From a Love for Cooking to Building Thai Naam, Chef Jawairia Merchant's Journey

From discovering a love for cooking early on to building restaurants with a clear point of view, a new generation of young culinary entrepreneurs is finding its place in India’s dining scene. Jawairia Merchant, Founder of Thai Naam, is one such voice, building a restaurant around her love for Thai cuisine and the traditions that make it distinct.”

For Jawairia Merchant, the journey into food began long before Thai Naam. As a child, she found herself drawn to the kitchen, experimenting with cooking and taking part in competitions. What began as curiosity gradually became something she wanted to pursue more seriously. By the time she was in the 11th standard, she had started training with chefs, taking her first steps towards understanding the craft beyond her own experiments at home.

Today, that early interest has grown into Thai Naam, a restaurant in Mumbai shaped by Jawairia’s interest in Thai cuisine and her desire to introduce diners to its flavours and traditions. Building the restaurant has also meant learning the many sides of running a food business, from the kitchen and the menu to the details that shape a guest’s experience. Her father, Anis Merchant, has been closely involved in the venture, helping bring the restaurant’s vision and interiors to life.

For Jawairia, the idea has never been simply to serve Thai food. It is about giving diners a sense of the cuisine and the culture behind it, while making them feel at home at the table. That thinking carries through Thai Naam’s approach to its food, its setting and its hospitality. “I started cooking because I genuinely enjoyed it, and over time, I realised that I wanted to build something around that love for food. With Thai Naam, I want people to experience Thai cuisine for what it is, understand its flavours and traditions, and feel welcome when they walk in. I’m still learning every day, and I think that is an important part of being in this industry. You have to stay curious, listen to people and keep finding ways to do better,” says Jawairia Merchant, Founder of Thai Naam.

Her journey also reflects how the idea of being a chef today can extend beyond the kitchen. For many young culinary entrepreneurs, the work involves shaping a restaurant’s identity, building a team, understanding what diners connect with and staying true to the food they want to put on the table. The challenge is not only to create a memorable meal, but to build a place that people want to return to. Jawairia’s work with Thai Naam has received recognition through multiple Times Food & Nightlife Awards for the restaurant. She has also been recognised as an ET F&B Leader and an ET Inspiring Women Leader for Global Culinary Experiences and was named Chef of the Year at the Times Food & Nightlife Awards 2026.

This International Chefs Day, her story offers a look at the journey behind a restaurant: the early curiosity, the learning that continues long after the first dish is served, and the decisions that turn a love for food into something of one’s own. For young chefs and restaurateurs like Jawairia, the journey is still unfolding, one service, one dish and one guest at a time.