Thai restaurant chef-turned entrepreneur talks Yorkshire’s food scene
BAN Kaewkraikhot, the chef-turned-entrepreneur behind Thai culinary experience Sukhothai has launched a second brand, ZAAP, which is already riding on the wave of street food popularity.
From humble beginnings, opening its doors to 20 people in Chapel Allerton in 2002, Sukhothai has been a staple on the Leeds restaurant scene ever since, with three sites in the city and one in Harrogate.
The restaurant was and is the dream of owner Ban Kaewkraikhot, who managed the transition from head chef at another Thai restaurant to owning her own.
Now with a total of five restaurants, in the city centre, Chapel Allerton, Headingley, Harrogate, and ZAAP, which opened last month in The Grand Arcade in Leeds, the restaurants continue to get involved in the community, most recently at the Leeds Food and Drink Festival.
Ms Kaewkraikhot said: “At the heart of Sukhothai’s ethos is the desire to bring authentic Thai food to the people of Leeds, delivered with true Thai grace and tradition.
“A recent Sunday Times article said that “customers are treated like family”, which is what we are ultimately striving to achieve.
On their involvement in the festival, Ms Kaewkraikhot said: “Sukhothai’s involvement in the Leeds Food and Drink Festival stretches back a number of years now and it was a natural progression for the restaurant to become involved in the region’s flagship food and drink event.”
She said: “Thai cuisine has taken the UK by storm in the last 10-15 years and, arguably, now ranks alongside the mainstays of Asian cuisine in its popularity.
“Also, the recent explosion in popularity of ‘street food’ has given Thai food a new slant, as its very roots are entrenched in the Bangkok markets that bring Thai street food to millions of people each year in its own inimitable style.”
The growth of the Sukhothai group has been a story of carefully planned, strategic growth.
On the culinary landscape of the county, traditional home of the stodgy food-lover, Ms Kaewkraikhot said: “Yorkshire’s culinary scene has grown exponentially in the last 5 years. The diversity, choice and quality are there for all to see, both in the suburbs and the city centres. Arguably, Leeds can boast to be the unofficial capital of the Yorkshire food scene.
“This diversity is evident with the rise of things like Leeds Trinity and the many festivals that have arisen in the last few years. The Leeds Food and Drink Festival, however, is possibly the best advertisement for Yorkshire’s food scene.”
Leeds Food and Drink Festival is on now and ends on June 7. Find out more information here .
