We are husband and wife Jitsada and Sandy and we opened Chang Thai in May 2007 (about 6 weeks after we got married - crazy, yes!). Jitsada is head chef and Sandy is front-of-house. Customers always ask if we met in Thailand but actually we met in London (Shepherd's Bush to be precise!)
Jitsada is Thai and is from Udon Thani in North-East Thailand (also known as Isaan or Esarn) a region famous for it's fiery-hot food packed with strong flavours such as fermented fish paste. Udon Thani is not well-known to tourists but is a major business centre and you might pass through it if you're travelling from Thailand to Laos or if you go off the beaten track a bit and visit the historical sites and temples in the area. If you want to find out more, see the Tourism Thailand site at:
Our new sous chef is also from North-East Thailand and arrived in February 2009 - he's got 15 years' experience from a large restaurant in Bangkok. It's been a real battle to get a new chef (a year of applications, rejections and lots of time and money!) so we're really happy that we've finally got one!
We are a family business and therefore feedback from our customers is massively important to us so we'd love to hear any comments or suggestions. It's fantastic to hear the positive comments we've had in person and by email - it keeps us going when we're working hard! And to be honest we even appreciate negative feedback - it's the only way to find out if we're doing anything wrong. So next time you come in, let us know what you think, or email us at info@changthai.co.uk
Thanks, Jitsada & Sandy
Sandy is from London and worked in marketing and teaching before opening the restaurant. She has been on maternity leave since June 2008 when our son was born and has recently come back one or two evenings a week now we have a new sous chef (you won't often find us working together as one of us is usually looking after our son!).
