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WHEN Chudaree “Tam” Debhakam opened Baan Tepa outside Bangkok’s city centre in 2020, the last thing on her mind was earning two Michelin stars for her restaurant, or being named Asia’s best female chef in the 2025 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards.

Instead, her goal was to create a fully sustainable restaurant at what was her grandmother’s home, where she could grow her own ingredients while sourcing and championing lesser-known Thai ingredients, and create a platform to promote local producers.

Fast forward five years and she has accomplished more than she expected. She is now widely recognised for her work in sustainability, and is also a role model for women in the highly competitive, male-dominated restaurant industry.

On Mar 25, Tam will be the second Thai chef to be named Asia’s best female chef, one year after her compatriot, Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij of the one Michelin-starred Potong.

“I never really thought about recognition for doing what I love to do,” says Tam in an e-mail interview. “It’s a very humbling experience. It’s given me a chance to reflect on all the women that I’ve worked with in the kitchen, and the women in my family who have shaped me into the person that I am today.”

Tam, who first gained attention in 2017 when she clinched the first prize at Top Chef Thailand, originally wanted to be an athlete but switched to cooking, spending several years working under Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York. This was where she honed her skills in farm-to-table cooking, and the nutritional benefits of dining close to the source.

Winning trust of producers, suppliers

But, it wasn’t so easy doing the same at home. Among the challenges she faced at Baan Tepa was building relationships with producers and suppliers, she says. “There was a lot of hesitation when I first wanted to buy produce directly from small-scale farmers. They usually have a middleman or they sell at markets, and were not willing to ship to us directly then…

“We had to explain what we were trying to accomplish, and build a lasting relationship where there is transparency over where our ingredients come from and how they are grown. It took a bit of time to build this trust, but I believe that now with a few initiatives that we’ve launched, we’ve made a lot of progress.”

These include tours of Baan Tepa as well as a “meet the producers” market where chefs, producers and visitors can interact. Tam is also encouraged by the fact that “we’ve also seen an increase in younger people moving to the countryside to become farmers and producers”.

The past five years have been monumental in her evolution as a chef, says Tam. “I was 28 when I opened Baan Tepa, so my approach to running a kitchen and a business was very different. I had very little perspective on how to handle pressure and stress in the workplace. Creatively, I had yet to find my identity and the direction that I wanted to go.”

Being young and female also meant it was hard for her to deal with team members who were older and had more experience. “In Thai culture, seniority is very important, so it was hard to navigate being the ‘boss’ and having the final say.” But, now at the age of 32, “I have more clarity and understanding of people and the goals we want to achieve”. 

That includes crunching the data collected over the past five years to chart the next step in achieving true sustainability, she says.

“We need to assess, among other things, how much waste we generate, the amount of non-organic produce we’re still using and other untraceable ingredients on the menu. Then we can formulate strategies to improve our numbers, while running a restaurant that people are still excited to visit. No matter what, sustainability needs to be realistic.”

In the bigger picture, she hopes to work more closely with local producers while growing more of Baan Tepa’s own produce. “Sustainability is also about people, so creating a long-lasting career path in this industry is important for me.”

While Tam doesn’t really distinguish between “woman chef” and “chef”, she feels that the Asia’s Best Female Chef award is the “first step in achieving full equality and inclusivity in the industry”.

Such a recognition is important as “it gives women a platform to showcase their work and also be role models who can reach out to other women who have just started a career in hospitality – something I wish I saw more of when I was younger”.

Encouraging, supporting women chefs

It’s a great time for female chefs in Thailand, says Tam, but there’s more to be done, particularly on the business owner side of things. “How do we encourage women who also want to have a family to stay in the industry? What support can we provide, such as flexible working hours and access to day care?”

Tam credits growing up in a big family with lots of strong women as a major influence in her life. “Beyond that are the women I’ve met in the workplace who have shown me how to speak up and stand my ground, so I’m entirely grateful for all of them!”