Chef Apple Authentic Thai Chef. Culinary Educator. Khao Lak, Thailand.
I was born here, I grew up here, and I have cooked here my whole life. When I teach Thai food, I am not teaching from a cookbook — I am teaching from my life.
Yam Fern Chan was the signature dish from my old restaurant. It was delicious and quite a unique dish. Learn how to make it here.
A Thai Chef Rooted in Khao Lak
Chef Pimmart Thongsuwan — known everywhere simply as Chef Apple — is one of Southern Thailand’s most distinctive culinary voices. Born and raised in Khao Lak, Phang Nga Province, she has spent her lifetime learning, perfecting, and sharing the authentic flavours of Thai cooking.
Her story is not the story of a culinary school graduate or a hotel kitchen career. It is the story of a woman who grew up cooking with her mother, who fed her university friends from her own kitchen, who ran a beloved local restaurant, survived a tsunami, rebuilt her life, and eventually found her true calling — standing at the kitchen counter, pestle in hand, explaining to curious people from every corner of the world exactly why Thai food tastes the way it does.
Chef Apple opened Riverside Thai Cooking in Khao Lak in August 2018. What began as a small class for six guests has grown into one of the most talked-about culinary experiences in Southern Thailand — featured in international food magazines, praised by professional chefs, and described by guests as the most authentic Thai cooking experience they have ever had.
She is warm. She is funny. She is deeply knowledgeable. And she is entirely herself — always.
In Her Own Words
“I started cooking when I was maybe twelve years old. My Mama was always in the kitchen and I was always there with her. But then I started doing my own things — trying recipes from TV, from books, always experimenting. My friends at university were my first real audience! I cooked for them all the time. I think that is why they liked me so much. They were my testers — try this, try that! This is how Chef Apple started, really.
After university I became a mathematics teacher. I loved this job. Teaching is something I really enjoy. But life brought me back to Khao Lak — my father passed away and I needed to be close to my family. I found a job at Sofitel hotel here and together with my Mama I also opened my first restaurant. We called it Fern Chan. Local people loved it. Scuba divers working in Khao Lak, hotel guests — they all came. Those were really wonderful years.
Then the Tsunami came at the end of 2004. The Sofitel was devastated — it just closed. No more job! The restaurant also had to close. These were very hard years but I was also starting my family at this time, so life was still full.
A few years later I opened Riverside Guesthouse. I cooked there every day from the first day — I cannot help it, this is what I do! Guests started to notice. Some wrote about me in their reviews which surprised me very much. And slowly, from the conversations I had with people over food — talking about the dishes, the ingredients, where this recipe comes from, why we cook this way in the South — I realised this was what I wanted to do. I had been a teacher. I had been a restaurant owner. Now I wanted to bring these two things together.
For me, Riverside Thai Cooking is combining my two biggest passions in life — cooking and teaching.”
Yam Fern Chan was the signature dish from my old restaurant. It was delicious and quite a unique dish. Learn how to make it here.
Working with Chef Apple
Regular Classes — Riverside Thai Cooking, Khao Lak
Daily morning and afternoon classes at her purpose-built kitchen just outside Khao Lak town. Small groups, personalised menus, full personal involvement from market tour to drop-off. Classes are in consistent high demand and often fully booked in advance.
Private Chef Experiences & Exclusive Classes
Chef Apple is available for private and bespoke cooking experiences — for professional chefs seeking authentic technique, for high-profile guests wanting a truly personal Thai culinary encounter, and for exclusive events requiring an expert in Southern Thai cuisine.
Media, Press & Guest Content
Chef Apple is available for interview, written Q&A, food photography shoots, recipe contributions, and guest editorial content. She has experience with both written and video formats and brings her natural warmth and authenticity to every engagement.
On-Camera & TV Collaboration
Whether as a featured guest, a culinary expert contributor, or as a full collaborator on food and travel programming, Chef Apple is ready. She has the personality, the story, the knowledge, and — crucially — the ability to teach and demonstrate Thai cooking in a way that audiences of any background will immediately connect with.
She would be extraordinary alongside any internationally recognised chef who wants to explore the real food culture of Southern Thailand.
Guest Chef Collaborations
Chef Apple welcomes opportunities to collaborate with visiting and internationally recognised chefs — sharing techniques, exploring fusion ideas, or simply cooking authentic Thai food together for the love of it. These collaborations are always an exchange. As she says herself, “I learn from them too“.
The Way She Has Always Cooked
Sustainability is not a marketing position for Chef Apple — it is simply the way she lives. She has always shopped at local markets, always preferred small local vendors over commercial suppliers, always composted kitchen waste, always avoided plastic. Since moving to her current kitchen space she has expanded a working herb garden where she grows her own ingredients, surrounded by the natural landscape of Phang Nga Province.
This approach was recognised by Eastside Asia in their feature on sustainable cooking schools in Thailand — not because Apple campaigns for it, but because it is genuinely who she is.
