Saiphin Moore is a Thai British chef, businesswoman & author who is known for being the founder of the

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

Rosa's Thai Cafe and Lao Cafe.

Career

Saiphin Moore was born and raised in the northern mountainous area of

Khao Kho District Khao Kho ( th, เขาค้อ, ) is a district ('' amphoe'') of Phetchabun province, northern Thailand. Etymology The name of the district comes from Khao Kho, a peak in the Phetchabun Mountains, named either after ''Livistona speciosa'', a k ...

, near

Phetchabun Phetchabun is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of Phetchabun Province. It covers the ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of the Phetchabun District, along the Pa Sak River. As of 2005, it had a population of 23,823. Phetchabun lies north of ...

, Thailand. She was taught to cook by her mother and aunts. She was brought up on a vegetable farm, which did not have electricity until she was 13 years old. She opened a noodle shop in Phetchabun at the age of 14. She then moved to Hong Kong at 18 to work as a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

, and began cooking for her employer. This started to grow, with other families in the apartment block ordering food from her. She then opened a Thai

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

which also provided

takeaway A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

food. Saiphin sold the business, and moved to

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

where some of her family lived. She continued to cook Thai food, but only for friends, travelling to London to get supplies. Saiphin returned to Hong Kong. Saiphin opened decided to open a Thai takeaway whilst her partner was working at a marketing agency, this then grew into her first restaurant, TukTuk Thai. Saiphin then moved to London in 2006. she opened a stall on the weekends in

Brick Lane Brick Lane (Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...

, selling Thai food, while she ran a catering business out of her home during the week. In 2008, she opened a restaurant, Rosa's Thai Cafe, on

Hanbury Street Hanbury Street is a street running from Spitalfields to Whitechapel, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs east from Commercial Street to the junction of Old Montague Street and Vallance Road at the east end. The e ...

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

. The restaurant was named after the former business at the location, it was a

greasy spoon A greasy spoon is a small, cheap restaurant – either an American diner or coffee shop, or a British or Irish cafe – typically specializing in fried foods or home-cooked meals. The term ''greasy spoon'' has been used in the United States si ...

café named Rosa's. This proved successful and grew into a chain of restaurants across London, as well as a cook book based on the menu served there. They also opened Lao Cafe in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, serving

Lao cuisine Lao cuisine or Laotian cuisine ( lo, ອາຫານລາວ) is the national cuisine of Laos. The staple food of the Lao is sticky rice ( lo, ເຂົ້າໜຽວ, khao niao). Laos has the highest sticky rice consumption per-capita i ...

. By this time, there were already eight Rosa's locations within London, as well as a specific kitchen only operating a delivery service through

Deliveroo Deliveroo is a British online food delivery company founded by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski in 2013 in London, England. It operates in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. ...

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

which is now no longer running. Saiphin currently has 2 published

cookbooks A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

based on the menu she created at Rosa's Thai Cafe, one of the cookbooks focusing purely on vegetarian Thai food. Rosa's now operates 38 sites across the United Kingdom. Other than Rosa's Thai Cafe, Saiphin Moore acquired her first non-Thai Chain in December 2020, the Andina & Ceviche branded restaurant group based in London, saving it from

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Saiphin Living people

Saiphin Moore Saiphin Moore is a Thai British chef, businesswoman & author who is known for being the founder of the restaurant chain Rosa's Thai Cafe and Lao Cafe. Career Saiphin Moore was born and raised in the northern mountainous area of Khao Kho District ...

21st-century British businesswomen Women chefs Year of birth missing (living people)

Thai emigrants to the United Kingdom