I was born in Kirimart Village, Sukhothai Province, Thailand, in 1968. I had a tough upbringing, losing my father and brother at a young age, and had a limited education. I left Kirimart at 15 to go to Bangkok where I worked in a clothing factory.

In 1986 I set up my own garment factory. However, my true passion had always been food so in 1993 I opened a small Phad Thai cart, while still running the factory. I added more noodle stalls and finally got rid of the factory. I then won an award for my Phad Thai, which is the recipe I still use in my 11 restaurants to date.

I was working on my stall in Bangkok in 1997 when I met my partner Martin. He and his friends were in Thailand on holiday. I moved to the UK in 1999 and in 2004 Martin and I opened our first restaurant, Chaophraya, in Leeds. We went on to open in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. In 2012 there was the opportunity to take over the furniture shop beneath our first restaurant and expand. The same year we ventured into Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It was also at this time that we decided we wanted to bring a truly authentic feel of my home country to the UK and recreate the dishes that I learnt on the streets of Bangkok to the streets of the UK. This is what we want to do with Thaikhun. The name is pronounced ‘Tycoon’ which is meant to celebrate the work of the street hawkers back in Bangkok… they are the real foodie entrepreneurs.

Thaikhun is the younger, funkier sister to Chaophraya.

We opened our first Thaikun in Manchester followed by Aberdeen. Our search for southern sites continued and we are over the moon with our George Street venue.

From my recipes, which won me awards in Bangkok, to Martin’s favourite dish – Khao Ka Moo (five-spiced pork on rice) – every dish is packed full with flavours and has a special story behind it.

* ¼ fresh red chilli
* 1tbsp tamarind Sauce
* ¼ carrot
* ¼ papaya
* cherry tomates
* fine beans
* 1 lime wedge
* 1 garlic clove
* 1tbsp fish sauce
* 1 dsp peanuts
* 1tsp palm sugar

For the papaya salad First begin by washing and preparing all the vegetables, then shred the papaya and carrot with a julienne peeler, giving you nice thin even strips of vegetable.

Use a mortar and pestle to crush the garlic, tamarind sauce, chilli, palm sugar and fish sauce, until a paste.

Add the shredded vegetables, cherry tomatoes and green beans and further mix with the mortar and pestle to ensure all the flavours fuse.

For the final step, prepare the salad on a decorative plate. Garnish with the peanuts and lime wedge.

Best served with sticky rice or pork skewers.