The prime ministerial offices are besieged by protesters, thousands of students are preparing to march on Government House and the country officially remains in a state of emergency.

Yet the most potent constitutional threat to Thailand's leadership may arise from a delicious recipe for green curry, a televised trip to a market and a cheque for 80,000 baht (£1,300).

Samak Sundaravej, the Thai Prime Minister, will appear in a Bangkok court today to defend himself against charges of moonlighting — accusations that his appearances on a notoriously confrontational weekly television cookery show violated the country's Constitution. If he is found guilty, the army of protesters who have spent recent weeks screaming for his resignation will have their wish granted instantly: Mr Samak and his Cabinet would be forced to step down.

The conflict-of-interest charges, which were brought this year by a group of Thai senators, hinge on a rule that forbids a prime minister from holding a second job — a measure designed to prevent too cosy a relationship between officials and the private sector. The question that the court has to answer is whether a handful of paid television appearances as the celebrity chef host of Tasting and Grumbling are enough to force Mr Samak out of power.

Until he became Prime Minister seven months ago, Mr Samak's most familiar role was as a television chef.

During four decades in politics, including a stint as the Mayor of Bangkok, he made his mark as a rabble-rouser and vehement anti-communist. His cookery show provided the perfect context for him to press on in that role. Each week the central dish being prepared was a mere prop for long, ranting monologues on whatever happened to be annoying him at the time. In the immediate run-up to his election this year, Mr Samak gave up his appearances on the show, but having won Thailand's greatest political prize, he was quick to assure the nation's cookery fans that he would be back on the air as soon as possible.

He made about four appearances on the show between February and April, before serious political issues - including rice shortages and manic price inflation — kept him away from the studio kitchens. “I did it because I liked doing it,” Mr Samak said. “I was the first TV presenter to do my cooking right in the market, and it was delicious, too.”

At a hearing yesterday the Prime Minister explained that as he was not on the staff of the television station he was therefore discussing the finer points of Thai cuisine as a freelance expert. He later said that the money he was paid was given to one of his drivers.

“I presented the cooking show and got paid for my acting,” he said. “I consulted with legal counsel after I became Prime Minister, and they all agreed it was not a breach of the Constitution if I was not a regular employee of a company.”

The curious twist in Thailand's political drama came as Mr Samak acknowledged that the state of emergency declared last Tuesday had failed to calm the protesters.

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