A Chef’s Journey from a Rural Orphanage to the Top of a High-End Hotel – The Story of Nipaporn Doungiasantisuk

When Nipaporn Doungiasantisuk was five years old, she was abandoned by her father at an orphanage in Chiang Rai. He came back during the holidays a year later so he could take her home for a yearly visit and as she grew, she realised her parents did this so she could get a good education and more prospects.

Tuk, as she is known affectionately, began to realise her affinity for kitchen work at the orphanage and fast-forward to university, she studied Business English and enrolled in a cookery school. Her trajectory in life was in stark contrast with the rest of her tribe, the Akha and today you can find her in one of the hotels in Serangoon Road Singapore. As the Thai Speciality Chef at Park Hotel Farrer Park, Tuk has come a long way from that orphanage.