Starting Up with Kim Kaewkraikhot @ Thaikhun, Oxford

Kim’s Story so far… I was born in Kirimart village, Sukhothai Province, Thailand, in November 1968. I had a tough upbringing, losing my father and brother at a young age.

With a limited education, I left Kirimart village at 15 to go to Bangkok where I worked in a clothing factory. In 1986 I was fed up of working for someone else, so decided to set up my own garment factory, having learned the skills by watching the workers and making some clothes from swatches when everyone had left the factory for the evening.

However, my true passion had always been food, so in 1993 I opened a small phad Thai cart, while still running my garment factory.

It was very tough keeping both of these businesses going but I went on to adding more noodle stalls in to my collection, finally getting rid of the garment 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 street stall in Bangkok in 1997 when I met my now partner Martin. It was around 2am and this charming Englishman and his friends came to buy some food from my street stall.

They were in Thailand on holiday. Martin was hungry but his friends were tired and wanted to go back to the hotel. He managed to convince them to come and get some food and that’s when we met.

I moved to the UK in 1999, where I worked in a Japanese restaurant as a waitress and kitchen porter then set up a new Thai restaurant with my twin sister in Leeds. This partnership soon came to an end.

So, in 2004 Martin and I started our journey of bringing our vision and dream to reality, opening our first restaurant Chaophraya in Leeds, my partner’s home town. This was a tough year for us, with family and friends helping us a lot to set this restaurant up.

We then went on to open in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham between 2007 and 2011. In 2012, there was the opportunity to take over the shop under our first restaurant in Leeds and expand our flagship store. We jumped at the chance, which was the same year we ventured into Scotland, opening in 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.

Chaophraya are our high end luxurious restaurants, based on the likes of the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, with leather, seating, ornate statues and luxurious finishes. However, Martin and I love eating on the streets of Bangkok, ordering various dishes from the street vendors and really tasting the true taste on Bangkok and this is what we want to bring to the UK 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 like the younger, crazy and funkier sister to Chaophraya.

We started our search for venues and knew that this was the time to crack the southern market, as we were currently a northern group of restaurants. A year before our 10th birthday we opened our first Thaikun in Manchester, followed by Aberdeen.

Many of our customers who have visited Thailand, tell me how it reminds them of their time spent on holiday, and this makes me very happy. Our search for southern sites continued and we are over the moon with our George Street venue, which is due to open at the end of April.

We are so happy to open in Oxford and be able to invite local diners to experience authentic Thai eating, just as you can on the streets of Bangkok.

From my recipes, which won me awards in Bangkok, to my partner 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. We can’t wait to see the people of Oxford enjoying their trip to Bangkok, without leaving the UK.

Our love and tribute to my homeland does not stop in my kitchen, as we wanted to truly bring Thailand direct to Oxford! So, Martin and I have lovingly hand selected most of the Oxford décor from a trip to Thailand earlier this year.

This means when you come to Thaikhun you can be instantly transported back to my beautiful country as you eat!

We cannot wait to welcome you into our new restaurant in George Street at the end of April.