 star property, but in my books, they are. And for that, I will always return in my thrice a year pilgrimage to this city.

I’ve my fair share of Holiday Inns, a Hilton here and there and a Le Méridien nearly everywhere. From the lush picturesque Chiang Rai to Bavarian Munich a continent away, and from the Venice of the East to the real one in the West, I have amassed enough hotel stays and joyful anecdotes that at times, keep me awake at night in my own bed in my own apartment. As I welcome the Christmas season, I look forward to more hotel stays, and to more magical adventures.

Next up, another stay at lebua as I work to finish up the writing assignments handed to me.

Have a good December everyone.