Akkapong "Earl" Ninsom was only eight years old when he cooked his first dish: a simple rice-and-pork porridge he prepared for his mother when she fell ill. He hasn’t left the kitchen since. Today, critics regard the Bangkok, Thailand-born restaurateur among the most talented chefs in Portland, Oregon, where he helms a small empire of nationally acclaimed Thai restaurants — including EEM, Langbaan, PaaDee, Hat Yai and Phuket cafe. A James Beard Award finalist for best restaurateur in 2022, Ninsom won the prestigious award for Outstanding Restaurant for Langbaan in 2024.

Ninsom was named Portland Monthly’s Restaurateur of the Year in 2019. In addition, both the Oregonian and Portland Monthly crowned EEM and Langbaan as Restaurant of the Year in 2019 & 2014, respectively. Hat Yai landed on USA Today’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants list in 2016.

Before opening his first restaurant in 2008, Ninsom, who holds degrees in marketing and master degree in international economics, traveled the world pursuing a career in international business.

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