Benchawan Jabthong Painter | |
---|---|
Born | 1993 or 1994 (age 29–30) [1] |
Spouse | Graham Painter |
Culinary career | |
Cooking style | Thai street food |
Current restaurant(s) | |
Award(s) won
| |
Website | Street to Kitchen |
Benchawan Jabthong Painter is a chef and restaurateur in Houston, Texas. In 2023 she was named Best Chef/Texas by the James Beard Foundation. [2] [1] [3]
Painter was raised in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand and learned to cook in her grandmother's restaurant there, starting at age 6. [4] [5] [6] [7] She worked in Bangkok restaurants before meeting her husband and moving to the United States with him. [5] [8]
Painter moved to Houston in 2015. [1] [4] She worked at SaltAir and at Justin Yu's Theodore Rex; missing food from Thailand that wasn't adjusted for American tastes, she started opening popups. [9] [3] [6] [7]
Painter and her husband, Graham Painter, opened Street to Kitchen, a restaurant serving Thai street food, in Houston's Greater East End neighborhood in 2020. [2] [1] The couple also co-owns Th Prsrv in Kemah, Texas. [1]