Teerana Hiranyakorn
Bangkok, Thailand
GAA
Instagram: @trnhryk @restaurant_gaa @foodforwardindia
*Changemakers is a Cross Cultures series spotlighting inspiring women who are creating and doing in the F&B ecosystem; eading the way and helping better the world.
Born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, Teerana Hiranyakorn or “Tee” for short, is the PR manager and coordinator (and unofficial in-house psychologist) at Restaurant Gaa, the Michelin-starred restaurant helmed by Garima Arora (the first Indian woman to receive a star) that sits at No. 15 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020.
Tee discovered Gaa on Instagram in 2017 before they opened, and after she learned that the head chef is a woman, she applied– even without any prior restaurant experience– and… they responded!
Rather than dwelling on what she didn’t know, Tee dived into studying about every aspect of the restaurant (the daily operations, the kitchen, the service, the restaurant language, etc), and has been an integral part of successfully running the well-oiled machine that is Gaa.
At present, they are working on moving and opening at their new location (which will be announced soon), and they encourage traveling virtually with Food Forward India, an initiative founded by Garima which aims to rediscover and reinvent the narrative on Indian food.
Tell us about you. Where were you born, raised, and what you are making or doing at present?
My name is Teerana Hiranyakorn. I am the PR manager and coordinator (slash an unofficial in-house psychologist) at Restaurant Gaa, a modern Indian restaurant in Bangkok.
I’m born and raised in Bangkok in a Thai-Chinese family. My parents both have a big appetite for traveling and eating and they play a huge role in instilling a sense of curiosity in me from a very young age. It only felt natural that I moved to New York to pursue a degree in Psychology after I finished high school. I spent 5 wonderful years there before I came home in 2016. New York gave me a taste of the world and I mean this literally as well! As a student, I would spend whatever little money I had on food. Since then, food became my favorite way to experience new cultures no matter where I go. This love and appreciation ultimately is what got me here.
How did you end up working at your present career? How long have you been doing this/ When did you start?
I have been working at Gaa for 3 years now and to look back at very the beginning, it truly makes me believe in serendipity. Early in 2017, I found Gaa by pure chance on Instagram and this was way before the restaurant was even open. I read up more on them and learned that the head chef is a woman and I felt a different energy to the place. But I sort of let that thought sit in the backseat because this happened right when I had just left my 11 month stint at a PR agency and had booked myself a one month long solo traveling in Europe. After I came back from that trip, I knew that I needed to follow my interests and applied to Gaa. I honestly didn’t expect them to write back considering that I had absolutely no restaurant experience. To my surprise, they did, Garima took me on and I have been Gaa’s cheerleader since!
What was the biggest challenge you have faced?
At the beginning, while I was very excited about the new challenges Gaa brought on, I felt completely out of my comfort zone because of my lack of experience. It was such an ego death moment when you realize you know nothing at all and you are not even sure how much you can offer to a place. That was a hard feeling to sit with.
How/ what did you do to get over it?
100% learning mindset and eagerness. Rather than dwelling on what I didn’t know, I dived into studying about every aspect of the restaurant (the daily operations, the kitchen, the service, the restaurant language, etc). I mean I really started from zero. But through this experience, I basically learn to put my own insecurities and fear of failure that I’ve held onto all my life to bed. When you realize you WILL fail and make mistakes but you WILL learn, you feel free.
Even though I was initially hired to be a PR manager, I don’t feel the need to fit myself into just this one role anymore. In the past three years, I’ve been a reservationist, a server (as I did in Manila!) and I’ve even helped out in the kitchen during pop ups. This is all thanks to Garima who has always trusted me to be involved in every process in the restaurant. Today you can put any task in front of me and I will do it (unless it involves a blowtorch).
What is the best advice you can give to anyone wanting to get into or excel in your field?
Stay curious and do everything with heart and integrity because that can never fail you. Don’t forget to have fun!
What is your favorite thing about your culture or living in your city?
Bangkok has a place for everybody. It’s a city of extremes: extravagant, simple, chaotic, serene, concrete, green, we have them all. You just have to find your spot. Right now I’m really grateful to be home in Bangkok with my family.
How did you spend your days during this COVID-19 quarantine period? As your city is recently opening up, please feel free to share a little bit about how things are these days.
It is an understatement to say that 2019 was a big year for us at Gaa. In the first half of the year alone, we debuted on both the Asia’s and World’s 50 Best Restaurant lists and from that point on, it was one incredible project after another. I am absolutely grateful for all the new memories with so many amazing people I get to look back on now but man was it intense! I didn’t even realize it until everything came to a halt when COVID-19 hit. So quarantine really gave me a chance to reflect and re-center myself – I cooked, listened to a lot of podcasts, got into guided meditations and started working out regularly again.
We are so lucky here in Bangkok that things are slowly going back to normal. You go outside and you can see that the city is buzzing with people again. One thing for sure is the infamous Bangkok traffic is definitely back in full effect! We’re trying to take it one day at a time while still adhering to the health and safety protocols.
Please feel free to share with us any initiatives you or Gaa are working on to address these uncertain times, i.e. reopening plans, Food Forward India, etc.
At the moment, Gaa is still closed, but we are so happy to announce that we will be back soon in a new location! We’ve been working on this all throughout quarantine and cannot wait to share more details with the world soon. One thing I can say is that even though our location will change, we are staying true to our mission to show the world the beauty of Indian cuisine.
In the meantime, you should head to Food Forward India, an initiative founded by Garima which aims to rediscover and reinvent the narrative on Indian food. Matylda, our superwoman Project Manager, with the help of Elizabeth Yorke, is doing such a beautiful job heading this passion project. If it weren’t for the pandemic, Garima, Matylda, Elizabeth and team would be exploring rural, tribal and urban areas in India and hosting events to further the dialogue on Indian foods as they did earlier in this year in Telangana. Since that isn’t feasible at this time, they continue their mission to bring these fascinating food-related stories to greater attention of international gastronomy through their Virtual Rural Escapes series. You can follow these stories on their Instagram at @foodforwardindia or subscribe to their weekly newsletter and get access to these stories in your mailbox!
