A trailblazer for a new kind of Thai food

The heart and soul of the Blue Elephant brand that offers Thai heritage cuisine at its core, Chef Somany “Nooror” Steppe is not only the person behind the large success of the brand, but the food is a driving force that developed her.

Chef Nooror has been working tirelessly for the past 40 years as an ambassador of Thai cuisine and culture throughout the world. Her motto? “You cannot cook good Thai food without good Thai ingredients!”

Chef Nooror met her business partner and husband, Karel Steppe, while she was studying in Belgium in the 70s and in 1980 opened the first Blue Elephant restaurant in Brussels with partners Chai Wayno and Somboon Insuri.

Back in Thailand, the chef worked as the personal assistant to Ajarn Sisamon, the legendary teacher of Thai heritage cuisine. The Blue Elephant Restaurant and Cooking School opened its first outlet in Bangkok in 2002, and then a second in Phuket in 2010. The restaurant also has locations in Malta and Copenhagen, Denmark. But that wasn’t all.

Much of this was driven by Chef Nooror’s motto, and the Blue Elephant groups started producing their own spices and curry pastes at the Blue Spice factory. Started in 2006, the Blue Elephant group manufacturing segment exports its products to up to 45 countries.

Born in Chachoengsao, chef Nooror was steeped in the world of cooking since she was a child by her mother and her famous heirloom massaman curry paste.

“My earliest memories were trying to make hor mok for my mom,” she says. “I was 11 or so and I wanted my mom to be proud of me.” Chef Nooror also forgot to fillet and debone the seabass, resulting in an awful Thai fish soufflé.

“I have Thai blood, and I’m proud of it. Each dish has its own history, and I enjoy creating just as much as exploring the palace recipes from different era or region-wise culinary heritage gems,” says the chef.

Chef Nooror was honored with an honorary Master of Arts degree from Kasetsart University, as well as a Prime Minister Exporter Award for her promotion of the “Thai Kitchen to the World” for the past nearly 40 years. She has been considered one of the best chefs in Thailand for over 30 years.

“I have run Thai restaurants throughout Europe for 45 years and have opened many places. Thai had always been a favored cuisine. In the past several years, the government has vigorously backed that global prestige with soft power initiatives spearheaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Amazing Thailand campaign. These initiatives have very much raised the international profile of Thai cuisine,” the chef told the Bangkok Post.

In 2024, he was awarded Officer Of The Order of Leopold honour for promoting the soft power of Thai cuisine and Thai culture from Belgium to Thailand. The honour is Belgium’s oldest and highest order of knighthood. Chef Nooror serves as ambassador to the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer.

Although juggling so much, nothing can stop the chef. In 2019 she opened Thai Brasserie by Blue Elephant, and other restaurants under the same umbrella, Monkey Pod.

“There are lots of culinary schools across many universities in Thailand that allow the younger generation to study and understand Thai cuisine on a profound level. It has a solid base and will continue to thrive within it. It will not only survive but be inherited and enhanced by the next generation, making adjustments in line with contemporary trends, and making its mark in the global arena even more,” he says chef Nooror.