Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024 is chef Pam of Potong in Bangkok

The Thai Chinese chef-patron of Potong will receive her award at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 ceremony in Seoul this March

Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij, the 34-year-old chef-owner of the highly-acclaimed Potong in Bangkok, has clinched the Asia’s Best Female Chef Award for 2024. The chef, food consultant and TV personality will receive her award this March 26 in Seoul at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 ceremony.

Pam’s prominence in the regional dining scene, and Potong’s reputation as one of the hardest tables to book in Bangkok, paved the way for the award, which was awarded on February 6. The restaurant, located within a building that used to host a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy, pays homage to her Thai Chinese heritage and her family business selling Chinese herbal medicine. A meal at Potong is 20 courses long and is carefully curated throughout according to her five-element philosophy of salt, acid, spice, texture, and Maillard reaction, contributing to every burst of flavour in each bite.

Her cuisine has not gone unnoticed—in 2023, it ranked No. 35 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and No. 88 on the extended list of World’s 50 Best Restaurants. It also earned a Michelin star last year, making chef Pam the youngest female chef to receive a star for her restaurant.

Don’t miss: How Bangkok chef Pam Soontornyanakij of Michelin-starred Potong is marrying tradition with modern touches

According to Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, the award “celebrate[s] women in gastronomy who persist in pushing the limits of excellence through their skills, expertise, and artistry”. It syncs with Pam’s own commitment to female empowerment—just this year, she announced a scholarship called WFW (Women for Women), created in collaboration with the American Women’s Club of Thailand, to support female students in Thailand’s rural areas with aspirations to become chefs. Elsewhere, she has worked with Gastronauts Asia under its Women in Gastronomy culinary symposium to support female chefs across Thailand.

“This award goes beyond personal achievement—it celebrates my beliefs, respect for heritage, and a relentless pursuit to better myself,” Pam says, adding that she hopes that the award would “inspire young female chefs to break barriers and ignite grand culinary dreams”. “[The award] not just mine, but a triumph for every aspiring chef worldwide.”

Above Interiors of Potong, located within an old building that used to host a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy

William Drew, director of content for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, noted that her 20-course tasting menu is a “masterclass in paying heed to heritage as well as in cultural storytelling”. “For her inspirational gastronomy and her commanding presence on Thailand’s culinary scene—which includes everything from television appearances to empowerment programmes—Pam is truly deserving of the honour,” he says.

The Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 ceremony will be held at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas, the first time that the ceremony will be held in the Korean capital. Sponsored by Sanpellegrino and Acqua Panna, the ceremony is organised in collaboration with Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

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Chef Pam of Potong in Bangkok is Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024