Feb 2-9, 2025
By foot, by plane, by private vehicle, by speedboat: this is a kinetic journey through the heart of Southern Thailand. The sea has mixed cultures and cuisines here for millennia, and your hosts Andy Ricker and Phongsila “Mapeng” Comack are the perfect guides through the big history and bright flavors of the region. From the slow-paced coastal gem Songkhla to the luxuries of modern and ancient Phuket, this week mixes places you think you know with locations that few outsiders get to visit.
Chef, Writer, Traveler
Andy Ricker
Culinary Connector
Mapeng Commak
Overview
This itinerary is a labor of love from the renowned chef Andy Ricker of PokPok and Phongsila “Mapeng” Comack, one of Thailand’s most connected and compelling culinary ambassadors. Their deep love for the region, along with their many friends in the South, combine here for a week of culinary exploration that is sometimes rustic, sometimes luxurious, but always fascinating.
By foot, by plane, by private vehicle, by speedboat: this is a kinetic journey through the heart of Southern Thailand. From the slow-paced coastal gem Songkhla to the luxuries of modern and ancient Phuket, this week mixes places you think you know with locations that few outsiders get to visit. And through it all, we’ll combine Michelin-level private dining with the country’s best curries, humble glorious noodles and of course excellent seafood. These are experiences and hosts you simply cannot find anywhere else.
R&K Host
Chef, Writer, Traveler
Andy Ricker is an award-winning chef and best-selling author widely credited with introducing Northern Thai cuisine to the United States through his Pok Pok Restaurants. Formed in Portland in 2005, Pok Pok later operated in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York, where it earned a Michelin Star. The two-time James Beard Award winner has worked as a pumpkin picker, DJ, house painter and construction contractor, ship’s cook, busboy, waiter, bartender, musician, commercial fisherman, outdoor store salesperson, maintenance man and short order cook. He first visited Thailand as a backpacker in 1987 and now lives full time with his wife and six cats in Chiang Mai city.
Local Guide
Culinary Connector
An avowed environmentalist and “culinary connector,” Mapeng Commak was born and raised in Bangkok but went to Chiang Mai 12 years ago to escape flooding and never left. He founded a nonprofit that connects local farmers with chefs in the region and helps them to transform endemic ingredients into artisanal products. We met him through Lee Ayu, proprietor of the extraordinary Akha Ama Coffee in the Akha highlands and soon realized there was no one better to join chef Andy Ricker in guiding the League through the country’s south.
Phuket Villa
Rising 39 meters above sea level, V Villas Phuket is a luxury resort with panoramic views across Ao Yon Bay. Situated on a private hilltop, the resort features 19 villas, each with a private infinity pool and 24-hour butler service.
Trang Hideaway
Replete with swimming pool and adjoining gardens, the sleek, white-walled Parima Hotel is our base in central Trang, the southern Thai city that’s known as a gateway to the beaches, islands, and limestone mountains of Trang Province.
Wetland Luxury
This new Phatthalung hotel by Thai hospitality dynasty Dusit offers a tranquil retreat and an ideal jumping-off point for exploring the biodiverse wetland paradise at its doorstep. We have everything we need: elegant, renovated guest rooms and a large outdoor swimming pool for soaking up the incredible views.
Songkhla Boutique Hotel
To create the first boutique hotel in the old town of Songkhla, owner Danny transformed this century-old building into a six-room property that seamless blends Thai, Chinese, and Melayu influences. Artworks, antique pots, and ceramics fill the interiors, leading out to an inviting courtyard garden.
October 18-25, 2025
From the patinaed grandeur of Old Hanoi to the deep hilltribe valleys of Lao Cai province, this week is a master class in the vibrant present and the ancient past. Our hosts will be Hanoians, Hmong, Red Dao, and the people behind Song Cai spirits, the most knowledgeable culinary minds in Vietnam’s north. We’ll track down the roots of phở from black cardamom fields to water buffalo markets. We’ll dine on blue plastic chairs down Bun cha alleys and private dining rooms with Vietnam’s most dynamic chefs. An unforgettable deep dive with the people who know it best.
Activist, Distiller, Researcher
Daniel Nguyen
Chef, Writer, Raconteur
Andy Ricker
April 13-20, 2025
Madeira is the main island of an archipelago more than 400 miles off the coast of North Africa, a place so green that one of the first Portuguese sailors to see it exclaimed that it was just “one large garden”. And a garden it has remained, through nearly six centuries of human habitation, through slavery and sugarcane, through extinctions and evolution and the current cultural rebirth. Your hosts on this one-of-a-kind journey will be the Portuguese culinary icon André Magalhães and renowned PokPok chef and frequent League host Andy Ricker.
Andy Ricker
Chef, Writer, Traveler
Portuguese Culinary Icon
André Magalhães
Ready for a new adventure?
Ready for a new adventure?
Dates don’t work, want a private experience? We can custom tailor any of our trips for you and your group. Reach out to learn more.