Chef de Cuisine and Owner
Sujira ‘Aom’ Pongmorn
Born into a family of cooks, Chef Sujira ‘Aom’ Pongmorn grew up around food. Following her education at the School of The Oriental Hotel Apprenticeship Program (OHAP) at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Aom started her professional career in the hotel’s famous Lord Jim restaurant. During this time she had the opportunity to assist various Michelin-starred chefs such as Juan Amador and Thomas Keller during their guest appearances at Le Normandie.
Aom continued her fine dining experience at Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin at Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, where she learned a different approach to Thai food, immersing herself in the molecular techniques of Michelin-starred Chef Henrik Yde Andersen. She later moved to another Bangkok institution, award-winning Issaya Siamese Club, where she worked as executive chef under famed Thai chef Ian Kittichai. Following this, she was part of the pre-opening team of The House on Sathorn.
In 2016, Aom opened Baan Phadthai together with restaurateur Frederic Meyer. Specialising in Thailand’s famous national dish, the restaurant has won several accolades and was awarded a Bib Gourmand in the inaugural Michelin Guide Bangkok 2018. The Baan Phadthai Cookbook is slated for release in 2018.
Saawaan is the culmination of Aom’s culinary journey and her personal tribute to Thai cuisine.
Chef Pâtissière
Arisara ‘Paper’ Chongphanitkul
Having discovered her passion for pastry at age 17 while on exchange in France, Chef Paper completed her formal education at the Gastronomicom pastry school in southern France and interned at the Beau Rivage Hotel near Lyon. During her time in Europe, Chef Paper worked alongside pastry greats such as Sadaharu Aoki and Hugues Pouget in Paris and Laurent Gerbaud in Brussels.
In 2011 she returned to Thailand and become Executive Pastry Chef at the award-winning Issaya Siamese Club. Following the success of Issaya Siamese Club, Chef Paper co-founded Issaya Cooking Studio, a renowned cooking school and event space, in 2014 and Issaya La Pâtisserie, a café, at EmQuartier in 2015. In 2016, she co-authored Issaya La Pâtisserie Pastry Cookbook together with Chef Ian Kittichai.
Throughout her professional career, Chef Paper has continued improving her skills and has completed workshops and internships with some of the world’s best Pastry Chefs, including Jordi Bordas and Davide Malizia, and welcomed pastry stars such as Amaury Guichon, Luc Debove and Will Goldfarb to Issaya Cooking Studio. In 2018, Chef Paper was the first Thai national to compete in the Ladies World Pastry Championship in Rimini, Italy.