In keeping with our Year of the Woman campaign, we’re highlighting a group of female disruptors from across Thailand
After spending seven weeks in the country this year, we met some seriously impressive women changing the game in food and drink.
Thailand is developing at speed, but many of its traditional centres of power – politics, business and professional hospitality included – have long been shaped by a male-dominated culture. Women are still underrepresented in public leadership, and there remains a notable gap in workforce participation, even if progress is being made elsewhere.
Which is exactly why this list feels exciting. These women aren’t just part of Thailand’s food and beverage scene, they’re helping to redefine it, through restaurants, wine, coffee and community-led businesses that are doing things differently.
Visootha ‘Nikki’ Lohitnavy – Oenologist + Winemaker at Granmonte Wines
Thailand’s only female oenologist and winemaker, Nikki Lohitnavy has changed the landscape of Thai wine through her family vineyard, Granmonte. Located in Khao Yai, just a couple of hours outside Bangkok, they are the only winery to use only grapes grown on their own land and have won multiple awards (no less than 100!) for their bottles. Nikki is gradually changing people’s perception of what Thai wine can be and you can now find Granmonte wines in fine-dining restaurants and high-end hotels across the country. They even have three natural wines made in qvevris underground.
An expert in tropical viticulture, Nikki experiments with different grapes and methods, with a focus on eco-friendly practices. They were even testing different bird sounds to scare away animals that might eat the grapes when we visited. Given she has nailed growing grapes in Thailand, Nikki now offers advice to wineries around the world suffering due to climate change on how to grow grapes in very hot climates. She recently opened a vanilla farm too, which is fully self-sufficient – a truly remarkable person.
Yaowadee Yao Chookong – Co Founder + Chef at Maadae Slow Fish Kitchen
Located in Chiang Mai, Maadae Slow Fish Kitchen was set up during the pandemic to support southern Thai fishermen who suddenly saw demand for their catch disappear. In doing so, it also created a direct link between small-scale fishing communities and diners, putting sustainability and local livelihoods at the centre of the restaurant. The menu changes daily and features sustainable fish caught on a slow boat, served alongside seasonal ingredients. That’s why the menu changes frequently and, if you go late, popular dishes will be sold out – when they are gone, they’re gone.
The highlight is the fish cooked on a huge outdoor BBQ, but the drinks are also part of the fun, with local mead, wines, beers and fruit sodas coming from nearby producers. Like the food, the drinks list feels deeply connected to the region, making the whole place feel like a celebration of Thai produce and the people behind it.
Chalita Uttasart – Founder + Chef at Baan Lamyai
The house she lived in, she bought it. Chalita Uttasart is the chef and founder of Baan Lamyai in Bangkok, which only just opened in January but is already attracting the best chefs and industry bods from across the globe. The restaurant is a conversion of the house she grew up in, now turned into a cosy dining space that feels more like you’re eating in someone’s home. Like the space, the food is inspired by her family heritage, built around recipes passed down through the women in Chalita’s family and through books of traditional recipes written by women. She works closely with local Thai farmers and small producers, sourcing seasonal ingredients that reflect the land they come from.
The beverage list leans heavily towards sato too, the traditional Thai rice “wine” that’s enjoying a resurgence across the country right now. Highlights include spicy wings stuffed with sticky rice and caramel fish sauce, double-smoked pork neck, roasted chilli relish with cherry toms, and tri-tip southern stir-fry. Flavours are punchy, just how we like them, and it’s perfectly pitched between street food and fine dining.
Trish – Co-Founder + Chef at & Then
Trish is the co-founder of & Then in Chiang Mai, a restaurant which aims to tell the story of the region’s diverse population of migrants and its food history. Trish is part Burmese and, whilst the menu features Burmese dishes, there are also Thai, Chinese and Muslim dishes woven in, each with their own stories. Trish feels so passionately about telling the story of Chiang Mai’s cuisine that she created a documentary, which you can view online here.
The drinks menu is also impressive. Of course there are natural wines, but it’s the Thai sato selection and craft beers that piqued our interest. The restaurant is attached to a grocery store, The Goodcery, selling satos and local craft beers, plus ethically sourced food and drink products. They pride themselves on social sustainability, ethical labour practices and military-free partnerships.
Liz Shen at 93 Army Coffee
Liz Shen is one of the key figures in Thai coffee, helping put northern Thailand’s beans and coffee culture on the map. A third-generation Chinese-Thai coffee producer, she comes from Doi Phatang in Chiang Rai and has built 93 Army Coffee into a brand that’s about far more than just great cups of coffee. There’s real history behind it too, with the name nodding to the 93rd Division and the community roots of the area, but Liz has taken that legacy and made it feel fresh, modern and outward-looking. Through roasting, sourcing and education she’s helped shine a light on Thai-grown beans, especially single-origin arabica from the north.
What’s especially impressive is how many hats she wears. Roaster, barista, judge, educator, consultant – Liz seems to do it all, and always with the aim of pushing Thai coffee forward. 93 Army Coffee doesn’t just sell beans and brew coffee, it also runs courses and shares knowledge, helping more people understand what Thai coffee can be. She’s not just part of the scene, she’s helped shape it, championing local producers and proving that Thailand can produce coffee worth taking seriously on the world stage.
Pichaya ‘Pam’ Soontornyanakij – Chef + Founder of Panggang
Probably the most famous female chef in Bangkok, and definitely the one with the biggest awards cabinet, Chef Pam was recognised as the World’s Best Female Chef 2025 and Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024 (the first and only Thai chef to receive this), and Potong ranked 13 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025. Located in her family’s former Chinese pharmacy, a building which is 120 years old and has been lovingly restored, Potong offers a Thai-Chinese tasting menu which incorporates her family history and finishes with a knockout signature roast duck.
She uses her profile as a force for good, creating a Women for Women scholarship to support young women from rural Thailand in the culinary industry. More recently, she has opened a new restaurant in Bangkok, Khao San Sek, which is more casual than Potong, and has also created a food menu for Thai Airways business class.
Nikki Barltrop at Aksorn
Nikki has been living and working in South East Asia for 15 years and in Bangkok on and off for 4.5 years. She’s currently working with David Thompson across his group of restaurants, including Aksorn. Outside of her job, she’s one of the biggest champions of people and businesses doing good things for the community, both inside Thailand and outside it – specifically Burma, where she spent many years working and has lots of friends. Whether it’s attending and promoting events that raise money for charity or highlighting great women in the industry, she is always showing up. In fact, she helped us create this list.
Samantha Proyrungtong at VIVIN Charcuterie and Cheese
Not only is Samantha Proyrungtong the brains behind VIVIN, the deli and bistro in Bangkok, she’s also become one of the key figures connecting Thailand’s independent food scene. Through VIVIN she has helped give smaller producers a platform, bringing more visibility to Thai-made products that might otherwise be overlooked. She champions artisan producers from across the country, selling a big selection of Thai cheeses, charcuterie, vinegars, jams, pasta and Granmonte wines, both in her own spaces and wholesale to restaurants. She’s also a PR for a number of restaurants and runs the Instagram channel Bangkok Foodies, so has a real hand in shaping the conversation around what and where people are eating in Bangkok.
