Family ties

Amy Chanta & Palisa Anderson

CHAT THAI, NSW

by Karlie Verkerk

It would be fair to crown Amy Chanta Sydney’s queen of Thai cuisine. The constant stream of punters eager to nab a table at any of her seven restaurants and the never-ending lines that form outside are evidence enough.

Chanta opened her first Chat Thai in 1989 on Liverpool Street in Darlinghurst, and has since expanded to create a Thai-eatery empire, which is now run by family members including her daughter Palisa Anderson.

“I had deep reservations about joining my mother’s business,” says Anderson. “I grew up witnessing her total dedication to the restaurants, which meant there was little time for much else.”

Anderson was determined not to work in the hospitality industry, but the way of life was ingrained in her from a young age. “I spent most of my childhood and teenage years at the restaurant with my mum, either doing my homework, doing the dishes or lying on top of the fridge waiting for her to deep-clean the kitchen before we went home at one or two o’clock in the morning,” says Anderson. “Food was everything in our household.”

After living in four different countries and a string of career changes, she decided to return to Australia with her husband and their two kids to help build her mum’s business. “I knew that I would have to strike some balance between being devoted to the business, but also making time for my young family,” she says. “But as it turns out, the business is such a deep-seated part of family life, as everyone who works with me I count as family.”

Anderson’s husband, Matt, works as in-house counsel and back-of-house operations. Her brother, Pat Laoyont, is in charge of the interior design, branding and maintenance of each location, while Chanta works as Anderson’s mentor and advisor. “Mum is still very active in dealing with our upper management and we talk