Portrait of Chef Willy
i. Biography
Early Years
Those meals set the standard: honest flavours, close attention to ingredients, and a working respect for tradition. Chef Willy frames good cooking through that discipline, with complexity treated as secondary to understanding what the product already carries.
The Sunday email
Read about chefs like Chef Willy in the Sunday email.
Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.
Recent stories
Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.
Making a Name
That approach shows in the structure of the work: deliberate, rooted in tradition, and built to land cleanly on the table. The target is not only technical control, but a plate that gives the guest something to carry past the meal. Among the named signatures tied to Chef Willy is an in-house made lychee mojito mocktail. It is a useful marker of range: the brief extends beyond the main courses to the full experience around the table.
The Present
At Chim by Chef Noom, Chef Willy is one of the head chefs in charge, placing his cooking inside a named dining room in the city. The role sits alongside the early start at 18 and hands-on training across different kitchens, with ingredients and tradition still doing the structural work. The current output reads from that foundation: innovative Thai dishes built to bring joy and stay in memory. The through-line is clear without being decorative—craft shaped by experience, and by a fixed idea of what food should do for the guest.
Signature
Chef Willy's signature dishes include lychee mojito mocktail.
In Their Words “These meals often had the most honest flavours and taught me that great cooking is not always about complexity, but about understanding ingredients and respecting tradition.” “I started my culinary journey at the age of 18. Cooking quickly became more than just a job for me — it became a passion and a lifelong craft.” Cooking quickly became more than just a job for me — it became a passion and a lifelong craft.”
Cooking quickly became more than just a job for me — it became a passion and a lifelong craft.” Cooking quickly became more than just a job for me — it became a passion and a lifelong craft.” Cooking quickly became more than just a job for me — it became a passion and a lifelong craft.” Cooking quickly became more than just a job for me — it became a passion and a lifelong craft.” He has spent 30 years in the culinary arts, began cooking at age 18, traveled to more than twenty countries to learn techniques, and returned to his hometown in 2015 to care for his parents and continue his career.
And returned to his hometown in 2015 to care for his parents and continue his career. He has spent 30 years in the culinary arts, began cooking at age 18, traveled to more than twenty countries to learn techniques, and returned to his hometown in 2015 to care for his parents and continue his career.
FAQ
Asked of Chef
What is Chef Willy's current role?
Chef Willy is one of the head chefs in charge.
What is Chef Willy known for?
Innovative Thai dishes.
The Sunday email
Read about chefs like Chef Willy in the Sunday email.
Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.
Recent stories
Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.