He cooks, he whines, he howls, he moans. Then, amid cheers and raised eyebrows, he becomes Thailand's new prime minister.

In a feat that even Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay wouldn't dream of imitating, Samak Sundaravej of the People's Power Party (PPP), full-time politician (he was governor of Bangkok from 2000-04) and part-time celebrity chef, was endorsed Jan. 29 by the king of Thailand to assume the role of premier.

Controversial for his outspokenness -- and contempt for the press -- Sundaravej has hosted a TV cooking show since 2000, and aired every Saturday until the TITV net was forced into a messy restructuring earlier this month that saw all its regular programs canceled.

The show was aptly titled "Chim Pai, Bon Pai" -- literally "cooking and whining.'' Wielding his spatula, he pan-fried Thai faves while exercising his motormouth, giving tips, ideas and philosophy on food and cooking. For the most part, he kept politics out of the show, which was watched mainly by loyal fans who found his harangues entertaining.

Sundaravej's first activity as new PM? Shopping for ingredients at the teeming farmers' market in Bangkok, where he chatted up vendors and engaged in a bit of apparent self-mockery, buying a bunch of 'chompoo,' a broad-based fruit whose shape resembles the spectacularly flared nostrils of the 72-year-old prime minister, and the nickname pundits have cooked up for Sundaravej.

Still, the far-right Sundaravej is a divisive figure: He's said to have been involved in the crackdown of protestors in the October 1976 uprising. And he ran in last December's general election with the PPP, the party closely associated with former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by military coup in 2006.

Sundaravej, certainly, can stand the heat in the proverbial kitchen. And he vows to return to the tube as celebrity chef as soon as possible.