Food has been the predominant factor throughout Nooror Somany Steppe’s life. Growing up in Chachoengsao 80km east of Bangkok, she was the youngest of seven children of a father who owned a series of slaughter houses and mother who was a talent in the kitchen and known for her curry pastes. From an early age Nooror was enlisted to perform odd kitchen jobs. “One of my earliest memories is of attempting to make the Thai fish souffle hor mok for my mother,” she recalls. “I was about 11 and so wanted her to be proud of me.” The souffle turned out to be awful because “I forgot to fillet and remove the bones from the seabass!”
When Nooror was 17 one of her older brothers who was studying hotel management in Brussels got a job working for an antique dealer. Wanting to see the world, Nooror followed him to Belgium and ended up working for the same antique business, helping out in the showroom and wrapping the delicate treasures for transport to shows when they were short staffed. It was during this time that she caught the eye of the dapper owner. Sixteen years her senior, Karl Steppe spotted something in his colleague’s younger sister and despite the age difference the attraction was mutual.
Of equal import in Nooror’s life not long after arriving in Belgium was the opportunity to join her brother in one of his food and beverage classes. “I tasted real chocolate mousse for the first time. It was like going to heaven,” she says, smiling broadly at the memory. Inspired, she immediately enrolled herself at a culinary institution in Brussels, Madame Jacob’s cooking school, where she learned about duck confit, foie gras and how to make pastries. This is why the trademark of the food at Blue Elephant to this day is the marriage of European cooking methods and traditional Thai recipes. Indeed, signature dishes on the Blue Elephant menu include delights such as foie gras with tamarind sauce, larb duck confit and lamb chop kaprao. “You can call it what you want,” the chef says, “but at the end of the day, to me, food is art. It needs to taste good, look good and excite the person eating it.”
With that ethos in mind she and Steppe opened the first Blue Elephant Thai restaurant in Brussels in 1980. Later, Cynthia de Souza, wife of one of Karl’s friends and business associates, heavily influenced Nooror by taking her to India on antique hunting trips. Nooror found herself absolutely fascinated by the country, its culture, colours and the food. When she brought the idea of opening an Indian restaurant to Steppe, he agreed on one condition—she must learn to make Indian food from an Indian in India. “Karl is a very demanding customer when it comes to doing things right,” she laughs. “He wants only the best of everything and the proper way is the only way.”
Through a contact Steppe arranged an internship for his wife with the head chef at the Taj in Mumbai. After a three-month stint she returned to open Porte des Indes. The restaurant was as colourful as Nooror herself. It was decorated in gold, hot pink and saffron with a champagnat imported from Jaipur and a handsome Indian doorman in a pagari, all hand-picked by Nooror.
Blue Elephant and Porte des Indes took off when they opened in the 80s, welcoming a constant stream of celebrities, politicians and members of royalty. Nooror found herself running between the two eateries, greeting and serving guests in Versace, her favourite designer. Success was such that within a few years the business expanded to include outlets in Paris, London and Copenhagen.
This year Blue Elephant celebrates its 40th anniversary. It has six restaurants worldwide and through subsidiary Blue Spice it exports ingredients to 37 countries. Nooror is most proud that the company has been an ambassador for Thai cuisine from the beginning. In fact, Blue Elephant has been chosen by Thai government agencies including the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Foreign Ministry on numerous occasions to promote Thailand internationally at events and venues such as the UN Headquarters in New York, the 24th Olympic Games in Seoul and the gala dinner for 400 world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2018.
Today the proud mother and grandma counts her three grown children—Sandra, Kim and Kris—among her colleagues. While Sandra handles public relations and marketing with her father in Europe, Kim, who was recently appointed CEO of Blue Elephant Group, takes care of the business in Thailand. Youngest son Kris works as his mother’s assistant, supervising online cooking classes conducted by Nooror for clients around the globe. Although she says she could do with “a homestay with good food,” she also says another restaurant in Sukhumvit Road isn’t out of the question and may happen soon. Looks like she’ll be busy a while yet.
Related: Tatler Thailand’s Top Thai Restaurants Of 2020
