Thai Essence

Our team

	About Chef Phant (Pon) Worakul Phant (pronounced “Pon”) Worakul is from Thailand and grew up in a food business family watching his mother and sisters cook daily. He was cooking by the age of 9 and had mastered home-style Thai cooking by the age of 17 when he joined the family business. Phant came to California in 1987 to pursue an education in engineering. While he was a student, he catered home-style Thai meals around Sonoma County and the San Francisco Bay Area, and continued to cook and cater for friends and family while working as a mechanical engineer. In this highly food-conscious area, word spread about “Chef Phant” (pronounced “Pon”) and his delicious, visually beautiful meals. People also responded with raves to Worakul's friendly and accessible talks about all aspects of Thai cooking. As the popularity of Thai food has increased dramatically, so has demand for Chef Phant's cooking and instruction. Phant is the founder of Thai Essence, providing Thai cooking workshop, cooking session, personal chef services and cooking demonstration to various culinary schools and culinary events in the Bay Area. He is also a cookbook author of Classical and Traditional home-style Thai Cooking on taking the mystery out of Thai food with home-style Thai cooking techniques. He has created many exotic dishes using Thai ingredients and fresh herbs that satisfy the American style of eating while maintaining the authenticity of Thai food.
	About Cooking Workshop Coach: Bill Hanson Bill was a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal and Africa. He worked as a language trainer for peace corps groups at UC Davis. He also was a language director in Togo and West African regions. Bill is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Nepali and Hindi. He had been working for peace corps, Unicef, USAID, World bank and many other large organizations as a management consultant. Bill loves to cook and travel. His favorite foods are Thai, Indian and French. Bill has seen more than 135 countries through out his work and personal travel. With his skills and knowledge in food and management, Bill has helped in creating the Thai cooking workshop program for Thai Essence. His workshop combines management skill development, team leadership and member participation using Thai cooking techniques coordinated with Chef Phant (Pon) Worakul.
	About Clayton Dart Clayton is our accounting advisor in purchasing and accounts receivable. He retired from San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC). He helped in establishing Thai Essence. Clayton also love to cook and travel. He has been to Thailand many times since he joined Thai Essence. He knows Thai food quite well. Clayton is also a food critic for Thai Essence. He works closely with Chef Phant (Pon) Worakul on creating contemporary Thai and Fusion Thai dishes that suit American eating style.
	About Lani Durr Lani is our team manager. She helps supervised workers and assists us in the kitchen. Lani has been working in the food business for quite sometime. She likes to cook and enjoy working with people. She works closely with Chef Phant in private and public events in the Bay Area.