Drive up Thappraya Road and you will see PolTony’s
Restaurant and Mini-golf. Tony Coolen is the “Tony” in this
restaurant, a passionate man who is embracing Thailand almost as much as
he embraces his native Belgium. With clear blue piercing eyes, he fixes
you in his gaze as he speaks.
Tony is undoubtedly from Belgium, say the name and he
becomes animated. Say the word “Flemish” and he becomes even more so.
He was born in Maaseik, in the Flemish part of Belgium, close to the Dutch
and German borders. He came from a very large family, whose father was a
horse trader (in the ‘real’ sense - he bought and sold horses!) and
his mother was in the real estate business, renting out restaurants.
When
he was still at school, his hobby was billiards, winning the Belgian
championship when he was only 12 years old. Older professionals attempted
to get his parents to push him into the international billiards
tournaments, but in those days no one would have predicted what the sport
was to become.
When he left secondary school, aged 16, he went to
Hasselt for four years to train in hotel management and in cooking. I
asked him why he chose hospitality and he became passionate again. “I
was born in the right place. My father used to get up at 5 a.m. to make
soup, so as children we woke up to food. It was my life.” He had also
said previously that the Flemish part of Belgium was known for its
gastronomic excellence, or as Tony put it, “The high gastronomic
style.”
Following his initial training he went to the capital,
Brussels, to the Wine School to become a Sommelier - a wine expert. He
explained this easily. “In Belgium, the Belgian people drink the most
wine in Europe, even more than France. There is more than (just) food.
Wine will bring more of the world to you.”
After all his training, it was into the hard work of a
hospitality exponent in Europe. For many years, he worked in, and
eventually managed, many one and two star Michelin guide restaurants and
then branched out into his own wine business. There he imported and
exported wines, even supplying containers of wine to China. In the
evenings he would teach wine appreciation in wine clubs throughout Belgium
and France. He has started doing the same here in Pattaya through his
restaurant, but admits, “It is good to teach in Flemish or French, but
not so easy in English.”
By this stage in his life, he was, on the outside, a
very successful businessman. He had a wife and daughter (now grown up), a
burgeoning wine business and seemed truly settled. This was not really the
case. He had further expansion planned, but his wife backed out of the
arrangements and in fact backed out of his life.
Following the divorce he felt he needed a new life. He
had been to Thailand before on holidays and decided to start again here,
arriving two years ago. “Belgium and Europe is so small. It is not the
world. I see my life like a book. This is a new chapter.” This new
chapter is PolTony’s Restaurant and Mini-golf which he runs with his
partner Paul.
However, to paraphrase a well known dictum in Pattaya
and change it slightly - ‘You take the man out of Belgium, but you
can’t take Belgium out of the man!’ Mentioning the word brought
forward the facts that Belgium was the gastronomic centre of Europe, the
diamond centre of the world, the brewers of the best beers and the makers
of the best chocolates. Tony said that he was pleased to bring his
professional training here, going on to say, “We can be proud of our
Belgian food here in Pattaya.” But this was not enough. “I have a
fridge full of Belgian chocolates,” this being his latest addition to
the restaurant, to complement his Belgian Chimay beer. I mentioned that
the redoubtable Hillary would no doubt pay him a visit to sample his
chocolates when she heard about them, to which he replied. “Please let
her know, I am sure she will like them!”
When I asked Tony about the advice he would give to a
young person starting out in the hospitality industry he became passionate
again. “We need a hotel school for the Thai people here in Pattaya, to
teach cooking, service and management. This is my dream.” To try to
bring his dream to fruition, Tony will be taking his concept to the Skal
Club of Pattaya and East Thailand to see if the tourism professionals
within Skal will help promote the idea.
I asked him what was his definition of success was and
he replied, “Being yourself, be happy within yourself, and knowing what
you (can) do in your business and giving hospitality for the people. Do it
with a smile in the country of smiles.”
Enquiring as to his hobbies brought forward the reply,
“I see my work as my hobby. To have contact with people produces an
adrenaline rush for me.” Does he still play billiards? Not really, he
played pool for the first time a few weeks ago and cleared the table, but
he has no intention of taking it up again.
Tony Coolen is a professional and says he is here to
stay. “You meet so many good international people here, and the Thai
people inspire you and are so friendly. What you can give, you get back
here.”
With such passion and expertise, Tony is already an
asset for Pattaya, but you’ll never get the Flemish Belgian out of him
or his pride in his home country’s high gastronomic style!
