WORLD'S BEST FEMALE CHEF COOKS IN BENJARONG

Unarguably, chef Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij is the hottest and most-in demand Thai export at the moment. In 2024, she was heralded as Asia’s Best Female Chef and then this year, she was proclaimed the World’s Best, the first for an Asian and a Thai to receive such a prestigious title. On top of that, her Bangkok restaurant Potong got a Michelin star, further elevating her status in the global culinary stage as well as proving that she has the chops to be in the big league.

- NINO ANGELO COMSTI

tall order

The acclaimed chef indulged us with her food and presence by collaborating with Benjarong’s Watcharaphon “Ja” Yongbanthom who, like Pam, is also carving her own name in the food world by presenting Royal Thai cuisine with elegance and precision in Dusit Thani Manila’s signature restaurant.

It wasn’t chef Pam’s first visit to Manila. Two years ago, she had a successful four-hands with Miko Calo in Metronome, and prior to that, she flew in regularly. “The Philippines is very close to my heart because my husband worked here years ago when we weren't married yet and I used to come here every weekend,” said the soft-spoken Soontornyanakij. “I feel like Filipinos are very much like Thai people and when I arrived here at Dusit Thani, it felt like home.”