A female chef named Pichaya 'Pam' Soontornyanakij just spiced things up — not in the kitchen this time, but on the global culinary map. She's officially the first Thai and Asian female chef to be crowned The World's Best Female Chef 2025.

Whenever we think of high-end kitchens, our minds go straight to a stressed-out chef like Gordon Ramsay, with a whisk in one hand and a temper in the other! But along comes Pam, serving history and heritage with finesse and proving the world-class kitchen doesn't need to be a warzone — it can be a celebration.

Pam was born and raised in Bangkok. She sharpened her knives at the Culinary Institute of America and even did a stint at New York's famed Jean-Georges before returning home to ignite the Bangkok dining scene. She first launched The Table, an intimate private dining experience that built her local cred, before dropping the big one in 2021 — Potong.

Pam is the chef-patron of the Michelin-starred Potong, currently ranked Number 13 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 and 57 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024.

Potong is in her family's former Chinese herbal medicine shophouse. It blends Thai-Chinese roots with bold innovation, and yes — a five-story building of beautifully preserved Sino-Portuguese architecture from 1910!

But Pam's culinary empire is far from one-note. Her latest venture, Khao San Sek, is just a five-minute walk from Potong. The name "Khao San Sek" means 'sacred milled rice'— the bits that fall to the ground during milling and are blessed by monks. In Thai culture, it's considered "lucky rice," used to ward off evil spirits. She handed over the reins to her former Potong sous-chef, Grace.

Potong is a temple to sacred Thai ingredients — and no, not the usual green curry and pad thai. It's focused on the soul of Thai cuisine, with the five key elements: rice, chilli, coconut, fish sauce, and palm sugar.

Coming this July, she's lighting the fire again with Ra-u, a bold new Thai grill house opening at Siam Paragon. Here, the name, which means "heat" in Thai, reflects both the fire of the grill and the heat of Thai spices.

Together with her husband Tor Boonpiti, Pam also co-founded The X Project — a boundary-pushing hospitality group that now boasts 10 restaurants and bars across Bangkok, including Tora Izakaya and the swanky Opium Bar (73 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2024). Safe to say, they're redefining Bangkok's culinary and nightlife scene, one bold concept at a time.

Outside the kitchen, Chef Pam is a familiar face on TV, judging on Top Chef Thailand, Top Chef Arab World, Iron Chef, and more. But she's also using her platform for good — founding the WFW (Women For Women) Scholarship and Internship Programme in 2024, dedicated to mentoring and empowering young Thai women in the culinary arts.

The World's Best Female Chef 2025 title is the first of many accolades to be announced ahead of the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony, taking place 19 June, in Turin, Italy.

Until then, we'll be over here dreaming of sacred rice, grilled meats, and what's next from Bangkok's boldest kitchen queen.