In fact, ‘enigmatic’ is a good word to describe the unique personality of Thomas Brack as I have come to realise over some 15 years that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him. For not only did Zurich-born Thomas enjoy a successful early career in the Swiss fashion industry, but also went to Swiss officers’ school as part of his military training, then became a hobby motor racing fanatic and ultimately had a motorcycle accident and was seriously injured.
A man of many parts indeed!
Thomas and I recently enjoyed a fabulous Italian supper in the sumptuous surroundings of Alessandro Frau’s iconic Acqua restaurant, a little way north along Kalim Bay from the new Chicorée Baan Kalim School project, which Thomas is now overseeing with great passion.
Like Thomas, I am a great fan of Acqua and have written many articles about its owner and Executive Chef Alessandro and his amazing Sardinian-influenced cuisine, the most recent in The Phuket News during the pandemic titled ‘A Meal with… The Chef of Longevity’.
Over delicious starters and drinks I asked Thomas how he first came to visit and get to know Phuket.
“I grew up on the outskirts of Zurich and in 1982, after school and military service, received a job offer from one of the largest fashion agencies in Switzerland as a junior salesman.
“I came on my first trip to the Far East in 1982, visiting India, Hong Kong and Bangkok and got to know Phuket when I came down for a four-day vacation.
“After my motorcycle accident, I was hospitalised for five months and needed a long rehabilitation afterwards and my situation became somewhat normal only after almost two years.
“Unfortunately, I had to give up my job and was never able to regain a foothold in my profession. However, I quickly started exercising after my rehab in a gym and working out became a major pillar of my life which I will never give up.”
Over a superb salad of cold cuts and Puglia Burrata, I asked Thomas how he came to be involved in managing the 9th Floor Restaurant.
“In 1998 I started thinking about where I could emigrate and open a restaurant, but I also didn’t want to have to go back home if my idea failed. So I chose Phuket as a place where I could afford to live even if my restaurant didn’t flourish.
“I started a restaurant, Crystal Bay, with two friends, opening in 1999 on Tri Trang Beach, now the Rosewood. At that time, there was only the Merlin Hotel there and it was great for a while. However, in retrospect, it was fortunate that our lease ended in October 2004 and we were unable to renew it, as the 2004 tsunami destroyed the whole area.”
“In 2005, a friend asked me if I could run his restaurant, the Swiss Chalet, situated on the ninth floor of a horrible condo. off Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd in Patong. It was not really my thing and I was preparing to quit when I first met Ernst Bauer, who was a regular there and a friend of the owner.
“Ernst decided to buy the restaurant and renovate it with floor-to-ceiling windows and this new venture became the 9th Floor. We opened in October 2006 and the restaurant quickly became THE very best in Patong and was full of international and local guests enjoying the superb food and wines, the beautiful scenes overlooking Patong and the glamorous, black-dressed waitresses… the famous ‘9th Floor Angels’, far into the night.”
Millionaires, celebrities and jet-setting playboys made the 9th Floor their second home when in Phuket and for many years Thomas presided over all the hedonistic indulgence with the calm equanimity of the true professional.
As we enjoyed our fabulous main courses of fresh seafood, Sicilian Red Prawns and lobster, I asked how on Earth had Thomas migrated from the high-rolling decadent world of the 9th Floor to be overseeing the renovation and launch of the wonderful Chicorée Foundation charity school in Kalim where I’d met him earlier that day.
“One night in 2007 at the 9th Floor, an old friend, Jörg Weber, whose family owns the world-famous Chicorée fashion empire, stopped by. We’d had no contact for over 20 years until, on the recommendation of a regular guest, Jörg and his family came for dinner. I couldn’t remember him and of course I didn’t expect to see him in Phuket, but then we recognised each other and had a great catch up.
“In the following years, the family came to Phuket for vacations and my friendship with them was re-established. On my visits to Switzerland, I always met them and we started talking about launching a social assistance project in Phuket, possibly a school.
“In January this year, the family and I decided to support Baan Kalim School, which was built some 40 years ago by the Thai government, but had always struggled with funding until the Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation stepped in and started to help run and financially support the children there from 2006.
Sadly, the pandemic significantly hit the Foundation’s finances and so they had to concentrate on their main school near Kamala Beach, to the detriment of the Kalim School, which remained open with around 150 kids, but started falling into disrepair and ruin.”
Thomas explained, “I’d known the Kalim school for over 20 years as I’d always lived in the area and drove past it daily. I contacted the school administration and from the first visit I knew that this was the right school. I shared my impressions and the choice with the Weber family and briefed them with photos etc.
“Last May, Jörg and his wife Marianne came to Phuket and were rather shocked by the state of the school, but we had good discussions with the school administration and then agreed the project could begin.”
The Chicorée initiative has now renovated the whole building, including the outside areas and re-fitted it throughout with new furniture, learning materials and even TVs in every classroom. There are special classrooms for computer studies, English language and science; a new fully-stocked kitchen and new bathrooms and a children’s playground, plus indoor and outdoor sports areas.
In November, the renovations were completed and the school is now full to capacity with 250 children. English lessons are ongoing for all classes including kindergarten with the teachers and tutorials trained by the Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation, who worked closely with Thomas throughout. There are also computer and science lessons and a healthy dietary programme with food, all-day drinking water, morning and afternoon snack-breaks and a nutritious lunch.
Thomas explained, “Children who are short of food at home are able to take a food box with them in the evening and we also supply uniforms and backpacks. We want the children to stay at the Chicorée Baan Kalim School from kindergarten through to the sixth grade, which rarely happens in local schools because the learning infrastructure isn’t available. We plan to change that by giving children a very good standard of education and support so that they actually enjoy going to school.”
The school will welcome Jörg Webber and his family on Dec 9 to see the results of their wonderful initiative bringing much-needed Hope, Health and Happiness to Phuket and Kalim… and indeed to that fascinatingly enigmatic man Thomas Brack who has overseen the whole thing!