Chef Pam – Bio, Career, Age, Achievements

INTRODUCTION

Chef Pam (พิชญา สุนทรญาณกิจ), born Pichaya Soontornyanakij, is a Thai chef, restaurateur, and television personality who has made history as the first Asian and Thai female chef to receive The World’s Best Female Chef award. Known for her work in contemporary Thai-Chinese cuisine and as the founder of the Michelin-starred POTONG in Bangkok, she has become one of the most recognized culinary faces in Asia.

Career

Chef Pam graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a degree in Communication Arts before studying at the Culinary Institute of America, where she graduated with honors. She trained at the three-Michelin-starred Jean-Georges in New York. At age 21, she won the Asia Youth Hope Cooking contest. She returned to Bangkok in 2015 and opened The Table, her first fine dining restaurant. In 2021, she opened POTONG in a restored 120-year-old Sino-Portuguese building that once housed her family’s herbal medicine business. POTONG earned a Michelin star and was ranked No. 13 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2025. She serves as a judge on Top Chef Thailand and Iron Chef Thailand.

Birthday

August 15, 1989

Age

Zodiac Sign

Leo

Nationality

Thai (of Thai-Chinese-Australian descent)

Birth Name

Pichaya Utharntharm (พิชญา อุทารธรรม)

Source of Fame

Founder of Michelin-starred POTONG restaurant and The World’s Best Female Chef 2025

Achievements

• The World’s Best Female Chef 2025 (first Asian and Thai female chef to receive this award)
• Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024
• One Michelin Star for POTONG
• POTONG ranked No. 13 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 (Highest New Entry)
• “Opening of the Year” award from the Michelin Guide
• “3 Knives” status from The Best Chef Awards (unique among Thai female chefs)
• Chef of the Year from KOKTAIL Magazine (2022)
• Won Asia Youth Hope Cooking contest at age 21
• Young Woman of the Year by Her World magazine (2012)
• Judge on Top Chef Thailand and Iron Chef Thailand
• Co-created Women for Women scholarship
• Graduate of Chulalongkorn University and Culinary Institute of America
• Married to Boonpiti “Tor” Soontornyanakij

Physical Stats

Height: N/A
Weight: N/A
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Body Type: Slim

CLOSE WITH (ASSOCIATED)

Chef Pam trained under Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Jean-Georges in New York. She is a contemporary of Chef Ton (Thitid Tassanakajohn) in the Thai fine dining scene. She has appeared on television alongside fellow chefs and has been featured on Netflix in Chefs Uncut and The Restaurant War Thailand. She is married to Boonpiti “Tor” Soontornyanakij.