Chef Andy Ricker, Executive Chef, Pok Pok

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  Andy Ricker visited Thailand the first time as a backpacker in 1987 and has since spent several months each year traveling, eating, cooking and studying food culture in Thailand and neighboring countries. He is the owner and executive cook of the award-winning Pok Pok Restaurant in Portland, OR, which opened in 2005, and Whiskey Soda Lounge, a bar lounge featuring the drinking food of Thailand. Prior to Pok Pok, he worked in restaurants all over the world before settling in Portland in 1990. A semi-retired rock musician and fully retired housepainter, he spends any spare time catching up on sleep and traveling. He also recently opened Ping, a neighborhood eatery in Portland’s Chinatown which was named Rising Star of the Year 2009 by the Oregonian newspaper and one of the Top Ten Best New Restaurants in America 2009 by GQ Magazine.