Chat Thai

Boon Luck Farm, Tyagarah, NSW chatthai.com.au

Among the dozens of crops that the 14hectare Boon Luck Farm grows for Sydney restaurant chain Chat Thai’s aromatic curries, vibrant stir-fries and refreshing salads are five types of basil, 20 types of mustard greens, exotic eggplants and rare mango varieties that are picked green for piquancy. “We supply 30 per cent of what we [Chat Thai] use daily,” says Boon Luck Farm owner Palisa Anderson, who is the daughter of Chat Thai matriarch, Amy Chanta. “We’d love to get to 100 per cent.”

The ability to grow rare and unusual varieties with integrity was the driver. “Many of the small-scale farmers who grew for us were using pesticides and herbicides, which we didn’t feel comfortable eating ourselves,” says Anderson. With the area’s perennial growing climate, they now have a constant supply of sustainably cultivated South-East Asian ingredients.