Street food queen and Michelin-starred chef Jay Fai (left) cooks at a restaurant in downtown Bangkok, July 15, 2020. Mladen Antonov
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The Thai chef who won the first Michelin star for his Bangkok street food stall says he plans to retire, possibly next year.
Jay Fai rose to international fame in 2018 when Dining Guide Bangkok’s first edition praised her rustic street restaurants.
Tourists from all over the world wait in three-hour lines to sample Jay Fai’s legendary crab meat omelet. The owner herself always bakes it herself over hot coals, wearing her special ski goggles to protect her eyes from the sparks.
The 81-year-old told Thai media outlet Komchadrook that sourcing and checking ingredients every day has become too difficult.
“I have no intention of continuing the restaurant, but I’m happy to share my recipes with anyone who wants them,” she said in an interview, a video of which was posted online Sunday.
Although he has not decided on a specific date for his resignation, he said, “It could be next year.”
Although classified as street food, the food prepared in the open kitchen of Jay Fai’s eponymous restaurant in Bangkok’s Old Quarter doesn’t come cheap. The signature crab omelet costs about $40.
