Andy Ricker


Andy Ricker is an American chef, restaurateur and cookery writer, known for his skill and expertise in northern Thai cuisine.

Life and career

Ricker was born in North Carolina, and lived for a period in Jeffersonville, Vermont. He began working as a dishwasher at a fondue restaurant in Vermont at 16. Ricker left Vermont after graduating high school and moved to Vail, Colorado. After three and a half years as a cook, he left Colorado to pursue international travel.
Whilst travelling, he accumulated culinary knowledge whilst backpacking, working and staging in New Zealand, Australia and Thailand, including in Raymond Blanc's Michelin-star restaurant Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire.
He first visited Thailand in 1987. From 1992 onward, he continued his travels to Thailand, residing there for several months each year to study Thai food culture.
After returning to the United States in 1989, Ricker founded Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon in November 2005, which closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Restaurants and bars