Lalita Kaewsawang, Executive Chef and Owner
Chef Lalita spent her childhood in Chiang Mai and Nonthaburi, Thailand. At age 13, she immigrated to Berkeley, Ca, and began working in a local Thai restaurant. Watching migrant workers labor through long days in restaurants, she learned early on the level of stamina and determination that it will take for one to make it here in the United States. After completing high school in Berkeley, Lalita went to Wesleyan University in Connecticut, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Anthropology.
Lalita began to blend early batches of curry pastes in her dormitory at Wesleyan. Some of her fondest memories from childhood are the sound and smells of my grandmother pounding curry paste with stone mortar and pestle. Some days her grandmother would give me two 10 baht coins and send her to eat around the block at one of the many street vendors; that was when she really fell in love with food!
Lalita has served as an AmeriCorps member in post-Katrina New Orleans, farmed on the Big Island, Hi, and cooked alongside chefs from all walks of life in New Orleans, Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. She moved to Santa Cruz in 2014 to join Manresa's team, a Michelin star restaurant in Los Gatos, Ca. In 2017 she started Hanloh Thai, and Santa Cruz is now her home.
Nicholas Jiwoo Hahn, Chef de Cuisine
Chef Nick is deeply inspired by the rich culinary traditions of Thailand. To him, Hanloh is about cooking the best Thai food possible while utilizing the bounty of Central Coast seafood, meat and produce. Many of his favorite Thai dishes are either grilled, fried or raw and feature lots of aromatics, chiles, fresh herbs and lime! Nick is proud to serve the food at Hanloh with our small but mighty team.
Nick came to Santa Cruz from Chicago where he worked his way up in restaurants like Nobu and Proxi. Before cooking professionally, he attended the University of Chicago for visual arts and film studies. He comes from a Korean immigrant family and is originally from Los Angeles.