Traditional cuisine is very important to Jess and Elizabeth Calvo, the owners of Thai Farm Kitchen.
The couple is offering a menu of traditional Thai cuisine which they said is hard to come by, even in Thailand.
“Elizabeth, my wife, she the chef and she inherited (these) very old traditional (recipes) from her ancestors — her great grandmother, from her grandmother and from her mother as well, " Jess Calvo said. “So this kind of cuisine is it’s a very authentic Thai dish(es) and most of them (no) longer exist in any ordinary cuisines in Thailand anymore. It’s a very special one.”
The pair opened their first restaurant while they were still living in Thailand.
“In the beginning, both of us were corporate employees and we were in the executive level,” Jess Calvo said. “But then after doing it for a while, we find that we ask ourselves, ‘What is going to be our life five years from now? Ten years from now?’ And then we say to ourselves, ‘We want to early retire by doing something that we are passionate about.’”
Jess Calvo said his wife was always cooking and he had an interest in agriculture. The two combined their passions to start their first restaurant.
“The reason our restaurant is named Thai Farm Kitchen is because, originally, we planted almost every single ingredient and we serve it fresh to the table,” Jess Calvo said.
The Calvos said they no longer plant every vegetable they serve but do still grow some important items. The rest comes from local farmers, according to Jess Calvo.
The couple then brought their business to New York City, where they quickly received recognition from the media there, including the New York Times.
They still maintain their original location in Brooklyn but have now opened their second U.S. location in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood. The Calvos said the pandemic showed them it was important to diversify their locations.
“We wanted to start another business and we said, ‘You know what? We need to spread the risk. We cannot put all eggs in one basket,’” Jess Calvo said. “So we said, ‘We better start another business somewhere else which is out of New York.’ If something happened (in) New York, we have another one.”
The couple admitted that the weather in Florida was part of the attraction as the harsh winters in New York were far from what the Calvos were used to.
“First time in my life I saw snow was four years ago,” Jess Calvo said.
Though they are maintaining their business in New York, the couple is now living in Florida full time and plan to move into Orlando in the near future.
In the latest episode of Florida Foodie, the pair talk about what makes their dishes so special. They also talk about Elizabeth Calvo’s international recognition as a chef and some of the special items guests can expect at their Orlando restaurant.
Please follow our Florida Foodie hosts on social media. You can find Candace Campos on Twitter and Facebook. Lisa Bell is also on Facebook and Twitter and you can check out her children’s book, “Norman the Watchful Gnome.”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Orange Blossom Candies & Cream embraces small-town charm
Willie’s Bar-B-Que brings people from all over to a small Florida town
Top Hat Catering helps feed thousands of seniors
The Fry Shoppe is a passion project decades in the making
Ghost Kitchen Orlando thrived during the pandemic and it's getting ready to expand
Hollerbach’s German Restaurant is a transformational force in Sanford
Plate Above Catering helps keep Second Harvest’s Culinary Training program free for students
La Maison Du Macaron brings a taste of Paris to Florida
Pine & Oak Tavern offers delicious food with a side of history
Central Florida roasters Barnie’s Coffee still going strong after 43 years
Big Taco aims to build a new Tex-Mex empire
Build My Burgers is ready to franchise, expand
Couple behind Zymarium Meadery sees success with brick-and-mortar location in Orlando
Central Florida woman went from stay-at-home mom to working cook, running her own cottage bakery
Love of anime inspires family-run Florida restaurant chain Soupa Saiyan
Crooked Can Brewing remains focused on Central Florida as it readies for big expansion
Pizza hobby becomes nostalgic business for SoDough Square’s owner
Owner of Dancing Empanada ready to sell business he started out of trunk of his car
Husband, wife behind Pho Wheels dish out Asian street food all across Central Florida
Owner of Winter Park’s Hen & Hog battles serious health issues while keeping his business open
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Into Thin Air
The Best Advice Show
Mismatch
The Story of Mankind
Grimms’ Fairy Tales
The Eyes of Texas
Florida’s Fourth Estate