Zero Waste - Prik Laap
JOIN THE ZERO WASTE / PRIK LAAP REVOLUTION
I have been cooking professionally for over twenty years, and throughout that
time I have been deeply committed to using ingredients in their entirety and eliminating waste within
my kitchens. What began as a personal obsession has evolved into a core principle that defines
how I cook, how I run my business, and how I train my chefs. Zero waste is not a trend within my
work—it is a responsibility and a discipline.
Cooking Thai food in England has sharpened this mindset considerably. In Thailand, ingredients
such as lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, chillies, garlic, and fresh herbs are abundant
and easily replaced. In England, these same ingredients are precious. That contrast fundamentally
reshaped my approach to Thai cooking: every trim, every offcut, and every by-product has value
and potential.
Context & Philosophy
My current restaurant and ongoing project, The Social Distortion, is best
described as experimental Thai. It is a space where flavour boundaries are pushed while remaining
grounded in the foundations of Thai cuisine. At the same time, it operates as a responsible and
viable business built on strong morals and ethics. Zero waste is embedded into every level of
decision-making—from dish development and technique to flavour building and kitchen systems.
Prik Laap as a Vehicle for Zero Waste
Through deeper exploration of Thai cuisine, I became particularly drawn to laab,
especially Esan and Northern Thai styles. This led naturally to Prik Laap.
While travelling, cooking, and learning in Thailand, I noticed that ingredients which would be highly
valued in the UK were often discarded or composted due to sheer abundance.
Development & Process
Over the past two years, we have trialled, tested, and refined zero-waste
Prik Laap using surplus produce, trims, offcuts, and by-products generated during daily kitchen
operations.
Outcomes & Applications
We now produce a rich savoury Prik Laap, a sweet Prik Laap for desserts
and drinks, and signature dishes such as Prik Laap Mole.
Broader Impact This project reflects how I strive to live and work as a chef and business
owner—guided by ethics, responsibility, and respect for ingredients.
This is Prik Laap rooted in tradition, shaped by constraint, and defined by the future of hospitality.
Savoury Zero waste - Prik Laap Dishes
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Zero waste Prik Laap / Mixology
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Brand Manifesto
We believe waste is a failure of imagination.
For generations, Prik Laap has been the backbone of laab cooking — a seasoning born from necessity, balance, and respect for ingredients. Our work begins with that same respect, but looks forward, not back.
Zero Waste Prik Laap exists to challenge how kitchens think, cook, and create today.
Born from many years of cooking Thai food across cultures, this project is rooted in a simple truth: when ingredients are treated as finite and valuable, flavour becomes deeper, more intentional, and more expressive. In a world of excess, restraint is power.
We transform overlooked trims, surplus aromatics, and by-products into Prik Laap with extraordinary depth — layered with umami, shaped by time, and driven by technique. Nothing is accidental. Nothing is disposable.
This is not about reducing quality.
It is about redefining it.
Our Prik Laap honours the foundations of Esan and Northern Thai cuisine while embracing the realities of modern hospitality: seasonality, sustainability, and responsibility. Each batch evolves, balancing heat, acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and savoury intensity — creating a living product that reflects both place and moment.
We cook with intention.
We use everything.
We leave nothing behind.
Zero Waste Prik Laap is more than an ingredient.
It is a tool for change — in professional kitchens, home cooking, and the future of food.
Tradition respected.
Waste rejected.
Flavour multiplied.
Zero waste Prik Laap / Sweet + Desserts
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Why a Zero Waste project?
Zero Waste Prik Laap – A Sustainable Culinary Platform
Zero Waste Prik Laap is a chef-led, sustainability-driven food product designed for the next generation of hospitality and conscious consumers.
At its core, the project transforms food waste into value. By repurposing surplus and by-products from professional kitchens, we create high-impact seasoning products rooted in Thai culinary heritage but aligned with modern market demands: sustainability, traceability, and flavour-forward innovation.
Why It Matters
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Zero-waste food systems are no longer niche — they are becoming an operational and ethical necessity in hospitality.
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Chefs and restaurants are actively seeking solutions that reduce cost, improve margins, and align with sustainability goals without sacrificing flavour or identity.
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Consumers increasingly value products with authentic stories, ethical production, and culinary credibility.
The Product
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Umami-rich Prik Laap with deep, evolving flavour profiles
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Sour-sweet Prik Laap for desserts and cross-category applications
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Versatile usage across savoury, sweet, and beverage programs
Each product is adaptable to regional ingredient availability, allowing for scalable production models that remain locally relevant.
The Opportunity
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B2B: Restaurants and hospitality groups integrating zero-waste system
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Education & Collaboration: Chef partnerships, workshops, and licensing
Zero Waste Prik Laap is not just a product — it is a platform for sustainable flavour innovation, designed to scale while remaining chef-driven and culturally authentic.
This is where ethics meet economics — and where waste becomes profit.
3. CHEF & PRESS ADAPTATION
A New Language for Prik Laap
Zero Waste Prik Laap is a response to how chefs are cooking today.
Across the world, kitchens are changing. Seasonality matters. Waste matters. Technique matters. Chefs are expected to do more — with less — and to do it with integrity.
This project was born from cooking Thai food in England, where ingredients are precious and nothing can be taken for granted. By applying this mindset to Prik Laap, we discovered new layers of flavour — deeper umami, greater balance, and unexpected versatility.
Using trims, surplus aromatics, and overlooked ingredients, we create Prik Laap that evolves over time. Each batch reflects its environment, its season, and the hand of the chef who made it.
This is not fusion.
This is not reinvention for the sake of it.
It is respect through discipline.
Zero Waste Prik Laap honours Esan and Northern Thai foundations while opening new creative pathways — from savoury dishes to desserts, broths, and modern interpretations like Prik Laap Mola.
For chefs, it is a tool.
For kitchens, it is a system.
For the industry, it is a statement.
This is what happens when tradition meets responsibility — and when flavour is built, not wasted.
Zero waste Prik Laap / Spice Blends
Zero Waste Creations
Concept Overview Zero Waste Prik Laap is rooted in traditional Thai cooking and reimagined
through a zero-waste philosophy. By using off-cuts, trimmings, fermentation, and by-products from
a busy Thai kitchen, this range explores depth, balance, and umami while minimising waste.
Core Product Range -
Savoury Zero Waste Prik Laap
A classic-style prik laap built on mak wahn pepper, chilli, and fish
paste, with remaining ingredients derived from curry paste off-cuts, relishes, and fresh prep waste.
Rich, spicy, and deeply savoury.
Savoury Vegan Zero Waste Prik Laap
A plant-based version replacing fish paste with fermented
soy bean and other vegan ingredients, maintaining traditional aroma, texture, and umami.
Sweet Prik Laap
A sweet-forward interpretation using mak wahn pepper, chilli, soy bean, Thai
aromatics, a unique spice blend, and dried white miso paste to create a lingering fermented finish.
Dry & Experimental Products -
Prik Laap Season
A dark, roasted seasoning using unique salts, designed for backbone-driven
savoury dishes.
Prik Laap Crunch
Classic prik laap combined with toasted coconut waste and fried shallots to add
texture and balance.
Prik Laap Mushroom Garum
A fermented umami product inspired by the Noma Test Kitchen, using
dried and fermented mushrooms, koji, vegan prik laap, and soy bean.
Dish Creations -
Prik Laap Mole
A fusion of Mexican mole negro and Thai flavour, using savoury zero-waste prik
laap as the defining ingredient.
Chinese Black Olive & Prik Laap Relish
A Thai-style relish combining fermented and fresh Chinese
black olives with vegan and sweet prik laap.
Sweet Applications & Mixology -
Miso Sugar Pie with Sweet Prik Laap
Inspired by crack pie, using sweet prik laap to enhance sugars and fats.
Sweet Prik Laap Thai Caramel
Thai caramel using pandan, coconut, spice, and umami.
Chocolate Mousse with Prik Laap
Dark chocolate mousse infused with sweet prik laap, finished with olive oil and salt.
Miso & Prik Laap Bourbon Punch
A clarified milk punch using sweet prik laap and miso.
Prik Laap Negroni
A classic Negroni infused with sweet prik laap and vermouth soaked in mak
wahn pepper stalks.