08/27/2026
Finishing our chef spotlight series strong, we have Chef Chuck of Valla Table who is joining us from NYC for our (sold out!) Baan Puen Dinner!
Chef Chuck Valla grew up in a restaurant family in Northern Thailand. He was raised by his grandfather, who was a butcher, and his grandmother, who owned two restaurants, one specializing in various gaeng or Thai curries served with rice and the other specializing in such Chinese style Thai dishes as khao ka moo, stewed pork leg over rice.
When he was still a boy, Chuck’s grandmother introduced him to the kitchen by having him grind spices for sai ua, a Northern Thai sausage flavored with chili, kaffir lime, galangal, and lemongrass.
“I was seven years old. I thought I was playing,” he recalls. “I didn’t know she was putting me to work.”
As a young man he also spent time working at his mother’s restaurant in Bangkok.
In 2012 Chuck began cooking Thai food professionally for Kitchensurfing, a company that linked private chefs to at home diners. He got the gig thanks to a former classmate who saw his Facebook posts showing off Thai dishes he made at home. From the very beginning Chuck’s philosophy has been to present Thai cuisine in a modern way, while retaining its authentic flavor.
After Kitchen-surfing, he worked as a private chef in the Hamptons before opening Valla Table in October 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision to open the restaurant was driven by a sharp downturn in his private chef business as well as Chuck’s need to have a place where he could showcase his creative approach to Thai cuisine.
