By Chef Nuit Hospitality is a Toronto-based hospitality group built around a simple belief: great hospitality starts with great food and great people.
Founded by Chef Nuit and Jeff Regular, our group has grown into a family of restaurants and hospitality experiences, each with its own personality, but all connected by the same spirit of warmth, generosity, and care.
At the heart of everything we do is a love for bringing people together around good food, genuine hospitality, and experiences worth sharing.
Chef Nuit’s story began in Northern Thailand, where food was woven into her everyday life, shaped by family recipes, cooking alongside her mother, visits to the street markets, and the gardens of home.
While working as a nurse in Pai, Chef Nuit met Jeff, who was backpacking through Thailand. Their connection turned into a love story, and eventually led them to open Curry Shack in Pai, where Chef Nuit cooked in the evenings after her shifts at the hospital, while Jeff ran service.
In 2006, Chef Nuit joined Jeff in Canada. Together, they opened Sukhothai in Toronto, sharing the authentic Thai flavours Chef Nuit grew up with.
From that first restaurant, the journey continued to evolve. New concepts, new teams, and new opportunities followed, each shaped by the same entrepreneurial spirit and passion for hospitality that started it all.
Today, By Chef Nuit Hospitality is a growing family of restaurants and hospitality concepts across the Greater Toronto Area, including PAI, Kiin, Thai Tavern, Chaiyo by PAI, Sukhothai, Makilala, and UP Events.
Every concept has its own personality, story, and way of bringing people together. But the foundation remains the same: good food, warm hospitality, great people, and a genuine desire to create experiences that guests remember.
Co-Owner & Executive Chef
Chef Nuit Regular is celebrated for bringing the distinct flavours of Northern Thai cuisine and hospitality to Toronto. The popularity of her establishments (PAI, Kiin, Thai Tavern, Chaiyo, Sukhothai, and Makilala) all began with the opening of the humble Curry Shack in the small town of Pai, in Northern Thailand.
Having learned to cook in her mother’s kitchen, Chef Nuit made the decision to leave her career as a nurse so that she could share her passion and life experiences through family recipes, street market dishes, and creative collaborations.
Toronto has been hungry for her talent and ever since she was named the Nine of Dine winner at the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo in 2009, Chef Nuit can be found regularly featured as one of the most influential chefs in Toronto. In acknowledgment of the authenticity of her Thai cooking, the Royal Thai Government awarded both PAI and Kiin the prestigious Thai SELECT Signature designation. Both PAI and Kiin are also Michelin Guide-recommended.
She is the recipient of the 2024 WXN Top 100 SKIP Food Industry Award and 2024 Pinnacle Awards Chef of the Year, and a finalist for the RBC CWEA Momentum Award. In 2022, she was the winner of a WX Network’s 2022 WXN Top 100 BMO Entrepreneurs Award and the recipient of the 2022 American Express Award for Business Leadership. She has been a guest judge on MasterChef Canada and Top Chef Canada, Season 9, appeared on Big Food Bucket List, and is a resident judge on Food Network Canada's Wall of Chefs. Her debut cookbook, Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand, won a 2021 IACP Cookbook Award and a Taste Canada Gold Award.
Co-Owner
Jeff Regular, co-owner of By Chef Nuit Hospitality, is not just a restaurateur but a maestro of hospitality.
His journey in the food industry began unexpectedly during a backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, where a chance encounter with a stranger on the back of an elephant eventually led to love and business. That stranger was Nuit, his wife and business partner.
Together, they opened the humble Curry Shack in Pai, where Nuit showcased her bold Thai flavours every night after her shift at the local hospital, while Jeff ran the front of house.
In 2006, Jeff brought Nuit back to his hometown in Toronto and with the help of family and friends, they opened Sukhothai, aiming to recreate the authentic Thai experience they cherished. Jeff's expertise in operations, leadership, growth, restaurant design and construction, finance, marketing, and hospitality propelled their success as they expanded their culinary empire. PAI, consistently hailed as the "Best Thai Restaurant in Toronto" by diners and media alike, and Kiin have earned prestigious accolades like the MICHELIN Guide recommendation and Thai SELECT 1-Star designation, awarded by the Royal Thai Government.
Jeff's passion lies in creating genuine and memorable dining experiences; guests are not just diners but family. His dedication to authenticity and warm hospitality has made him a trailblazer in Toronto's culinary scene, transporting patrons to the vibrant streets of Thailand with each visit.
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