Shropshire chef celebrates food guide success

Suree Coates, from the King and Thai, was one of only seven Shropshire restaurants featured in the Waitrose Good Food Guide 2015. She was the only new entrant and was awarded a special 'Local Gem' status.

It is the latest accolade for the talented Broseley chef, who published her first book, Cook Thai, last year.

Mrs Coates was also named the UK's Best Curry Chef last year and will defend her title later this year. In 2012 she was named the UK's Best Thai chef.

Today she said she was thrilled to be included in the Good Food Guide.

Mrs Coates said: "Many chefs never achieve a listing in the Good Food Guide, it is really difficult to earn inclusion.

"I'm really thrilled that the Good Food Guide decided my cooking was worthy of inclusion in the 2015 Good Food Guide. It was unexpected and I'm delighted. Hopefully I can build on that and make sure I get a listing in the next guide, too."

Mrs Coates started life in Northern Thailand and used to mix delicious Thai pastes with her grandmother, while her father went fishing.

She eventually moved to England to study and soon met her husband, Simon, before deciding to open a restaurant and settle.

Her restaurant has won numerous awards and Mrs Coates' sous chef, Dan Power, is also the reigning Shropshire Curry Chef of the Year 2014.

Mrs Coates added: "We are continually pushing forward and trying to increase our standards. In the past three years, we've won a number of prestigious national awards and now we're in the Good Food Guide.

"We're serious about continually trying to improve. We don't rest on our laurels and we never accept second best."

Mrs Coates said people who wanted to learn how to cook her signature dishes could obtain the recipes from her book, Cook Thai, which is available from her restaurant or online from Amazon. She said: "I'll be defending my UK's Best Curry Chef title later this year."