In an impressive climb up the global culinary ladder, Pichaya ‘Pam’ Soontornyanakij, the chef-owner of Potong in Bangkok, has just been named the World’s Best Female Chef for 2025. This follows her win as Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2024, highlighting her ongoing success in the kitchen.

Chef Pam trained at the Culinary Institute of America before sharpening her skills at the famous Jean-Georges restaurant in New York, part of Jean-George Vongerichten’s empire. After her stint in the US, she returned to her hometown of Bangkok and opened Potong in 2021. The restaurant is set in what used to be her family’s traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy, right in the middle of Chinatown.

Potong offers a fresh Thai-Chinese menu that’s all about mixing the old with the new. Chef Pam uses a clever approach based on the five elements and five senses to make sure every meal is something special. Her restaurant quickly became a hit and was voted the number one restaurant in Bangkok by TOP25 Bangkok Restaurants.

But that’s not all — Chef Pam runs several other restaurants in the capital. She’s the first and youngest Thai woman to win both a Michelin Star and the “Opening of the Year” award from the Michelin Guide in the same year. She’s also the only Thai woman to earn 3 knives from the World Best Chef Award.

When she’s not in the kitchen, you might see Chef Pam on TV. She’s appeared on shows like ‘Top Chef Thailand’, ‘Top Chef Arab World’, ‘World Cook Competition’, ‘Maverick Academy’, and more. She’s become one of the most well-known chefs in Asia and even starred in her own episode of the Netflix series ‘Chefs Uncut’.

Despite all this fame, Chef Pam, who is 36 and lives in Bangkok with her husband and business partner Tor Boonpiti and their young daughter, keeps things real. She’s known for her down-to-earth attitude and humour, which makes her relatable despite her massive success.

Her journey to becoming the World’s Best Female Chef in 2025 is not just about her personal wins but also serves as an inspiration for budding chefs everywhere. It shows how sticking to your roots and being open to new ideas can lead to incredible things.