{"id":120,"date":"2026-09-27T23:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T23:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging-welcome-121a408.netsolhost.com\/?page_id=120"},"modified":"2026-09-27T23:29:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T23:29:56","slug":"maothai-magic-chefs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/?page_id=120","title":{"rendered":"Magic Chefs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"skip\" href=\"#content\">Skip to content<\/a><\/p>\n<header class=\"hero \" style=\"--cover:url('assets\/c90b72ba2ccf1c.jpg')\">\n<div class=\"top\">\n<div class=\"heading\">\n<h1>Magic Chefs<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"identity\">\n<p class=\"brand-story\">The Story of a Group of Thai Restaurants in Berlin and Palma<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"brand\" href=\"index.html\">THAI FOOD MAGIC<br \/>MAOTHAI<\/a><\/p>\n<nav class=\"language-switch\" aria-label=\"Language\"><a href=\"magic-chefs-de.html\" hreflang=\"de\" lang=\"de\">DE<\/a><a href=\"magic-chefs.html\" hreflang=\"en\" lang=\"en\" aria-current=\"true\">ENG<\/a><a href=\"magic-chefs-es.html\" hreflang=\"es\" lang=\"es\">ES<\/a><a href=\"magic-chefs-th.html\" hreflang=\"th\" lang=\"th\">THAI<\/a><a href=\"magic-chefs-ja.html\" hreflang=\"ja\" lang=\"ja\">JAP<\/a><\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"intro\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"hero-bottom\">\n<nav aria-label=\"Main navigation\"><a href=\"story.html\">STORY<\/a><a href=\"restaurants.html\">THE RESTAURANTS<\/a><a href=\"thai-food.html\">THAI FOOD<\/a><a href=\"people.html\" aria-current=\"page\">PEOPLE<\/a><a href=\"press.html\">PRESS COVERAGE<\/a><a href=\"establishing.html\">ESTABLISHING THAI AS INTERNATIONAL CUISINE<\/a><a href=\"videos.html\">VIDEOS<\/a><a href=\"print-shop.html\">PRINT SHOP<\/a><a href=\"contact.html\">NEWS &amp; CONTACT<\/a><\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p><main id=\"content\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"breadcrumb\"><a href=\"index.html\">PROLOG<\/a><span>\/<\/span><a href=\"people.html\">PEOPLE<\/a><span>\/<\/span><span>Magic Chefs<\/span><\/div>\n<article class=\"prose\"><\/article>\n<div class=\"curated-stammhaus\">\n<section class=\"gallery-chapter\">\n<h2>The early Berlin years<\/h2>\n<div class=\"curated-grid\" data-count=\"3\">\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/cc8e50dd4944c4.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Set, Uthai, Wanchai and Tuan \u00b7 1993\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/cc8e50dd4944c4.jpg\" alt=\"Set, Uthai, Wanchai and Tuan \u00b7 1993\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Set, Uthai, Wanchai and Tuan \u00b7 1993<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/22ca97844023f1.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Uthai cooking \u00b7 1993\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/22ca97844023f1.jpg\" alt=\"Uthai cooking \u00b7 1993\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Uthai cooking \u00b7 1993<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/3fbcef78069862.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Uthai, Set, Wichian, Suwimon, Petra and NF \u00b7 1996\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/3fbcef78069862.jpg\" alt=\"Uthai, Set, Wichian, Suwimon, Petra and NF \u00b7 1996\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Uthai, Set, Wichian, Suwimon, Petra and NF \u00b7 1996<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"gallery-chapter\">\n<h2>Between Thailand and Berlin<\/h2>\n<div class=\"curated-grid\" data-count=\"3\">\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/d192759876c695.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Padeth, Jamrath and Sinchai before their flight to Berlin \u00b7 1994\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/d192759876c695.jpg\" alt=\"Padeth, Jamrath and Sinchai before their flight to Berlin \u00b7 1994\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Padeth, Jamrath and Sinchai before their flight to Berlin \u00b7 1994<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/8a76a30cd3c044.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Sinchai leaving for Berlin \u00b7 1995\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/8a76a30cd3c044.jpg\" alt=\"Sinchai leaving for Berlin \u00b7 1995\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Sinchai leaving for Berlin \u00b7 1995<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/c90b72ba2ccf1c.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Uthai at his rice farm in Isan \u00b7 1994\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/c90b72ba2ccf1c.jpg\" alt=\"Uthai at his rice farm in Isan \u00b7 1994\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Uthai at his rice farm in Isan \u00b7 1994<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"gallery-chapter\">\n<h2>Portraits and encounters<\/h2>\n<div class=\"curated-grid\" data-count=\"3\">\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/9306f264f8d323.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Somkhid \u00b7 1997 \u00b7 Photo courtesy of Ludwig Schirmer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/9306f264f8d323.jpg\" alt=\"Somkhid \u00b7 1997 \u00b7 Photo courtesy of Ludwig Schirmer\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Somkhid \u00b7 1997 \u00b7 Photo courtesy of Ludwig Schirmer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/c8607b9d2efc9b.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Sinchai and Somkhid \u00b7 1997 \u00b7 Photo courtesy of Ludwig Schirmer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/c8607b9d2efc9b.jpg\" alt=\"Sinchai and Somkhid \u00b7 1997 \u00b7 Photo courtesy of Ludwig Schirmer\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Sinchai and Somkhid \u00b7 1997 \u00b7 Photo courtesy of Ludwig Schirmer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/3c6e6163927131.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Set, Uthai and NF at Sirindhorn Dam \u00b7 2004\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/3c6e6163927131.jpg\" alt=\"Set, Uthai and NF at Sirindhorn Dam \u00b7 2004\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Set, Uthai and NF at Sirindhorn Dam \u00b7 2004<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"gallery-chapter\">\n<h2>In Palma \u00b7 2014<\/h2>\n<div class=\"curated-grid\" data-count=\"2\">\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/94990dbe20c94b.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Padeth cooking in Palma \u00b7 2014\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/94990dbe20c94b.jpg\" alt=\"Padeth cooking in Palma \u00b7 2014\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Padeth cooking in Palma \u00b7 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/ffd108194d29ba.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Set preparing dishes in Palma \u00b7 2014\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/ffd108194d29ba.jpg\" alt=\"Set preparing dishes in Palma \u00b7 2014\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Set preparing dishes in Palma \u00b7 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<details class=\"gallery-archive\">\n<summary>More from the archive \u00b7 2<\/summary>\n<div class=\"curated-grid\">\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/37e722bfe1b2e9.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"At the wok\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/37e722bfe1b2e9.jpg\" alt=\"At the wok\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>At the wok<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><a href=\"assets\/0e845d8af03b41.jpg\" data-gallery-image aria-label=\"Set, Uthai and Wanchai \u00b7 1993\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/0e845d8af03b41.jpg\" alt=\"Set, Uthai and Wanchai \u00b7 1993\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><figcaption>Set, Uthai and Wanchai \u00b7 1993<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<p><dialog class=\"image-viewer\" aria-label=\"Image viewer\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"viewer-close\">Close \u00d7<\/button><\/p>\n<figure><img alt=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"viewer-controls\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"viewer-prev\" aria-label=\"Previous image\">\u2190<\/button><span class=\"viewer-count\" aria-live=\"polite\"><\/span><button type=\"button\" class=\"viewer-next\" aria-label=\"Next image\">\u2192<\/button><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewer-original\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Open original image \u2197<\/a><\/dialog><\/p>\n<details class=\"section-menu\">\n<summary>More in this chapter<\/summary>\n<div class=\"chapter-index\"><a href=\"tuan.html\"><span>5.2<\/span><strong>\u201cTuan\u201d Pratuan Kaenphakdee<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"team.html\"><span>5.3<\/span><strong>The Team<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"marriages.html\"><span>5.4<\/span><strong>Marriages<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"prayers.html\"><span>5.5<\/span><strong>Prayers \u00b7 Exorcising gambling spirits<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"palma-staff.html\"><span>5.6<\/span><strong>Palma staff<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"friends.html\"><span>5.7<\/span><strong>Friends of Maothai<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/details>\n<div class=\"sequence\"><a href=\"people.html\">\u2190 PEOPLE<\/a><a href=\"tuan.html\">\u201cTuan\u201d Pratuan Kaenphakdee \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/p>\n<footer><a href=\"index.html\">THAI FOOD MAGIC \u00b7 MAOTHAI<\/a><span>Berlin &amp; Palma \u00b7 A personal archive<\/span><a href=\"#\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/footer>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Skip to content Magic Chefs The Story of a Group of Thai Restaurants in Berlin and Palma THAI FOOD MAGICMAOTHAI DEENGESTHAIJAP STORYTHE RESTAURANTSTHAI FOODPEOPLEPRESS COVERAGEESTABLISHING THAI AS INTERNATIONAL CUISINEVIDEOSPRINT SHOPNEWS &amp; CONTACT PROLOG\/PEOPLE\/Magic Chefs The early Berlin years Set, Uthai, Wanchai and Tuan \u00b7 1993 Uthai cooking \u00b7 1993 Uthai, Set, Wichian, Suwimon, Petra and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-120","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":352,"href":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120\/revisions\/352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maothai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}