Thai women go back to the kitchen -- to take charge

BANGKOK -- Sujira "Aom" Pongmorn, whose year-old Saawaan Restaurant has become an outstanding example of Thai-style fine dining, says she will always remember the moment during her apprenticeship at Bangkok's Mandarin Oriental Hotel when an older male colleague told her, "You will never be a head chef because you're a woman."

"I couldn't believe it," she said. "I wanted to prove that anyone can be a leader."