Jean-Noel Lumineau presented his first French food festival at Mom Tri’s Boathouse in Kata nine years ago – two weeks of the very best French food in the world.

He came back every year to do the same thing and, in September 2008, made the big jump, moving to Phuket as Chef Consultant for Mom Tri’s four restaurants – the Boathouse, the Oasis next door, Mom Tri’s Kitchen (all in Kata) and, the most recent addition, Mom Tri’s Regatta at the Royal Phuket Marina.

Absolute Group boss Brian Lunt has been flying to Koh Samui once a month for dinner with the local dining club, and figured it was about time that Phuket had a similar deal.

Andy Andersen, organiser of the annual Phuket Blues-Rock Festival, which takes place on February 26 and 27, has organised a couple of intimate dinners for small groups of people to get to know the two headliners – Charlie Musselwhite and Richard Clapton.

This is a great place to watch the sun dive into the sea. On the evening the Observer was there, a gleaming gin palace to slide across the face of the bay as the sun sank behind it. Sitting in comfort on the classy restaurant terrace with a good cold Mojito to hand, it’s possible to image that this is something the management arranges every night just to add to the sunset experience.

Ani Phyo is bringing her raw food vision to Phuket at the end of January with a class at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale.

Works of art donated by internationally-renowned artists, galleries and local children will be up for sale on December 9 at Hung Fat’s restaurant, Kalim Beach, with all proceeds to go to the Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation.

Twenty Belgian beauty queens added glamour to a pre-opening dinner at the soon-to-open Blue Elephant restaurant in Phuket Town.

La Bodega’s vision is to showcase authentic original local talent. It might be described as a sort of a mini-Montmartre with a Thai-Spanish flavour and jelly vodka shots.

The Royale Nam Tok restaurant is European dining at its finest.

This time a different name in the same place – the Magnetic Terrace opens in Cherng Talay, on the way into the Laguna complex.