Hi, my name is Pongpan Lunsimma.  Just  call me chef Om.

 

  As a child, living in rural Thailand, I gathered local ingredients and enjoyed preparing local dishes by watching my mother and neighbors cook. Since then, I have  been obsessed with understanding Thailand's cuisine and with improving the flavors and variety of  food served in Thai restaurants. I love researching ancient recipes and recreating them for modern tastes. My goals include expanding today's menus by including more variety and exciting new dishes and flavors.   

 

   After graduating from high school, I left my village in Issan (northeastern Thailand), moved to our capitol, Bangkok, and started my career in gastronomy. Actually, I started as a cook's helper in a seafood market restaurant, cleaning fish. Although I was happy to have a job, and I learned a great deal about the insides of fish, I had no friends because I smelled like fish all the time.

  

  After about 6 months of marine life, I was fortunate to find a job in a good hotel, as a waiter in their main dinning room, and a room service waiter as well.  Yea, no more fish smell! It was there I realized I had to learn English, since many of my customers spoke no Thai.  Fortunately, I love chatting with people, and was soon able to pick up the basics of English.  In fact, one American lady gave me a big tip one day and made me promise to spend it on English lessons, so maybe my English was not that good after all.

 

  After about a year in that hotel, which was really nice, I was lucky enough to meet a friend of my family who was generous and willing to help me go to culinary college.  Four years later I graduated from Dusit Thani College, the premier culinary institution in Thailand. This began my preparation for a career in Thailand's restaurant culture. During my time at the college I participated in on the job training at three hotels in Bangkok working as a pastry chef, a buffet chef and a Thai chef.

 

  After my graduation from Dusit Thani College I completed my Thai national service, in the navy, as the manager of the personal food staff to Admirals in the Thai navy.

Soon after returning from the navy, I was lucky again and had the opportunity to come to the USA as a J1 Visa trainee to gain international experience by joining Chef Daniel Boulud's kitchen at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami, Florida.  In Miami I worked as a Garde Manger Chef with Chef Mattieu Godard, a well-known Michelin star restauranteur.  This experience allowed me to understand western flavors and cooking techniques which I have been able to translate into my Thai food creations, and to improve traditional Thai flavors.

 

  A year later, after my return to Thailand, I increased my knowledge by working in Thai kitchens such as Nahm, a Michelin star Thai restaurant; the Salathip Thai restaurant at the 5 star Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok; and the Benjarong Thai restaurant, in the 5 star Dusit Thani hotel. I worked at the Dusit Thani with Chef Morten Nielsen, the creator of the Benjarong's new cuisine, where I was the Senior Sous Chef.

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  My next promotion was to the post of Chef de Cuisine at the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort, another five-star property in Bangkok.  Here I had responsibility for all  cuisine at the hotel including VIP Private Dining, Cooking classes, Riverboat restaurants, Banquets, etc.  Recently, I left the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort, moved to the USA where I have been employed by the five-star hotel, The Setai Hotel in Miami Beach as both a Western and Asian chef.

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For the past year I have been employed by the Polo Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. The change from hotel to country club has given me the opportunity to showcase my creative talents.  The club requires a totally different mind set of keeping the membership entertained for a extended relationship, often many years, rather than constantly changing customers that a hotel experiences. This different challenge requires constant innovation and much more attention to the clients. The need to innovate allows me to showcase what

 I most enjoy, creating new dishes incorporating western techniques with my understanding of traditional Thai ingredients and flavors.

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