HOUSTON – From growing up in Thailand to making Houston proud with her recent win at the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas.
James Beard Award winner, Benchawan ‘Chef G’ Jabthong Painter, stopped by Houston Life for her first live tv interview after receiving the coveted distinction in Chicago earlier this month.
The awards are considered the Oscars of the culinary world and recognized her talent for elevating Thai cuisine.
In August 2020, chef Benchawan and husband Graham Painter opened Street to Kitchen in the East End, dedicated to unapologetic Thai staples; the restaurant has garnered fans and acclaim regionally and internationally.
Chef G, who Graham joined, spoke about her incredible journey to culinary excellence after moving to Houston in the name of love.
She also shared one of her recipes served as a course in their new restaurant in Kemah, th_prsrv, an indigenous restaurant focused on Native American and Ancient Thai Techniques. This ancient Thai dish dates back to the 16th Century.
At th_prsrv you will be presented with a 15-course tasting menu that focuses on the parallel evolutions of both Choctaw and Thai cuisine from ancient times to the present.
The dish is called Saeng Wa, which is an ancient Thai-style tiger prawn salad. It consists of fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind juice, lime juice, cilantro, Thai chiles, markrut leaves, ginger, lemongrass, shallots, and tiger prawns.
Chef G has been cooking since she was 6 years old with her grandmother in the Central Thai metropolis of Nakhon Sawan. After working in a number of Bangkok restaurants and pastry shops, Benchawan met her husband Graham Painter, and moved to Houston with him 5 years later. She put her skills immediately to use at such lauded restaurants as Justin Yu’s Theodore Rex and Saltair Seafood Kitchen.
Check out the video above to find out where you can taste her acclaimed food and the inspiration behind her dishes!
To book your table at th_prsrv , click here.