Michelin-starred Thai 'Queen of Street Food' hints at retirement

By AFP October 29, 2024 | 12:57 am PT

The Queen of Street Food and Michelin star chef Jay Fai (L foreground) cooks at her restaurant in downtown Bangkok on July 15, 2020. Photo by AFP

A Thai cook who became the first Bangkok street food vendor to earn a coveted Michelin star has said she plans to retire, possibly as early as next year.

Jay Fai shot to international fame in 2018 when the dining guide honored her humble streetside restaurant in its first Bangkok edition.

Tourists from around the world wait in three-hour queues to sample Jay Fai's legendary crab meat omelette – always sizzled up by the owner herself over blazing coals, wearing her signature ski googles to protect her eyes from sparks.

The 81-year-old told Thai media outlet Komchadluek that the toil of sourcing and checking ingredients every day was becoming too much.

"I will not keep the restaurant going, but I am glad to teach whoever wants my recipe," she said in the interview, a video of which was posted online on Oct. 27.

Crab omelet is a signature dish at Jay Fai Restaurant in Bangkok. Photo courtesy of the restaurant's Instagram

She said she had not decided on when exactly to step down, but said it "could be next year".

Though classed as street food, dishes from the open kitchen at Jay Fai's eponymous restaurant in old Bangkok are not cheap – the signature crab omelette costs around US$40.