CHEF BENCHAWAN “CHEF G”
2023 James Beard “Best Chef Texas” Winner Chef G
Photo by Raul Margarito Casares
Great Day Houston/ ShapingHOU.com and Cadillac Present "Street to Kitchen" with host Deborah Duncan 9/23/24
Street To Kitchen on “Eat Like a Local” with Chris Shepherd. Scroll to 9m55sec for the segment.
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Culinary Talent - Houston, TX
Chef | Restaurateur | Gastro-Judge Asian Food
2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand Recipient
2024 Michelin Bib Gourmand Recipient
2023 James Beard Winner for Best Chef Texas
Houston’s James Beard Award winner Chef G, and her partner and husband, Beverage Director Graham Painter are pleased to announce their new “Happy Hour” menu commencing January 2026 at their Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, Street to Kitchen on Harrisburg in Houston, TX. It run M-F from 5pm - 6:30pm.
BIO
When Chef Benchawan Painter—known to friends and fans as G—first stepped out of Bush Intercontinental Airport, onto the sweltering Houston pavement, she knew she was home. Not just because of air thick enough to chew, as in Bangkok, but because the energy in Houston is palpable.
G grew up in the Central Thai city of Nakhon Sawan, where her grandmother had a neighborhood restaurant. From the age of 6, G learned basic fundamentals of various Thai food traditions from her grandma, sourcing everything from local farmers, fishermen, and foragers.
She later joined her mother in Bangkok and continued her career in the food industry.
In 2013, she met her future husband Graham, who was a global creative director working for ad agencies in Bangkok. In 2015, they made the move to Houston to be near Graham’s family. The initial idea was to stay in Houston for a couple of years before returning back to Bangkok. But, the Bayou City had worked its voodoo on them. They were hooked.
After Chef G worked in some great Houston restaurants like the former seafood knockout SaltAir and Theodore Rex, she and Graham put their heads together and launched Street to Kitchen, an “unapologetically authentic Thai restaurant” in their Second Ward neighborhood in 2020.
In 2023, Chef Benchawan was named Best Chef: Texas by the James Beard Foundation and she just keeps looking forward.
She and Graham have since moved Street to Kitchen to a bigger space located in The Plant on 3401 Harrisburg Blvd where they have garnered the prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand two years in a row - 2024 and 2025.
Chef G is “Mom” to a puppy named Kitty and six rescue cats. In both 2024 and 2025, Street to Kitchen was awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin.
