Mogens Bay Esbensen (born 1930) is a prominent Danish born

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

who is widely credited with introducing

Thai cuisine Thai cuisine ( th, อาหารไทย, , ) is the national cuisine of Thailand. Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong Odor, aromatic components and a spicy edge. Australian chef David Thompson (chef), David ...

and ingredients to Australia,Stephen Downes » Finding Mogens
/ref> and is considered a pioneer of

Modern Australian cuisine Modern Australian cuisine, also known as Mod Oz or contemporary Australian cuisine, is the fusion cuisine characteristic to Australia. History Australian cuisine is derived from the tastes of immigrant settlers to Australia and the produce the ...

. He operated ''La Causerie'', ''Pavilion on the Park'', ''Butler's'' and ''The Old Bank'' restaurants in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and ''Nautilus'' in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

. He now lives on the island of

Læsø Læsø ("Isle of Hlér") is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') on that is ...

halfway between

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Career

Esbensen was born on a farm 60 km south of Copenhagen in 1930. He started cooking at age 4, and at age 15 trained as a chef under Ejler Jørgensen, a famous Copenhagen chef and restaurateur. At age 22 he was executive chef at the ''Hotel de France''. In order to travel he joined Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS) as a flight steward where he cooked in flight meals. In 1959 he was posted to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, returning to Denmark at the end of his one-year posting. He returned to

to take up a position of food and beverage manager at the Rama Hotel, attempted to set up a floating hotel in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, and later was involved in setting up an international resort at

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi province, Chonburi. Pattaya City ( ...

. In 1965 Esbensen opened his first restaurant called ''Two Vikings'' and in 1972 sold his interest to his business partner in order to establish an orchid farm near Pattaya, but the venture failed and he lost his life savings. Two years later he became a consultant to the Bangkok Hyatt Hotel, and it was while on a promotional trip to the Hyatt Kingsgate Kings Cross that he decided to relocate to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.Thai Cuisine" Mogens Bay Esbensen (1990) pp8-9 He began by operating a small restaurant ''La Causerie'' before becoming head chef of ''Pavilion on the Park'' in 1976. The restaurant, which he ran with chef

Damien Pignolet Damien Pignolet (born c. 1948) is an Australian chef who created the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award. Pignolet was born in Melbourne, Victoria. He is a second-generation Australian of French descent. He studied at the William An ...

, became very popular and was a financial success, netting nearly $1 million in one year. Esbensen began by cooking

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

, but later introduced Thai dishes based on his 17 years living in Bangkok. He purchased ''Butler's'' in 1979 where he introduced an international menu, although the restaurant was predominantly known as a French Restaurant. He demanded then unknown Thai ingredients

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, P ...

lemon grass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some s ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

Thai eggplant Thai eggplant ( th, มะเขือ, ') is the name for several varieties of eggplant used in Southeast Asian cuisines, most often of the eggplant species ''Solanum melongena''. They are also cultivated in India and Sri Lanka and feature in ...

s, and

tropical fruits A tropical fruit one that typically grows in warm climates, or Equatorial region, equatorial areas. Tropical fruits Varieties of tropical fruit include: *Acerola (West Indian Cherry or Barbados Cherry) *Ackee *Banana *Barbadine (granadilla; ...

of Sydney suppliers, and eventually these became available. While on holiday in

Port Douglas Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately 60 km north of Cairns. In the , Port Douglas had a population of 3,504 people. The town's population can often double, however, with the in ...

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...

, in the early 1980s, Esbensen purchased the ''Nautilus'' restaurant and ran this at the same time as Butler's. It was at ''Nautilus'' that he became famous for his Thai cuisine. In 1986 he wrote the influential ''Thai Cuisine'', and in 1988 ''A Taste of the Tropics: the Delights of Australian Tropical Fruit'' published by Viking O'Neil, and both out of print. By 1989 Esbensen had sold ''Nautilus'' and returned to Sydney to concentrate on ''Butler's.''.

Later life

Esbensen was initially very successful as an owner chef and in the 1990s built a tropical househttps://web.archive.org/web/20120324103836/https://www.realestate.com.au/property-acreage+semi+rural-qld-cardwell-105139743.pdf?6a9db38902db8178a4c318421a0465ca on 7 acres of rainforest near Cardwell in Far North Queensland. However, by 1990 a combination of financial difficulties associated with Butler's and a chronic illness which prevented him from working caused his financial collapse. Successful surgery came too late to prevent the loss of both the restaurant and his beloved house, and he left Australia disheartened in 1992. Curious about Esbensen's fate, prominent Australian food critic Stephen Downes set out to find him in 2001. Downes tracked Esbensen down to the remote island of

where he conducted a series of interviews which were later included in a book titled ''Advanced Australian Fare'' published by Allen & Unwin in 2002. Esbensen appears to be still residing on the island.

References

Books

''Thai Cuisine'' by Mogens Bay Esbensen. 1986 & 1990 editions published by Viking O'Neil ''A Taste of the Tropics: the Delights of Australian Tropical Fruit'' by Mogens Bay Esbensen. 1988 edition published by Viking O'Neil ''Advanced Australian Fare: How Australian Cooking Became The World's Best'' by Stephen Downes. Published by Allen & Unwin 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Esbensen, Mogens Bay 1930 births Australian cuisine Danish chefs Living people People from Læsø Municipality