Saipin Chutima Explained

Birth Place:	Thailand
Style:	Northern Thai cuisine
Restaurants:
Awards:	James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest (2011)

Saipin Chutima (born 1954 or 1955) is a chef and restaurateur in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is the chef at Lotus of Siam. In 2011 she was the co-winner of the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest.

Early life

Chutima is from Chiang Mai, Thailand, where she was raised by her grandparents, who were farmers and merchants.^[1] She immigrated to Los Angeles in 1987, then moved to Las Vegas.

Career

Chutima and her husband opened Lotus of Siam in 1999.^[2] Her recipes are based on traditional recipes passed down by her her grandmother.^[3]

Recognition

Gourmet named Lotus of Siam the best Thai restaurant in the United States.^[4]

In 2011 Chutima was the co-winner of the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest.^[5] According to Jonathan Gold she was "the first Asian-born chef to win a Beard award for cooking the cuisine of her homeland".

Personal life

Chutima is married to Suchay, also called Bill, whom she met when she was 17 at his grandmother's restaurant.^[6] The couple has two daughters. Her husband and daughters help run the restaurant.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 12 May 2023 . Saipin Chutima & Penny Chua . PBS.
2. Web site: Schuster . Clayton Mory . 2019-09-13 . Lotus Of Siam: The Las Vegas Thai Restaurant With Century-Old Recipes . 2024-07-26 . . en.
3. Web site: Durano . Genevie . 12 November 2020 . Lotus of Siam's Northern Thai Comfort Food is Back Where it All Began . Las Vegas Weekly.
4. Web site: Wright . Johnathon L. . 2024-06-20 . Family owners of beloved Vegas restaurant involved in wild lawsuit . 2024-07-26 . . en-US.
5. Web site: Gold . Jonathan . Jonathan Gold . 2012-04-16 . Hot, Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Hot . 2024-07-26 . . en.
6. Web site: Platt . Adam . 2011-01-07 . Adam Platt on Lotus of Siam . 2024-07-26 . . en.