A talented Thai chef has chosen a rapidly growing area of Exeter to open her first food venture. Around two months ago, a bland blue portable office building was lifted onto unused land in Matford.
Since then it has been transformed into a professional kitchen where Alice Walker has begun working her magic with her trusty wok. Just Thai opened this Monday, July 17, and is already proving to be a hit with locals and visitors to the area.
Customers can choose from an extensive menu of authentic Thai meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan dishes that can either be devoured in its outdoor seating area or taken away and eaten at home. Just Thai is open seven days a week and can be found just before The Devon Hotel in Old Matford Lane.
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It is tucked away within a small community of local businesses including Parr's Farm Country Store and Cafe, a dog groomer, car wash, garage, boxing gym and garden centre. While Alice prepares each meal fresh to order from scratch, her husband Darren serves customers and keeps an eye on their young dog, appropriately named Mr Noddles.
For Alice, cooking comes naturally because she helped run a supermarket in Thailand with her parents that served fresh food before moving to Devon permanently last winter. However, it is a complete change of career for Darren who has spent the last 22 years working for South West Highways as a contracts manager.
He said: "I left my job due to ill health so I could retire early. Alice is very passionate about cooking so I said to her why not turn your passion into a business and here we are.
"Alice has been cooking professionally in Thailand for about eight years. We have known each other for 12 years and got married last December.
"After deciding to give the business a go we purchased an old office container. It was already kitted inside with electrics, but it was a big blank canvas so we cladded it and put in all the kitchen equipment, put water in and decked it. Now it looks really nice.
"People are saying it's great we are open as there's nothing here in terms of restaurants. Everything is the other side of Exeter. There is all this new development going on here but they haven't got anything yet close by.
"The food Alice makes is authentic Thai. We have ingredients shipped over from Thailand and use beef sourced from Parr's Farm which comes from grass-reared cows on a farm in Stoke Cannon. We are in the process of sourcing organic chicken and pork also from the Parr family.
"The menu is all Thai. Just don't ask Alice for chips or cauliflower! So far the favourites seem to be Pad Thai or the Massaman which is beef, potatoes and carrots. Everybody loves it. People are also loving Alice's vegetable spring rolls. Alice makes them by hand and they have red cabbage in them.
"On our Facebook page, we have had a lot of interest from vegans so Alice has changed all the sauces to vegan and gluten-free."
When it comes to future changes, the plan is to erect a wigwam tent with a log burner by the winter so that customers can still choose to eat there rather than take their food home. A drinks licence has also been granted meaning they will soon be able to serve alcohol, including Thai beer, to customers.
Its opening hours could also change. Currently Just Thai is open every day from noon to 9pm.
Darren said: "We are just going to see how it goes and may adjust them if we have quiet periods. We have not advertised yet. All we have done is put up signs and put up posts on Facebook which people have been sharing.
"It's a lovely community of businesses here and they have been very welcoming. Alice is the owner/ chef of the business. I'm just the pot washer and the dog's body! I don't think I have ever worked so hard."
Customers can ring in advance to place orders. Currently, they are not offering deliveries. For more details, please click here.
Tried and Tested Verdict
During DevonLive's visit to Just Thai, we sampled Alice's legendary vegetable spring rolls (£5.50) and the Pad Gaprao (stir-fried Thai basil) with Quorn mince (£11.50). The main dish came beautifully served with a mound of delicate white, fluffy rice cooked to perfection.
The Quorn mince was cooked just as I asked - spicy but not too hot - and was packed full of flavour. My first impression was that it had looked quite a dry dish but due to its flavours, it wasn't in the slightest.
The side dish came as a generous helping of five large spring rolls with dipping sauce. Without a doubt, they were the best I have tasted. Instead of being greasy and filled with stodge, they were light, crispy and delicate and the red cabbage created a tasty alternative to what you would usually find inside a spring roll. I only wish I had the room to have scoffed them all.
