Thierry is the face behind the re-invigorated presence of Italasia in Hua Hin, a job he began almost 11 months ago now. And to all accounts, it is a fine job he has been doing, rebuilding the profile of Italasia as a supplier of premium wines, spirits and catering needs to the hotel, restaurant and catering businesses of Hua Hin, as well as to the private purchaser. If you haven’t had a chance to visit Italasia yet, I recommend you get a group of people together and ask Thierry if you can visit his refurbished Secret Tasting Lounge, a tastefully decorated, comfortable area where you can spin the vinyl of your choice, test out Thierry’s pride and joy (his speakers with the inbuilt sub-woofers) and work your way through a couple of bottles of wine of your choice.

Thierry loves that his job has him working in close contact with some very passionate people, wine buffs and chefs alike.  Luckily, Thierry has the right people-skills to handle the stressors and tension that working with people of this calibre requires. With his keen appreciation of what is needed to succeed in business, Thierry understands that to make others happy, he needs to ascertain their expectations of him, then either meet those expectations or work towards helping them adjust those requirements. 

Thierry took the job with Italasia in Hua Hin after only two brief visits with his partner to check out the area.  His second visit was enough to convince them that Hua Hin was a liveable town and that they could even thrive here. Although Thierry had previously lived in what he categorises as mid-size Thai cities, it was the multicultural but specifically European bias of the local community and the services provided to it, that he found particularly attractive.  Thierry hopes to see the local area also thrive, with regular national and international flights from the airport, a nightlife precinct designated as a walking street without vehicles of any sort, and better public transport including designated bus routes.  I hope we don’t have to wait too long for these upgrades either.

While there are some predictable things about Thierry Berno, including his taste for gnocchi pesto Genovese and a pan bagnat, a baguette stuffed with salade niçoise, there is quite a lot that Hua Hin doesn’t yet know about this man. 

Thierry has a motorbike, but several accidents have changes his riding habits and he bought himself a slower, less powerful bike to assist him in resisting the temptation to speed. Getting out on the bike, his partner Mimi behind him, to explore the local area is high on his wish list, but Thierry is undoubtedly a workaholic.  He knows he is better at working than relaxing as he doesn’t ever have to force himself to work.  The same can’t be said of taking time for himself.  Thierry is still to get to Pala-U waterfall after nearly 11 months.  This guy seriously needs to take more time to relax.

We spoke about how Thierry can sometimes wish to just be left in peace, to have some time all to himself.  I have to admit I couldn’t help smirking, (on the inside only, of course), when he told me that as a young boy, he loved the peace and quiet of the wardrobe to relax.  I suppose I really should have asked if he ever met a lion or a witch in those dark, quiet confines.

Even less well known is that Thierry is a musician of some note. He has a very broad taste in music from Operation Ivy to the Deftones, from Motörhead to the dulcet tones of Nina Simone, from Jamaican ska to rock, appreciating as well as performing music. I asked about his singing abilities and he commented that he is completely happy only providing backing vocals. But Thierry has been the bass player in quite a few bands, including Overstay, Wooden Lucy and his current band, Bangkok Blue Beat, a 60’s and 70’s Ska band playing covers and original songs. The fact that he plays the bass guitar explains his obsession with top-of-the-range sub-woofers. An even more obscure bit of information about Thierry is that he counts the release of the 3 albums he has played on as his greatest personal achievement to date, along with his work in mixing, mastering and producing these albums.

Social media had been an integral part of Thierry’s work life during the period when he worked in the hospitality industry in food and beverages sales, and so he is thankful that in his current job he is not required to engage with it so much, as he found the longer he spent online, the greater his negativity about the state of the world.  This is a well-acknowledged phenomena amongst people of his generation who can find it challenging to disconnect from their devices. Thierry has the perception that the world of his childhood was an easier and friendlier place than our current world, but agrees that this pessimism might be rooted in the cynicism of the caustic American comedians who make him laugh aloud, such as Doug Stanhope or Bill Burr. Thierry does have quite a wicked sense of humour himself.  When I asked what he couldn’t do without, his quick-fire response was “air” but my teacher- face of exasperation was enough to make him quickly change his answer to “music”.