BY IAN LANCASTER

With more than 750 years of history and nearly 25,000 members in over 80 countries around the globe, La Chaine des Rotisseurs is a force to be reckoned with, also in Phuket. But what is it and why should you care?

What is La Chaine des Rotisseurs?

Before we find out what it is, it’s worth knowing how old it is – very old! The written history of the guild of «Les Oyers» or «Goose Roasters» has been traced back to 1248. At that time French King Louis IX, assigned Étienne Boileau, the Provost of Paris, with the task of bringing order into trades and guilds, developing young apprentices and improving technical knowledge. To do that, charters of more than 100 of these trades were gathered, among them the Goose Roasters Guild, whose activities and privileges were extended to preparing and selling all kinds of meat over the years.

In 1509, during the reign of King Louis XII, new statutes were introduced, which resulted in the change of the name of the guild to «Rôtisseurs. In 1610, under King Louis XIII, the guild was granted a royal charter and its own coat of arms consisting of two crossed turning spits and four larding needles, surrounded by flames of the hearth on a shield encircled by fleur-de-lis and a chain representing the mechanism used to turn the spit. The outer chain along with the legend was added in 1950 to represent the bond which unites the members of our society.

For more than four centuries, the «Confrérie» or brotherhood of the Roasters cultivated culinary art. It kept on until the guild system was disbanded in 1793, during the French Revolution. Following that earth-shattering event, the Rôtisseurs were almost forgotten – that is until 1950 when Dr Auguste Becart, Jean Valby and «Prince»

Curnonsky, and chefs Louis Giraudon and Marcel Dorin resurrected the Society and created La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.

La Chaine Today

Today La Chaine de Rotisseurs has a presence in more than 100 countries on 5 continents, with nearly 25,000 members. Of these nearly 7,000 are professionals encompassing all disciplines of culinary arts and the remaining 18,000 are non-professional members who are passionate about culinary arts.

La Chaine’s chefs and sommeliers work in more than 2,200 restaurants around the world. In addition, there are senior managers of some 3,000 high-end establishments around the world. But the community is wider than that, with nearly 180 private clubs, more than 200 international conferences, facilities and services companies, more than 200 prestigious universities, hotel and cookery schools, 250 vineyards and wine wholesalers and nearly 90 cruise lines and airlines.

Baillage Phuket 2003-2023

In 1974 La Chaine was established in Thailand and in 2003, in Phuket. The Phuket Bailliage was an idea of the late Tom McNamara, owner of Baan Rim Pa group, who had attended a number of Chaine events in other countries and thought it was time for Phuket to have a high-end gourmet association. Eventually, La Chaine in Phuket was founded in 2003 by Geoffrey Bond. The first intronization ceremony, which is the induction of new members, was held in December 2003 at the Evason Resort in Rawai.

The first Bailli was Tom MacNamara, and together with some of his staff from Baan Rim Pa, he was the driving force to get the Chaine going. They were supported by Chaine members from Hong Kong and Australia. Of the original 15 members, some are still here, including Peter and Joyote Smith, Thomas Brack and Sue Ultmann.

The current Bailli, Ian Lancaster, was inthronized in April 2015. Today the Phuket Bailliage has 53 members. Their membership cards which can be used in over 20 locations across Phuket attracting special discounts and privileges.

As a tropical resort and retirement destination, Phuket has evolved a more relaxed dress code than it’s typical for Chaine events — smart resort casual is the standard dress, although there are usually one or two formal dinners in a year. However, the real difference for members of La Chaine des Rotisseurs, as compared to attending the many wine dinners held in Phuket, is the camaraderie from meeting with a regular group of like-minded gourmands and the ability to travel the world to participate in events. Members from Phuket have travelled to Sydney, Macau, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Myanmar, Kuala Lumpur Bangkok and Pattaya as well as London, Geneva, Paris and Berlin.

For membership, enquiries contact Ian Lancaster on bailli@lachainephuket.com and 08-3264-4590 or Graham Dewe on chancelier@lachainephuket.com. Learn more on lachainephuket.com