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Nov 14, 2025 · 1 min read
Before Chef Tony ever touched a mortar in New York, Michelin had already glanced toward Thai cuisine – but from afar.
In 2001, Nahm London, led by Australian chef David Thompson, became the first Thai restaurant in the world to receive a Michelin star.
More than a decade later, two Thai restaurants – Zabb Elee in Queens and Pok Pok in Brooklyn – each earned one star in the Michelin Guide New York 2015.
But only one of them was led by a Thai-born chef.
That chef was Therdtus “Tony” Rittaprom – the first Thai chef in history to lead a Thai restaurant to Michelin recognition.
It was before the Michelin Guide even launched in Thailand (2017), making it a groundbreaking moment for Thai culinary history.
Chef Tony grew up in Roi Et, in Thailand’s northeast, in a home where food was a daily rhythm, not an art.
“We made som tum every day,” he said. “No measuring, no tasting. My hands just knew the flavor.”
Years later, in Phayao, a quieter northern province, he trained himself through banquet catering, learning both Northern Thai cuisine and how to feed hundreds through observation, repetition, and instinct. “Cooking big meals teaches you everything – timing, teamwork, and taste.” he said.
And on an ordinary afternoon, while waiting to pick up his child from school, it sparked something extraordinary. Tony decided to open a small shop in front of the school and began selling som tum and everyday Thai dishes.
“I wasn’t planning to open a restaurant,” he laughed. “I was just killing time. However, people came back the next day – and the day after that. It grew by itself.”
That unplanned, humble shop – born from a father’s patience, quietly marked the first chapter of a story that would one day reshape Thai food in America.
When Tony arrived in the United States, he didn’t chase titles or fame. He worked as a line cook at SEA Thai restaurant in Brooklyn, where his off-menu staff meals became the talk of the restaurant.
“Everyone loved my noodle soup,” he recalled. “They told me it was better than the menu.”
Soon after, he was asked to lead Zabb Elee, then a late-night refuge for Thai restaurant workers in Queens.
“It was 100% Thai taste,” he said. “No adjusting for foreigners.”
Then something unexpected happened: New Yorkers discovered it.
“They said, ‘This tastes exactly like what I had in Thailand,’” Tony remembered. “They smiled like they were going back.”
Unexpectedly, Zabb Elee went on to make history as the first Thai restaurant in the US to receive a Michelin star – a moment that changed how the world saw Thai cuisine.
“They told me we got a Michelin star,” Tony said. “I asked, ‘What’s that?’” he laughed.
For many, that moment marked a turning point for Thai cuisine in America. But for Tony, it was simply another day in the kitchen.
“I just thought I needed to make it taste the same every day.”
That quiet discipline became its own revolution – serving unapologetically Thai food when few dared to do so. Some Thai diners even cried after tasting som tum that finally tasted like home.
What mattered to him wasn’t chasing recognition, but preserving the flavor that earned it in the first place.
After Zabb Elee, Tony opened Larb Ubon in Hell’s Kitchen with a friend.
“Small place, homemade style. We decorated with pha khao ma my mom sent from Thailand,” he said. “It looked like a sidewalk karaoke bar in Bangkok – but it was packed!”
After several years being a home away from home for Thais and curious locals alike, they sold the space as each partner pursued a new path.
Tony moved on, opening PuTawn Local Kitchen on the Upper East Side – later reborn as Zabb PuTawn, a harmony of Isan soul and Northern Thai heart, now with a Brooklyn branch.
“Isan food is straightforward — bold, honest, no fancy paste,” Tony explained. “Northern food is layered, aromatic, with Myanmar influence.”
At Zabb PuTawn, both worlds coexist on one menu — som tum, yam naem khao thot, tom zabb, and grilled pork jowl from the Isan side; khao soi, hang lay, nam ngiao, nam prik ong, and larb kua from the North.
“Some ingredients have to be imported directly from Phayao,” he said. “You can’t find them from typical food importers here.”
A decade after Zabb Elee first drew Thai diners craving a taste of home, New Yorkers now crave that same authenticity more than ever.
“At the Brooklyn branch, customers even eat spicier than some Thais,” he smiled.
What began as a small spark in Queens has grown into a movement – a new standard for how Thai food is understood and appreciated across the city.
Tony’s legacy lives in every Thai kitchen that now dares to serve food as bold and honest as home.
Ask Tony what dish defines him, and he answers without hesitation: Som Tum.
He grew up with it. Built his first stall with it. Earned a Michelin star with it.
“I can make it without tasting,” he said. “It’s already in my hand.”
Tony doesn’t speak like a Michelin chef; he speaks like someone feeding friends.
“There’s no ‘delicious’ or ‘not delicious.’ Only ‘like’ or ‘don’t like,’” he said. “We only sell what we love to eat ourselves.”
And that’s how a man who never aimed for Michelin became the first Thai chef in the world to earn one – not by chasing stars, but by never compromising his flavor.
📖 Chef Tony
📍 Zabb PuTawn — 229 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
📷 Follow @zabbputawn
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