During her time in Rochester, she also became a profession DJ, travelling the world and learning about different cultures and cuisines from every place she visited through her DJ career.

She worked at Esan Thai Restaurant, one of the most popular restaurants in upstate New York. She gained experience in both the restaurant and hospitality industries. She then moved to Rochester, NY to complete her internships and attend Eastman School of Music at Rochester University. While in school, she worked with her sister to built two successful Thai restaurants. She knew early on that her life and career would always involve music and food.Īfter graduating from Culalongkorn University in Thailand, Chatayee moved to the US to attend Columbia College in Chicago. It also encouraged her love for food as she embarked on her own culinary journey from South East Asia through the world over. This provided her the opportunity to travel the world performing Thai classical music. Her family has a long legacy of traditional Thai, an old school (ancient Thai or old Siam), as well as Thai modern cooking style.Ĭhatayee was awarded the Music and culture program Scholarship from Culalongkorn University for exceptional music faculty (Bangkok, Thailand). Growing up in this natural food-rich area was the start of her culinary journey. This area has an array of fruits and vegetables and the freshest ingredients. I love seeing new things, being silent and observing all the things around me.Chef Bio Chatayee Thai Restaurant, PhiladelphiaĬhef Chatayee Venus Kaputhong was born in Bangkok, Thailand in the heart of the green garden district, Talingchan. I’ll find a cafe, have a coffee and sit outside and watch and observe people, and just crush the streets. My favorite thing to do is to walk the city. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new place?.The reference point I think about is how young we are as a country, and all these other places have this storied and deep cultural connection to food. Just walking the markets and seeing this old-world food scene was so fulfilling. I recently went to London to visit my daughter who’s studying abroad there, and just had a magical time. They play classic country western and rockabilly swing, and they do a bologna sandwich-which is seven individual slices of bologna fried on a griddle, stacked on white bread, with tomato, lettuce and then you get mayo on the side. The classic is Robert’s, and we send everyone from out of town there. Hot chicken and bologna sandwiches are the first things that come to mind. What’s a food you think Nashville is known for?.

We slowly built a team, whereas when we opened Folk we already had that team. The difference was when we opened Rolf, I didn’t have a team like I do now. Opening a restaurant is like getting married, divorced and having three kids at the same time.

Was there a difference between opening Rolf & Daughters and opening up Folk?.

It was what I was looking for the whole time. So, it was a no-brainer for me and my family in identifying the potential Nashville had in that moment. It was ready for the kind of thing I wanted to do. We had friends who lived here and were farming here, and they kept telling us that the scene was about to explode. The opportunity of a growing city and the richness and potential in agriculture. I moved to Florida and it was a food desert, and I had this moment when I realized that food was important. It’s funny, I didn’t realize I had an interest in food until I left and moved back to the U.S. Then I spent the majority of my formative years through about fifth grade through high school in Brussels while my father worked for NATO. I was born in Germany as a military brat. My father is an American, my mother is Norwegian. How did that lead to your interest in food?

Phil cook on world cafe