Leela Punyaratabandhu

Leela Punyaratabandhu (pronounced boon-yuh-RUHT-tuh-puhn) is a writer based in Chicago, Illinois. She has authored three books on Thai cuisine as well as the newsletter focusing on Thai food in America, The Epestle.

From 2008 to 2021, Leela wrote about Thai cuisine on her former cooking blog, SheSimmers.com which was named the best Regional Cuisine blog in 2012 by Saveur Magazine. In 2017, she was named one of the 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time by Epicurious. Her book, Bangkok, won the prestigious Art of Eating Prize, which is awarded to one single best food book of the year, in 2018. Leela’s writing and interviews have appeared in the New York Times, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Bon Appétit, Epicurious, and many others.