The chef at LA's best restaurant, Anajak Thai, swapped his Disney animation job for the kitchen after his dad's stroke

• Justin Pichetrungsi is a former Disney animator who led "Star Wars" and Marvel projects.
• He recently won a James Beard Award for California's best chef for his cooking at Anajak Thai.
• He took over the restaurant after his father had a stroke. It's now one of LA's buzziest eateries.

Justin Pichetrungsi is quickly becoming one of America's most exciting chefs. 

It's not the path he set out on, though — he used to lead the animation team for some of Disney's biggest franchises, then craft dishes for his family's restaurant at night.

But since taking over Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, in 2019, Pichetrungsi has molded the 43-year-old venue into an award-winning eatery that some of America's most prominent food critics have praised.

Career change 

Pichetrungsi said that he recently discovered his mother took him straight to Anajak Thai soon after he was born; he said he's been working there in some capacity ever since.

"I was always bussing and waiting tables, I was cooking with my dad during summers," Pichetrungsi said. "And that's how I got to understand the way that my dad did things, the way that my dad cooked."  

However, after finishing school, Pichetrungsi enrolled at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he got into art and filmmaking. 

He said he got a job as a concept artist, became an art director at Disney, and began working on Marvel and Pixar projects, as well as "a lot of 'Star Wars'."

But most nights, Pichetrungsi would still help out at his parents' restaurant, which was often short-staffed. He also taught classes at ArtCenter, underlining his willingness to burn the candle at both ends.

In June 2019, Pichetrungsi's father had a stroke. Disney gave the animator four months of leave to help out at Anajak Thai while his father recovered, but he never looked back.

LA's best restaurant

When he started cooking in the kitchen, Pichetrungsi and the other chefs at Anajak Thai initially struggled to interpret his dad's recipes. Then, when pandemic restrictions mostly shut down the restaurant industry, Pichetrungsi saw a chance to innovate.

"It was a dark time for many, and for the restaurant industry it was a quiet time, a time for us to be pensive about what we wanted to do," he said.

Since Pichetrungsi stepped up to the helm, Anajak Thai has taken the LA food scene by storm. In 2022 the Los Angeles Times named Anajak Thai its restaurant of the year. Anajak Thai is also listed on the Michelin Guide. 

Last month Pichetrungsi also won a James Beard Foundation Award — sometimes called the food industry's "Oscars" — crowning him its pick for the best chef in California. He credited his win to his parents, whom he called "my greatest allies," but added: "They argue with me a lot."

Pichetrungsi's new menu has been the highlight of the restaurant's resurgence.

His "Thai Taco Tuesdays," born of pandemic restrictions, sit patrons outside in the restaurant's alley and draw lines around the block. The Times of London described one woman punching the air in delight when staff told her she'd only have to wait an hour for a table. 

The restaurant has also attracted celebrities including Chrissy Teigen and Eric Wareheim of "Tim and Eric." 

Otherwise, Pichetrungsi said the design of the restaurant is nothing special. "There's nothing majorly modern. It's a nice neighborhood Thai spot with a shit ton of wine in the center of the room, and it's a wild little spot."

There's a Kobe Bryant jersey at the back of the room that Pichetrungsi said diners can see as they enter. He said that, and the signature wine stand, are all that's really changed since he took over from his parents.

"You can still feel the tension in the space," Pichetrungsi said, referencing the dueling ideas he and his parents had for the restaurant. "I think that tension is really what brings a fresh take on the cuisine."

For now, Pichetrungsi said he's happy to continue writing the restaurant's story and doesn't crave a coveted Michelin star.

"What we'd like to do is just to keep people energized; we want our guests and diners and the staff alike to feel like they're part of the story that's being written."