Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon

Chef, Restaurateur, & Author, Kalaya (Philadelphia, PA)

Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and author best known for her restaurant Kalaya, one of the world’s highest regarded Thai restaurants. A career flight attendant from Trang, Thailand, Nok embarked on her second act at age 50 with the opening of Kalaya—a restaurant named for her mother that celebrates the bright, bold, and unapologetically spicy flavors of Southern Thai cuisine. Upon opening in 2019, Kalaya was featured on the Esquire and Food & Wine “Best New Restaurant in America” lists and has received James Beard Award nominations for “Best New Restaurant” in 2020, and “Outstanding Restaurant” in 2025. Nok received the James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic” in 2023, was named one of the most influential people in the world on the prestigious TIME100 list in 2025, and received a spot on Forbes’ “50 Over 50” list the same year. As part of the inaugural North America’s 50 Best Restaurant list, which debuted in 2025, Kalaya was ranked No. 7 and Nok was named “North America’s Best Female Chef.” Kalaya was also included in Michelin’s inaugural 2025 Philadelphia selection, earning a “Michelin Recommended” designation in the Northeast Cities Guide. Nok’s TV appearances include the Philadelphia episode of Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil in 2021, and in 2024 a dedicated Season 7 episode on Netflix’s Emmy-nominated Chef’s Table. (Instagram: @kalayaphilly, @kuhnnok)