Matt initially met her husband online, while he was still a medical student.  They bonded over their common love of dogs, and although he lived some 4 hours’ drive north of Bangkok, their relationship blossomed.  Living as a newly married couple in the dormitory at Hua Hin Hospital was far from ideal, so securing their own first home quickly became a priority.  The pair now live in a house with a garden full of trees, all grown personally by Matt.  Their gardener is under strict orders not to touch the trees, not even to trim a branch, without direct instruction from Matt. The garden houses a huge diversity of living things, including a 3-metre python you might glimpse making itself at home in one of Matt’s beloved trees.

Teenage Matt would never have imagined herself returning to the classroom, such was her desire to escape the stifling confines of her school within the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok and find “a whole new world”.  Yet that is exactly what she has done, her full-time job now being lecturing in hotel management at Stamford University. One would expect that this would keep Matt busy, and it does, but not busy enough to preclude her engaging in two other businesses as sidelines. She has reached a point in her life where career advancement, and the need to secure financial security are no longer priorities.  Matt’s current goal is to follow her passions, and readers will be surprised where that is taking her.

A look at Matt’s early life may hold some clues to why this woman is so driven.  Matt was born the elder of two daughters to a middle-class, inner-city family in Bangkok.  Her mother was the homemaker and her father was a helicopter pilot in the Thai police force.  He died tragically in a helicopter accident, leaving behind his wife and 2 girls, aged 4 and 11 months. Unable to cope without support, Matt’s mother took her infant daughter and returned to live in Chang Mai with her family, and Matt was given into the care of her aunt and uncle, who had no children of their own. Matt’s uncle was a doctor and her aunt was also employed in a medical role, so the couple were able to provide all the material needs for their niece.  What they were short of, however, was time to spend with her. 

Matt recalls her favourite times were when the family travelled abroad together, to countries such as New Zealand and the USA. These were special moments for her to treasure as she had the full attention of adults she loved.  At other times, there was the routine of school, where she would be dropped off at 8.30am and collected promptly at 5.30pm.  Her school years saw her becoming quite an isolated and introverted child.  Friendships with other children, and opportunities to play outside the home, and certainly not in the dirt, were not encouraged and Matt turned to her family’s ten rescue dogs to give and receive the affection she craved. Early in her life, Matt didn’t even have the comfort of a good relationship with her younger sister. It wasn’t until she was 15 that the sisters reunited, when Matt managed to convince her mother to send her younger sister to Bangkok, so she also could receive a high-quality education. At high school, Matt tried to evade the attention of her teachers and would try to position herself at the back of the classroom.  This attempt to hide often backfired though as Matt is of short stature and the teachers insisted that she come to the front where she could see properly.

The age of 18 holds significance for Matt because it was then that she was first able to exercise the power to make her own decisions. Her aunt and uncle loved her, but she was not consulted about the decisions they made on her behalf while she was growing up, and so she revelled in being free to make her own decisions, whether they were always the correct ones or not. She cherishes her year and a half alone in America, exercising her right to freedom and self-determination, a time cut short by the Global Financial Crisis which necessitated her return to Thailand.

Matt sees her adaptability as a key strength.  Although she is an introvert by nature, when put in front of people, she is able to play the role required, even if it is outside her comfort zone.  Another significant strength is her time-management. As well as her lecturing commitments, Matt is now running her new business, Village Vittles, from the ground floor of her home, just off Soi 94, not far from Baan Khun Por. 

There’s an example of Matt’s superior vocabulary for you.  How many Thai people, or English speakers for that matter, do you know who would know the word “vittles”?  It is a variant spelling of the archaic English word “victuals”, (pronounced “vittles” anyway) and means food or provisions. Village Vittles is nicely filling a distinct gap in the market here in Hua Hin, and is where you can find and buy a whole range of deliciousness: chocolate, charcuterie items and a wider range of cheese styles than you will find anywhere else in Hua Hin.

Matt sources the products she retails as locally as she can.  All her charcuterie comes from Baan Fostier and is artisanal-made right here in Hin Lek Fai. Her delectable cheeses come from Chiang Mai, carefully refrigerated the whole way.  What is most interesting is that Village Vittles is able to provide a shopfront experience in the very heart of Hua Hin to small suppliers who might otherwise have to rely solely on an online marketplace. It is true that “the rising tide lifts all boats”, thus Matt is certainly doing her bit to ensure the prosperity of our local community. So, running an enterprise like this, alongside a full-time lecturing position would take up all of Matt’s time?  Wrong.

The environmental pressures currently faced by our world are of concern to Matt, so much so that she and her husband made a conscious decision not to have children.  This is becoming the case with more and more people, all around our planet, as they become fearful of what we will be leaving for future generations. This is not to say that Matt is pessimistic about the future, but rather that she is realistic and somewhat cautious, keen to see a greener approach to the way humans tread the planet.  There is no Planet B.

Matt’s love of animals is a lifelong affair. Currently the couple provide a loving home for a veritable menagerie, including 10 dogs, 10 cats, the vast majority of which are rescue animals, and a number of rescue birds, as well as parrots.  And don’t forget the huge python in the garden. I have it on good authority that the strangest photo you could find on Matt’s phone would be of one of her parrots trying to peck at her face. The best compliment she ever received was that she is such a kind person, as an animal rescuer. Having the responsibility of providing for so many living creatures gives Matt the motivation to keep working, to keep making a regular income.

Yet the love of animals has also almost been Matt’s downfall.  She lost one of her precious companions, a 16-year-old dog, during the Covid pandemic, and it led to what Matt defines as her greatest weakness, a period of emotional instability and profound depression. Matt was unable to leave the house for several months, even had she been allowed to.  Crucially, she sought professional help, and has come through the dark times precipitated by her loss. Matt is aware, however, that she still has the tendency to pressure herself too much. She is the epitome of a high-achiever, though it appears that this doesn’t factor into her self-image.

Matt still has many more things she hopes to achieve in her life. As a child, if people hurt her, forgiveness was impossible for her, and she would just cut people from her life. Now, she looks at others with less fear and a greater openness and positivity.  Matt strives to rein in her hot temper and to be a good listener as she feels this is the best way to ensure the happiness of those around her. Her tight friendship group, mainly from her 3 ½ years in the dormitory, are a constant on-going support to her, and can always be relied upon to give her honest, direct advice, without the sugar-coating.

Travel is also on Matt’s agenda, whenever time permits.  She loves to travel abroad and recently visited Paris with her husband.  While he is the art aficionado, her interests lie in archaeology, so touring museums works for both of them. Paris also provides a golden opportunity to visit the cheese and pastry shops Matt loves so much.  She has a very sweet tooth, particularly for Japanese and French pastries, and her medico husband has been known to wave the diabetes warning flag.

Despite this love of travel, Matt’s favourite place of all is her home, because it is her sanctuary. A self-confessed “clean-freak”, Matt can often be found vacuuming her home, perhaps as a result of a phobia of germs she picked up as a child.  And no home with that many pets can ever remain long without hair on the floor. Another daily pursuit for Matt is updating her many social media accounts.  Thailand’s domestic market relies heavily on social media and Matt is an expert at using social media in both her personal and professional lives, though she has yet to venture into Tik Tok as she thinks its influence is less in the demographic of her customer base.

Although she has lived in her house for ten years now, Matt laughingly recounts still hearing it referred to as “the haunted house”, people commenting that they never see people living there.  Perhaps it is because of the quiet lifestyle of a couple who work extraordinarily long hours, or that the front of the house is hidden from public gaze by the verdant, lush garden Matt has tended. Either way, with the official opening of Village Vittles, there will be a profound increase in foot traffic in the area.  If you don’t make a visit soon, you won’t know the seriously good produce you are missing out on.