Francesco Lenzi runs a Michelin-listed Italian kitchen in Bangkok, and Gavin Cox manages a busy downtown bar and kitchen. Both explain what it takes to get hired by a top Bangkok restaurant and what chefs and managers can expect to earn.
The following post is a chapter from our book, Working in Thailand: How to Ditch the Desk, Board the Flight, and Land the Job, written by Patrick Taylor and Karsten Aichholz.
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Our premium subscribers get access to this book for free, including interviews with people in seventeen professions in Thailand. They share how they got a job here, the requirements, and what to expect.
Key Takeaways
- Top Bangkok restaurants hire foreigners for skills and experience that local candidates don’t have.
- Expect to need years in the trade, and Francesco Lenzi puts the minimum at 5 to 10 years even for talented cooks.
- Character matters as much as the CV, and working well with Thai staff takes humility and a calm temper.
- English is essential, Japanese or Chinese helps, and a little Thai impresses employers.
- Plenty of jobs are found through networking, expat groups and walking into restaurants in person.
- When the book was written, chefs earned THB50,000 to THB300,000 a month and restaurant managers THB60,000 to THB95,000, with less on offer in the provinces and on the islands.
- Check the contract, staff meals, housing and transport before you sign, because employment rights are thinner than in Europe.
The Restaurateurs
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes by Francesco Lenzi and Gavin Cox, restaurateurs.
Lenzi Tuscan Kitchen is located down a quiet soi in the city’s Pathum Wan district.
Its ultra-modern, elegant entrance fronts onto a salmon-pink traditional Thai shophouse, nestled behind a cluster of palm trees.
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