The Dam’s Noi Boonkerd shares her passion for cooking with local produce ahead of Taste Great Southern

For Noi Boonkerd, sous-chef at The Dam, working at the Denmark foodie mecca feels like coming home. The formerly high-flying Perth-based chef made the tree change to Denmark in 2021 to join the crew for the opening of the seasonally focused restaurant and distillery and hasn’t looked back since. “Here at The Dam, it’s very much about family,” she said. “And I think that’s a great thing because there’s not many businesses that do that now — and I think that’s why I love it here.” After working in the hospitality industry for over two decades, Boonkerd was ready for a slower pace of life. Working at the Dam, located on the family-owned Raintree Angus cattle and hemp farm near the picturesque William Bay National Park, and cooking with the best of local produce, has brought that change. “I think I just wanted to get away from the rat race of Perth,” she said. “Perth can be so hectic and I wanted to just slow it down a bit. “And I thought The Dam would be the place where I could create more, and play with more local produce, because in Perth it’s whatever you can get, it’s very hard to get seasonal produce up there sometimes. “And here it’s just great — it’s in abundance...” Boonkerd was raised throughout WA, her family moving with her father’s job in the mining industry, and became a chef 22 years ago. “I always loved (food), it was always a comfort thing for our house,” she said. “And it was also a gathering point for us. “The family would get together around the dinner table, it was all about food. “And it was always the emphasis, like, ‘Oh, do want to meet up? I’m cooking.’. It was like, great — somebody else is cooking, I’m coming.” Boonkerd’s career has included stints as the head chef at Perth foodie favourites Brika and Tom’s Kitchen, and as a chef consultant travelling throughout the State, working at restaurants from Broome to Busselton. Since moving to Denmark two years ago, Boonkerd has relished working with locally sourced produce, with the Dam’s usual menu centered around local marron, truffles and beef, which she is passionate about making the best of. “I think a lot of people are so structured around what the shops or the local supermarkets give us,” she said. “And I think the odds and ends from farmers are just brilliant really, it’s just the way you cook it. “And I think it’s an education point for the next generation. . . I think we need to take kids around and show them that, from start to finish, this is what we’re eating. “There’s local produce, you can support the farmer, the farmer then supports you, it’s just a big cycle.” Cooking with a local mindset, and her desire to create connections over the dining table, are what will drive the menu for Boonkerd’s upcoming Women of the Region Lunch for Taste Great Southern. The menu will differ from The Dam’s normal fare, with Boonkerd putting together an Asian-fusion menu that takes inspiration from her Thai heritage — including smoked pork belly with coconut sauce, finger lime, lychee and a pork crackling crumb and Albany Akoya with a dukkah-hemp crust. “It’s very different, it’s just something to have fun with, really, to showcase what we can do,” Boonkerd said. Being involved in the event celebrating both Great Southern produce and the role of women in the region is something the chef is proud to be a part of. “I think it’s been a long time that female chefs have been kind of set in the back, and it’s such a hard industry, especially in the kitchen, for women to try and get themselves to the top and showcase what they can do,” she said. “I’m proud of it. I’m so happy to represent women in hospitality, on this side for chefs.” The Women of the Region Lunch is on at the Dam on May 7. Tickets are available from: https://bit.ly/3Ncwp5I