Everyone seizing that moment for a last few songs sung together on this incredible journey on the Gourmet Train. It was an impromptu celebration of life. And one orchestrated by none other than Jonathan Phang himself.
MANILA, Philippines - The cup of coffee clattered and trembled as the lush tropical countryside whirled past the window, blurring all shapes into one emerald-green abstract painting.
I floated in and out of reality, straddling the fictional world of spies and uncanny encounters of Graham Greene’s Stamboul Train and my most similar immediate environment on the Eastern & Oriental Express. The continuous clickety-clack of the wheels against the rails was the hypnotic unifying factor between the characters in the novel and myself. I imagined they had the same soundscape, the same long corridors that one jostled and banged against when making their way to their cabins, that same melancholy of a lone voyager during a particular quiet moment, all alone yet all together moving in the same direction at the same speed.
Jovial chatter suddenly interrupted my solitude as some of my other traveling companions, followed by Gourmet Trains food-show host Jonathan Phang, entered the Observation Car.
“We’re sorry to disturb your tranquility,” one of them said. I then expressed my sincere gratitude as the whole nostalgic appeal of the lonesome traveler was wearing thin. They all settled down and cocktails and Champagne came our way, fueling the friendly conversation. Jonathan turned to me and said, “Oh, tell me the truth, did you come on the trip for the train or for me?”
I laughed and said, “For both, of course!”
I knew he saw right through my polite fib. Quite frankly, up until a few days before our departure I had no real clue who Jonathan Phang was. All I really knew was that he made his way across the world eating sumptuous meals on luxury trains. And all of this was filmed for TV land’s pleasure. So definitely, the most truthful answer would have been “the train.”
It was like a dream come true for an old soul like me, a small moving capsule in today’s fast-paced world where the clock ticked so slowly that it turned backwards straight into a bygone era. Elegance and glamour were de rigueur as we were treated to lavish meals perched perfectly on bone china and flanked by silver so flawlessly polished you could practically see your reflection on the tines of the forks. Cut crystal glasses cast prisms on the starched white linens and the personable service was always impeccable.
The hours were lost on me, my days were set to the delicious offerings that arrived on trays: freshly baked croissants to begin the day, delicate flavors midday, sweet nibbles for tea, a glass of effervescent Champagne as the sun set and a luxurious, indulgent dinner. In the evenings the train really came into full bloom as the ladies dolled up and men donned their dapper black ties. The ambience was soft and enticing with a powdery warm light that turned everything dreamy. By the piano we huddled and sang, as stories were exchanged while glasses clinked and laughter permeated the air.
Throughout the journey Jonathan had a special place on the whole train — one where it seemed he felt extremely comfortable. To the right of the piano he would lean in, one elbow resting on the instrument and the other holding a cocktail. A gentle smile, a warm, contagious friendly energy, crooning to his favorite songs. People would huddle around him, join in for a couple of bars and linger to chat. Unlike most public personas, Jonathan is not at all intimidating. Both travelers and staff alike could easily strike up a conversation that would almost always end in laughter and smiles. Like when, in the market in Kuala Kangsar, he advised the roti vendor to triple her prices because apparently her wares were so delicious she had sold out at 8 in the morning. “Darling,” he said in his distinct baritone voice and British accent, “you must charge more! You have the monopoly!”
The charm and personality comes as no surprise. Phang hails from the fashion industry, where character is everything. For three decades he worked as a top model agent, working with talents such as Naomi Campbell and Jerry Hall, and had become a household name on TV judging for Britain’s Next Top Model. In recent years, however, he’s traded catwalks for stovetops, writing a cookbook, dabbling in food TV and eventually making his way to the kitchen of this train to cook for us.
“Food was always my first love, I suppose,” Jonathan explains about his evolution. “I was always cooking at a very young age with my mother; it has always been a big part of my life. And sometimes things are glaring at you in the face and you just don’t even realize it. I think had I grown up in a different generation I probably would have gone into food a lot quicker, but because, you know, it was the ’70s and all of that, and my father was a dentist and Chinese, he really wasn’t encouraging about it. I fell into a modeling agency when I was 17 thinking it was just going to be a summer job. I didn’t think it was going to last 31 years!”
His mother and the women in his family were big influences on Jonathan and his food memories. “I had always wanted to write a cookbook about my mother’s food and when it came to the 10th anniversary of her dying, I thought it was a wonderful way to commemorate this occasion. I was also then ready to address my issues about the grieving process,” shares Phang, also alluding to a tragic boat accident on the river Thames where 51 people, including his best friend, perished. It seemed that Phang found comfort in food and writing the book was what he called “a cathartic experience. It’s a memoir to her and the legacy I’ve been left.”
The cookbook, The Pepperpot Club, is extremely personal and full of anecdotes and old family photos. It has this same approachability and openness that you get from Jonathan in person — a candid encounter of his love for food and from where it was born.
That being said, he is, in fact, not very British at all. There is no restraining of emotion or feeling; Jonathan Phang is honest and real and has a sense of warmth. This most likely comes from the fact that, although born in the UK, his parents are from the Caribbean and perhaps that sunshine flows through his veins. “My father was very Chinese although he had a very Caribbean accent; he sounded like Desmond!” says Phang about his cross-cultural background. “I think he had a difficult time coming to terms with being an immigrant. My mother was 16 when he met her, my grandfather sent her to England for school when she was 18 and my father followed her there; there was a lot for them to identify with and the biggest unifying factor was the food. And I think that’s common with a lot of immigrants because that’s the thing that reminds them of home and where you can keep your identity alive with your offspring, who are most likely confused and socialize with people you don’t understand. The only thing that brings it back is that. So when my parents died it was very painful for my brother, my sister and I to be reminded of the family unit. I found that things were missing in my cooking and so when I wrote my cookbook I was sort of forced to put the love back into the food.”
FROM HOMEY COOKING TO LUXE SURROUNDINGS
It was a very simple, straightforward opportunity that brought Phang from the homey cooking of The Pepperpot Club to the luxe surroundings of the Eastern & Oriental Express. He had previously done a show for Food Network on the Caribbean for just one season and the network had wanted to produce the show Gourmet Trains and thought he would be a perfect fit.
“They called me in to talk about it. I had really no interest in trains whatsoever. I knew of the Orient Express and as far as I was concerned, trains were public transport and I didn’t want to have anything to do with it!” he shares, laughing. “It was sort of forced on me and I am very happy and grateful that it was. And I think that’s what’s nice about the show. Because I didn’t have an interest in it, so therefore I am discovering it along with the viewer. So it gives a different perspective.”
That’s exactly what this entire trip was about. Just like my polite fib — the train and Jonathan Phang. To experience it as he does. Not like honeymooners cocooned in their cabin or tourists photographing every passing scene, but to really immerse yourself with a sense of adventure and belonging. To make the train your home for a few days. To chat with the bartender and sing along with the waiters. To ease into a chair, into a cocktail and into conversations. To connect with people.
During the last hour or two of our journey, the train clickety-clacking its way to Bangkok, our final destination, a lively Jonathan was at the bar, in his usual spot by the piano, singing Autumn Leaves holding a cocktail. Little by little people gathered around him, forgetting that they had to zip their suitcases shut or organize their departure. No smartphones, no furious texting or call-making. Everyone seizing that moment for a last few songs sung together on this incredible journey. It was an impromptu celebration of life. And one orchestrated by none other than Jonathan Phang himself.
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Watch the second season of Gourmet Trains on the Asian Food Channel on Sundays at 3 p.m. For more information visit www.asianfoodchannel.com.
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For more candid moments from this exclusive interview, please visit my travel lifestyle website, www.thegypsetters.net.