Meet the world’s best female chef who almost became a journalist

Life could have turned out very differently for 36-year-old Pichaya Soontornyanakij if she had pursued her original profession. Instead of being the focus of this story, she could have been writing it.

However, journalism’s loss was definitely the restaurant world’s gain as in late 2025 “Chef Pam” (as she is known) was named The World’s Best Female Chef.

“When I was young I was curious about people and culture, and journalism felt like a way to explore that, but the kitchen was where I felt most alive,” Chef Pam explains. “Food lets me express ideas with my hands, and also connect with people immediately, without needing many words.”

Born into a Thai-Chinese-Australian family, Chef Pam was raised in Bangkok and although she was encouraged to study hard and graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a communications degree, her passion for cooking was all consuming.

Swapping pens and pads for pots and pans, she set her heart on becoming a chef, developing her skills Le Cordon Bleu Dusit in Bangkok, then the Culinary Institute of America in New York, before honing her craft under the legendary Jean-Georges Vongerichten at his eponymous three-Michelin star restaurant in Manhattan.

It was, it is fair to say, a baptism of fire.

“It was exciting, but it was also a shock,” Chef Pam says. “New York is fast, direct and demanding, and I had to learn to stand on my own very quickly. I had to push through the language barrier, pressure and self-doubt. But it also taught me independence and confidence, and it made me stronger as a person and as a chef.”

At Jean-Georges under head chef Mark Lapico, Chef Pam excelled and developed all the essential skills required from working in one of the world’s best fine-dining restaurants: discipline, consistency and precision. Talent, she discovered, was not enough. Technique, focus and determination were also non-negotiables.

“The most important thing I learned though is what real leadership looks like in a kitchen – how you set the tone, how you train people and how you hold the line even under pressure.”

Although she was tempted to stay in New York, in 2015 Chef Pam returned to Bangkok where she could showcase the skills she had picked up and where she believed her voice would be strongest.

She knew the flavours, the markets and the energy that existed in the city and she still considered it her home. Rather than a step backwards, she considered it a move forward and her ambition was to open her own restaurant. It would not be easy.

“In Bangkok I knew expectations would be high, and that the environment is competitive and moves very quickly,” she recalls.

“Building a team, building trust and building consistency all takes time, and you have to prove yourself every day. But the city also gives you something rare: access to incredible ingredients, a very informed local audience and a food culture that’s alive in the streets and in homes. That energy pushes me.”

It took some time but in 2021 Chef Pam opened Potong (it means “simple” in Chinese).

Set in the heart of Chinatown, spread over five-storeys and based in a 120-year-old building that had once been home to her family’s traditional Chinese medicine, the renovation alone took two-and-a-half years. However, it was the perfect location for her to introduce her bold Thai-Chinese cuisine.

“Potong isn’t just a restaurant placed in an old building – it’s an experience shaped by the walls, its objects, its atmosphere, and what it represents,” she explains. “I wanted to preserve that spirit and let the space guide how people move, taste and feel, as if they’re traveling through time with me.”

Thanks to her elegant and experimental dishes, Potong and Chef Pam quickly garnered awards – including a Michelin star – enabling her to open other restaurants and bars, plus develop a career on television.

Her success culminated with the Best Female Chef award from Fifty Best in 2025. But that doesn’t mean Chef Pam’s ambitions have been sated.

“I want to keep growing,” she says. “I want Potong to keep evolving and to remain the one place where I’m still cooking and improving every day. We’re also planning a major renovation (in May 2026) to elevate the experience and to build stronger foundations behind the scenes.

“And beyond that, I want to keep building people: giving young chefs real opportunities, creating a healthy culture and showing that Thai cuisine can be presented with depth, confidence and modernity – without losing its soul.”

Pad Thai

Although it is a dish known the world over, our Pad Thai is something I’m especially proud of because it’s a simple dish that carries a lot of cultural weight. There are many popular theories about its origin, and one of the most well-known links it to an era when Thailand was shaping national pride and everyday food culture during wartime.

I think it’s a powerful idea – how one dish can hold identity, resilience and the Thai-Chinese journey – and I always respect the roots before I reinterpret anything.

In our version, we distill the essence into one refined moment, and we present it with a WWII-era military box to honour the time period and highlight the key ingredients that define the dish.

Aged Duck

I love this because it represents patience, precision and the kind of deep flavour I want Potong to be known for. Duck is also personal for me – it’s a dish I kept chasing for years, trying to find the balance between crisp skin, clean fat, and meat that stays tender and expressive.

Our process is built around time: selecting the right duck from a local farm we trust, then aging it to develop flavour and texture before roasting it with exact control.

For guests, it’s a very clear moment on the menu where they feel the intensity of craft – simple on the plate, but built on many small decisions behind the scenes.

For more information of POTONG please visit: restaurantpotong.com