Where It All Began
Chef Annie’s earliest memory of cooking is watching her mother rise before dawn to prepare meals for the monks at the local temple. Her mother and aunt also cooked for the whole village during celebrations, filling the air with food, laughter, and community. Annie watched closely—not just to learn recipes, but to see the joy it brought her mother to feed others. After her mother passed, Annie turned to her aunt, who taught her many more recipes, including her mother’s favorite dish: stir-fried crispy frog. It remains her father’s most requested meal whenever Annie returns home to Thailand.
Annie in her hometown of Kalasin, Thailand, with her grandma, sister, and cousin.
Annie’s love for cooking has only increased since she moved to the United States in 2012. She thinks about food all day; what it looks like, what it tastes like, and most of all, how it makes people feel connected and content. For Annie, it’s a passion, a legacy, and a bridge. Cooking is a way for her to feel joy honoring her mother and her first home by serving the people in her new community. That is why Annie and her husband Ryan, a Rochester native, created ThaiPop. It is a labor of love to bring two homes and two worlds together in one place, to honor all who came before by serving all who gather today and tomorrow.
ThaiPop started as a pop-up restaurant. It has changed in scale and scope, location and menu, but has always been an expression of Annie’s passion for cooking and community.