Petals of the Champaka

A truly rewarding afternoon at the The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage today, sharing the life and culinary legacy of our great-grandmother, Thanphuying Kleeb Mahidhorn, and the origin and evolution of her 1949 cookbook.

Always a joy to hear our aunt, Dr. Kamontip Snidvongs na Ayudhya, recount stories drawn from her own memories, as well as those passed down through other elders in our family. Together, they offered a fuller picture of Thanphuying Kleeb - not just as a cook, but as a woman of deep curiosity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and invention. She cross-pollinated culinary and cultural wisdom from multiple traditions, grounding it in the unique and timeless recipes.

We were also reminded of the extraordinary effort behind the making of her book. Over 80 recipes were meticulously measured, tested, and tasted with the guidance of those who remembered the original dishes well. It was a process of careful refinement rooted in sensory memory and collective experience.

Thanphuying Kleeb’s great-grand children had the pleasure of acting as booksellers for the day, but what we enjoyed most was the conversation with participants - answering thoughtful questions, hearing reflections, and connecting with others who care deeply about preserving Siamese culinary heritage.

Thank you to the Siam Society for hosting us, and to everyone who joined with such warmth and curiosity!

We’ve just crossed *** 1 million views *** on Max Miller’s Tasting History! 🎉

We are so grateful to Max for the heart, dedication, and passion he poured into this episode - especially in bringing to life our great-grandmother’s Massaman curry recipe with such care and detail.

Through his meticulous storytelling and cooking, he’s helped share a piece of Siamese culinary history with the world - helping us to transform family memory into living heritage.

Thank you so much, Max! 🙏✨

The King of Siam's Massaman Curry For 65% off with HelloFresh PLUS free shipping, use code TASTINGHISTORY65 at https://bit.ly/3RmGb5a!Pre-order the TASTING HISTORY COOKBOOK: bit.ly/3GHL7wCPET...

Our family is delighted to share that The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage will be hosting a Literary Lounge on Heritage Recipes of Thanphuying Kleeb Mahidhorn - my great-grandmother’s treasured cookbook, first published in 1949. It preserves 160 recipes from late 19th–early 20th century Siam, written to guide her children and grandchildren in recreating family favorites.

The conversation will be led by Dr. Kamontip Snidvongs na Ayudhya, my dearest aunt, who will reflect on how these family recipes can be preserved and adapted for today’s kitchens.

🗓 13 September 2025 | 14:00–16:00
📍 The Siam Society Library

Our 2021 edition, Petals of the Champaka, was created to honor and revive this legacy - updating the 2011 family edition led by Dr. Kamontip, while preserving the authentic voice and spirit of Thanphuying Kleeb Mahidhorn.

We had the great pleasure to collaborate with the incredible Chef Tam Chudaree Debhakam and Khun Yo Yota on food preparation and styling and photography for this effort.

📖 Copies will be available for sale at the event for anyone who would like to bring this piece of Siamese culinary heritage into their own home! For those who can’t make it, you can also purchase the book through our valued distributor, Thaioldbooks.

[ลงทะเบียนเต็มจำนวนแล้ว]

ท่านผู้หญิงมหิธร (กลีบ ไกรฤกษ์) เรียบเรียง หนังสือกับข้าวสอนลูกหลาน และจัดพิมพ์เผยแพร่ครั้งแรกเมื่อ พ.ศ. 2492 ด้วย ‘เห็นว่าลูกหลานหาแม่ครัวยาก จึงเรียบเรียงหนังสือนี้ขึ้นอย่างแบบชาวบ้านเพื่อให้ลูกหลานทำกับข้าวรับประทานเองได้’ โดยรวบรวมอาหารคาวไว้ประมาณ 160 ตำรับ แต่ ‘การบอกเครื่องปรุง ก็ประมาณเอาโดยไม่ได้กำหนดตามอัตราเครื่องชั่งตวงวัด’ ด้วยเหตุผลดังที่ท่านผู้หญิงได้อธิบายไว้ในคำนำหนังสือว่า ‘ในการครัวตามปรติก็มิได้มีเครื่องชั่งตวงวัด’

กิจกรรม The Siam Society Literary Lounge เรื่อง “ตำรับมรดก ท่านผู้หญิงกลีบ มหิธร” จะชวนทุกท่านมารับฟังแนวทางในการอนุรักษ์และสืบทอดตำรับอาหารโบราณของตระกูลเก่าแก่ จาก ดร.กมลทิพย์ สนิทวงศ์ ณ อยุธยา ผู้มีศักดิ์เป็นหลานท่านผู้หญิงมหิธร และเป็นผู้นำตำรับอาหารของท่านผู้หญิงมาทดลองกำหนดอัตราส่วนชั่งตวงวัด แนะนำการใช้เครื่องทุ่นแรง พร้อมปรับเสริมตำรับให้เหมาะสมตามกาลสมัย

*จำกัดจำนวนผู้ร่วมการเสวนาเพียง 30 คนเท่านั้น

ลงทะเบียนเข้าร่วมงาน: https://forms.gle/NwYTcwh4RsSqLkGN9
สอบถามเพิ่มเติม: [email protected]

We just discovered this wonderful review of Petals of the Champaka by Cutboy - thank you so much ka! ☺️🙏 We really enjoyed your enthusiastic and charming review, and hearing your own experience cooking some of the recipes. 🥰🫶

หนังสือนอกเวลา EP.02 : หนังสือ กลีบจำปา ตำราสูตรการทำอาหารโบราณ มีทั้งภาษาไทยและอังกฤษ ครบ | CUT #มีด #หนังสือนอกเวลา #กลีบจำปา

With festive season coming up soon, it's time to find some meaningful and memorable presents for those you care about. And based on feedback from many of our dear readers - Petals of the Champaka makes for a perfect gift!

For Thailand sales, get your copies now directly through our exclusive distributor Thaioldbooks. Shipping is included in the price. (For international sales please contact us directly.)

Send a message to learn more

Thank you everyone for your continued support of our book!

Special thanks once again also to Tasting History with Max Miller - we just checked in after some time and found our episode with Max is now not far from 1 million views (>880k)!! 😲

Max, hope you and your book are doing great too! 😊🥰

For purchases, please contact us directly by DM at FB, IG or email [email protected].

The King of Siam's Massaman Curry For 65% off with HelloFresh PLUS free shipping, use code TASTINGHISTORY65 at https://bit.ly/3RmGb5a!Pre-order the TASTING HISTORY COOKBOOK: bit.ly/3GHL7wCPET...

A little delayed in the making 😅 - but our first Petals of the Champaka project team meeting for 2024.

Excited for the next steps for our *second* book, focusing on Thanphuying Kleeb Mahidhorn’s delicious savoury snacks and appetizers! ☺️🥂✨

Looking forward to sharing some updates with you soon(ish). 😊

Sharing some moments from the preparation of our annual Krairiksh family ‘Khao Chae’ (iced, jasmine water-scented rice and accoutrements) lunch. ☺️🍚🌸✨

Khao Chae was one of our great-grandmother Thanphuying Kleeb Mahidhorn’s signature dishes and, back in the day, she would meticulously prepare multiple sets of these for delivery to special persons across Bangkok, every summer.

The ladies pictured here are among the last of our practical culinary wisdom-keepers! 😱 However, fear not - we are working on our next Petals of the Champaka book project.. which will include this recipe and how to make it..! 😅

Credit to P’Pip for the lovely photos ka! 🤩

Merry Christmas to all our dear readers (and cooks!) from the Petals of the Champaka Team!☺️🙏🌸✨

Delighted to be scattering some Christmas petals across the world today - from Si Saket to Sydney! 🥰🌾🦘