Waree Sriton

You may be wondering how a Thai lady became involved in a venture centred around salmon, a fish well-known in western cuisine, but hardly utilised in Thai cooking. The answer is neither short, nor direct. Waree was born the middle child, a daughter between sons, to rice and sugar cane farmers.  By all accounts her childhood was idyllic, though her family’s livelihood relied upon labour-intensive, small-scale farming.  Waree recalls that it didn’t take anything special for her to be happy: she lived in a small village of less than 500 people, she knew everyone and everyone knew her.  Waree was surrounded by her friends at school and helped out with the farm duties on the weekend, as did all the children.  It was a simple life that was as comfortable and predictable as the seasons.

Waree’s German-born husband Christian jokes that Waree was the one with the brains in her family. She headed to Bangkok at the age of only 18, got a job and enrolled in university studies in Marketing that occupied her weekends but didn’t affect her ability to support herself by working a full-time job. Waree is justifiably proud of being able to make her own way in life, of paying for her own education and so avoiding being a financial burden to her parents.  Looking back at her 38 years, Waree identifies the age of 22 as being her personal favourite, as a result of having complete freedom to use her money as she chose, without the responsibility of a partner and family of her own, no matter how much she loves having them now.

It was while working in Bangkok that Waree met Christian.  She was working in an Italian restaurant and he was a customer.  He asked for her phone number so she gave it, expecting nothing from it as he seemed a bit under the weather at the time.  Yet, 5 minutes after leaving the restaurant, he contacted her, letting her know he would contact her again in a fortnight’s time.  Christian had returned to Hua Hin from Bangkok and forgotten about his promise to Waree, but she hadn’t forgotten him and was determined he would keep his promise to her.  Two weeks later, to the day, on her birthday, she contacted him to enquire why she hadn’t heard from him, and the rest is history.

In the early part of their relationship, the couple lived in several places, moving with Christian’s work. The most memorable of them for Waree was Jakarta, Indonesia which she didn’t enjoy much at all. She was only able to enter Indonesia in 30-day stints, before returning to the home they retained in Bangkok, and each homecoming only emphasised more strongly to Waree that Jakarta would never feel like home to her.  She missed every aspect of the Thai lifestyle, and had a constant craving for an authentic Somtam that Indonesia failed to assuage.  So, it was with a distinct feeling of relief that Christian eventually gave up his job and they could return full-time to Thailand. The couple has been together for over a decade now, and have a daughter, Leena who is 8.  Waree and Christian have also been parenting Baitong, now 13 years old, for many years.  Baithong is Waree’s niece, the daughter of Waree’s younger brother, and now also calls the pair “Mum” and “Dad”.

The year 2016 saw Waree, Christian and the girls searching for a permanent base for the family.  Hua Hin was chosen because of its reasonable proximity to Bangkok, the fact that the pair already had friends locally and its beaches, which the girls have always loved to visit as often as their parents can take them. Waree enjoys living here, but for the safety of her family, she would like to see improvement to both the drainage in Hua Hin, to avoid repeated flooding, and also in the quality of drinking water. 

Waree initially embarked on a trial salmon venture in 2018, beginning her production with gravlax, then different types of fresh, cured salmon in their home in Tap Thai. Salmon House 102 was not born until 2021, when both the family and business moved to a more convenient and central location on Soi 102.

Waree had always been a quiet yet conscientious student.  She learnt early on in life that it was not productive to compare herself to others, including her brothers and classmates, because each individual treads his or her own life path.  One thing that Waree also appreciated early was that she would like to be the boss of her own business, and Christian is quick to oblige by referring to her as “the boss”.  He has also been known to refer to his wife as “ayatollah” on occasion, so is very lucky Waree has a good sense of humour.

Determined to start a business, Waree had to tap into whatever skills and resources she could muster.  Christian had briefly worked for a company which imported salmon, which gave him some contacts, but not much else.  Waree’s current in-depth knowledge of her product, her recipes, her superb knife-skills and her ability to construct a comprehensive restaurant menu for the western palate all came later, the result of trial and error and many hours of internet research and learning from YouTube.  All this followed Waree and Christian noticing a gap in the market here in Hua Hin that Waree quickly decided she could fill most admirably. Indeed, Christian is very proud of his wife and the business she has nurtured and still plans to grow. Waree intends to expand her market nationwide, and with a product range that is continually sparking compliments because of its consistent quality, word-of-mouth recommendation and tapping into online marketplaces is sure to see that happen. One aspect that underlines Waree’s commitment to the local area is her focus on using local products.  She will always choose to purchase locally if available, and is keen to undertake joint, co-operative events, aware that benefits to one flow on to benefit all.

Waree’s personal strengths lie in her determination and her passion to keep learning. She started very small, gradually adding new products to the range as she perfected new recipes, acquired greater skills and was able to afford to obtain new equipment, such as a smoker. Waree now value-adds to between 40 and 60 kilograms a week of salmon in high season, producing smoked salmon and mackerel, smoked salmon mousse, gravlax, lox, citrus and beetroot cured salmon varieties as well as a range of bespoke accompaniments such as pickled cucumber, honey and dill mustard sauce, wasabi mayonnaise and whipped cream cheese.  It is genius on Waree’s part that you can try all these, prepared by her personally in the restaurant, before deciding what to take home with you.  Waree has surprised herself with both her cooking skills and her ability to captivate the European palate.  Even her family is surprised because she never displayed any interest in food, beyond eating it of course, when she lived at home.

Waree had greater trouble outlining her weaknesses, but as usual, Christian was happy to oblige. He described Waree as “driven” and explained that this leads to impatience on her behalf, since she “wants things to happen now.” It is likely Waree sees Christian’s attitude as a little too relaxed and laid-back.  No wonder the pair complement each other so well.

As a happy, positive woman, Waree still harbours some concerns about the future of the world in the short term, and its impact on her children, though she remains optimistic because she sees patterns and cycles in worldwide happenings. Waree also hold hope for ever-improving financial success as a result of her own hard work, but that doesn’t deter her from purchasing a lottery ticket twice a month. Waree’s greatest hope for the future lies in raising happy, confident girls who also have the courage to follow their own hearts and convictions. Waree acknowledges that as many people become successful, they wish to travel and explore the world, but for Waree, this isn’t a desire, as she experiences travel sickness on basically all modes of transport, but perhaps sea-sickness is the worst. What Waree does foresee in her future is living a simple life, where she can sit in the garden, under a tree, and enjoy an early-morning glass of sweet Thai tea to kickstart her day. She hopes to experience the joy of being surrounded by grandchildren and great-grandchildren one day.

Making other people happy comes naturally to Waree. She is a centred woman who believes she is fulfilling her destiny with her family and her business, and has few aspirations she hasn’t already addressed.  Waree is constantly upbeat, smiling and friendly with everyone she encounters.  Leena says her Mum makes her happy by buying her things, but Waree’s influence goes much deeper than frequent gift-giving.  She knows that life can be hard, and that one needs to be cautious and prudent, putting money away for the proverbial rainy day.

Life has led Waree down a path she never expected.  This woman has managed to capitalise on every opportunity that has come her way.  Waree works hard, six days a week, and is unable to relax until everything is done, when she might just indulge herself with a massage. A favourite food indulgence is foie gras, for which Waree developed a taste while working in European restaurants.

Waree is proud of her tidy home, and deplores seeing wrappers not properly binned. Waree’s home, which also houses her business, is her favourite place on earth.  Like her business and her life, it is carefully organised, and has become Waree’s sanctuary, the place where she feels most loved and most comfortable. Merely seeing her daughters’ smiles each morning gets the day off to a fresh, exciting start. Waree remains convinced she couldn’t live without her family.