History of Thai Cuisine Timeline

Thai royal cuisine can trace its history back to the cosmopolitan palace cuisine of the Ayutthaya kingdom (1351–1767 CE), which blended culinary traditions from across the region.

Due to extensive, centuries-long contact between the Ayutthaya Kingdom and Khmer Empire, the flavour principles of many Central Thai dishes, such as sour fish soups, stews and coconut-based curries including steamed curries, are almost identical to Cambodian cuisine, with Central Thai dishes containing notably more chilli and sugar.

Western influences began in 1511 when the first diplomatic mission from the Portuguese arrived at the court of Ayutthaya, creating dishes such as foi thong, the Thai adaptation of Portuguese fios de ovos, and sangkhaya, where coconut milk replaces cow's milk in custard.

Image source: Fios de ovos

The most notable Western influence on Thai cuisine was the introduction of the chili pepper from the Americas in the 16th or 17th century, which became central to Thai cooking.

Image source: Chili pepper

Dishes like foi thong and sangkhaya were said to have been brought to Thailand in the 17th century by Maria Guyomar de Pinha, a woman of mixed Japanese-Portuguese-Bengali ancestry born in Ayutthaya, wife of Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adviser to King Narai.

Image source: Maria Guyomar de Pinha

The street food culture of much of Southeast Asia was introduced by Chinese immigrants during the late 19th century, profoundly shaping Thailand's vibrant street food scene.

Image source: Street food of Thailand

The fork and spoon were introduced to Thailand by King Chulalongkorn after his return from a tour of Europe in 1897 CE, reshaping how Thais eat their meals.

Image source: Chulalongkorn

The earliest attested Thai restaurant in the United States, "Chada Thai", opened its doors in 1959 in Denver, Colorado, marking the beginning of Thai food's spread across America.

"The Bangkok Restaurant", the oldest Thai restaurant in London, was opened in 1967 by Mr and Mrs Bunnag, a former Thai diplomat and his wife, in South Kensington.

The Thaksin administration launched the "Kitchen of the World" campaign early in its tenure to promote Thai cuisine internationally, with a yearly budget of 500 million baht.

Image source: Culinary diplomacy

The "Global Thai" program, launched in 2002, was a government-led culinary diplomacy initiative aiming to boost the number of Thai restaurants worldwide to 8,000 by 2003 from about 5,500 previously.

The 2003 UNESCO convention intends to protect the "uses, representations, expressions, knowledge and techniques that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals, recognised as an integral part of their cultural heritage", providing a framework relevant to preserving Thai culinary heritage.

Image source: Intangible cultural heritage

A 2003 survey conducted by the Kellogg School of Management and Sasin Institute showed that Thai cuisine ranked fourth when people were asked to name an ethnic cuisine, after Italian, French, and Chinese cuisine.

In 2003 the Ministry of Finance sent officials to the US to award certificates to deserving Thai restaurants, supporting quality and authenticity abroad.

In June 2009, the Tourism Authority of Thailand organised a conference at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok to discuss matters related to promoting Thai cuisine internationally.

Image source: Tourism Authority of Thailand

In 2011, seven Thai dishes appeared on CNN Travel's list of the "World's 50 Best Foods", based on an online poll of 35,000 people worldwide: som tam at 46, nam tok mu at 19, tom yam kung at 8, and massaman curry at first place.

Image source: The World's 50 Best Restaurants

By 2011, the number of Thai restaurants worldwide had swelled to more than 10,000, far exceeding the goals of the government's Global Thai program.

In 2011, the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Northwestern United States went to Andy Ricker of "Pok Pok" in Portland, Oregon, and Best Chef in the Southwestern United States went to Saipin Chutima of "Lotus of Siam" in Winchester, Nevada.

Image source: James Beard Foundation Award

In 2012, British Restaurant Magazine included Nahm Bangkok of chef David Thompson in its yearly list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Thai chefs won the IKA Culinary Olympic 2012 competition held in Erfurt, Germany between 5–10 October 2012, receiving four gold and one silver medal. They also took second place in the Gourmet Team Challenge (Practical) of the FHC China International Culinary Arts Competition in Shanghai on 14–16 November 2012.

After some officials had a bad Thai meal abroad, in 2013 the Yingluck administration had the idea of standardising Thai food everywhere, leading to efforts to codify authentic recipes.

Image source: Yingluck Shinawatra

Standardised Thai recipes were featured at a gala dinner promoting "Authentic Thai Food for the World", held at the Plaza Athénée Hotel Bangkok on 24 August 2016, with Thailand's Minister of Industry as honored guest.

Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat announced in 2018 that between 2020 and 2024, his ministry will investigate ways to preserve authentic Thai cuisine from the increasing influence of foreign dishes.

Image source: Ministry of Culture (Thailand)

In August 2018, Thailand's Ministry of Commerce kicked off a project called "Thai Select" to certify and promote authentic Thai restaurants and products.

By 2020, the Thai Delicious program plans to post over 300 Thai food recipes online to standardize and preserve authentic Thai cooking worldwide.

According to the Thai government's Eleventh National Economic and Social Development Plan (2012–2016), Thailand is number one in the world in the application of chemicals in agriculture.

Image source: Pesticide

The three-year survey, from 2012 to 2015, involved 1,121 samples of fish sauce sold under 422 brands from 245 manufacturers, examining quality across Thailand's fish sauce industry.

Image source: Fish sauce

ThaiPAN surveys found over 50% of tested produce unsafe in 2016 and 46% contaminated in 2018; its June 2019 report found 41% of 286 samples contained unsafe chemical levels. Prior years showed "Q-Mark" goods with 61.5% contamination versus 57% during ThaiPAN's March 2016 survey.

In September 2016, a shipment of pork labelled "halal"—a permissible food for Muslims—was delivered to a hotel in Krabi Province, raising concerns about food labelling integrity in Thailand.

Image source: Halal

In late 2017, ThaiPAN tested 30 hydroponically-grown vegetables purchased at Thai fresh markets and supermarkets, adding hydroponic produce to its ongoing food safety monitoring.

Image source: Hydroponics

On 22 October 2019, the 26-member National Hazardous Substances Committee changed paraquat, glyphosate, and chlorpyrifos from Type 3 toxic substances to Type 4, effectively prohibiting their production, import, export, or possession, with use prohibited as of 1 December 2019.

Image source: Paraquat

On 27 November 2019, the NHSC amended its timetable, moving the ban date for paraquat and chlorpyrifos to 1 June 2020.