Nok Suntaranon
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Nok Suntaranon is the chef and owner of Kalaya, a celebrated Thai restaurant in Philadelphia. A former flight attendant, Nok reinvented herself at age fifty to become a James Beard Award–winning chef. Kalaya won the 2026 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant, was named by Esquire magazine as its Best New Restaurant, and has topped lists from The Philadelphia Inquirer and Eater Philly. In 2025, she was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People.
