NEW ORLEANS – Good Catch Thai Urban Bistro has been awarded the Thai SELECT 1-Star certification by Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce, an official recognition of authentic Thai cuisine and hospitality.
The Thai SELECT program maintains strict standards for certification, with even more rigorous requirements for restaurants seeking star designations. One-star restaurants are defined as fine-casual dining with high-quality food and full-service hospitality.
Chef Aom and her husband/business partner Frankie Weinberg said the organization contacted them directly.
“Last summer, a member of the Thai Trade Center in Chicago and Royal Thai Consulate-General team contacted Chef Aom directly to inform her that their team would soon visit New Orleans and wanted to visit our restaurant Good Catch,” said Chef Aom. “They visited Good Catch in September 2025.”
The certification process included meeting standards for authentic Thai cooking methods and qualified Thai culinary expertise, passing an inspection by the local Thai Trade Center in Chicago, and receiving final review and approval from the Department of International Trade Promotion in Bangkok, Thailand.
“All dishes that the Thai SELECT team tasted were from our regular menu,” said Chef Aom and Weinberg. “Thus, Good Catch was already functioning at the high level of authenticity that met their criteria.”
Criteria evaluated included authentic Thai flavors, food presentation, ingredient quality, chef expertise, hygiene standards, customer experience, ambiance and décor, and service quality.
The recognition places Good Catch Thai Urban Bistro among a limited number of restaurants nationwide recognized through the Thai SELECT program. According to current program data, 246 restaurants in the United States hold Thai SELECT certification, including 144 restaurants with a 1-Star designation and 29 with a 2-Star designation. Only one restaurant in the country — Bangkok Supper Club in New York City — has earned the program’s top 3-Star recognition.
The designation is considered especially selective given the scale of Thai dining in the United States. While thousands of Thai restaurants operate nationwide, fewer than 150 currently hold Thai SELECT 1-Star status through Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce, underscoring the rarity and international prestige of the certification.
Good Catch Authenticity and the ‘Thai Tongue’
Chef Aom and Weinberg said maintaining authenticity in New Orleans comes with several challenges, including sourcing ingredients and finding cooks experienced in traditional Thai cuisine.
“Access to ingredients is of course one challenge in Louisiana,” they said, because some Thai ingredients have to be specially ordered.
They said an even bigger challenge is finding cooks who know Thai cuisine and, as Chef Aom describes it, “have a Thai tongue.”
The couple added that serving authentic Thai cuisine can also require balancing traditional flavors with local customer expectations.
“Not everyone is familiar with authentic Thai flavors, which can present a challenge when you try to balance authenticity with familiarity and offering comforting meals for customers,” they said.
Growth Without Losing Warmth and Kindness
Weinberg said the restaurant would welcome the opportunity to pursue a higher Thai SELECT rating in the future, but cautioned against allowing accolades to overshadow the restaurant’s culture and hospitality.
“Chef Aom is always striving to improve, innovate and create memorable experiences for our guests. We would absolutely welcome the opportunity to earn a higher Thai SELECT rating in the future, but we would want to do so while preserving the warmth, kindness and genuine hospitality that define both Chef Aom’s leadership and the culture of Good Catch,” said Weinberg.
“Good Catch is thankful for the support New Orleans & Co. and the Louisiana Restaurant Association provide to their members during the slower summer months, and we are participating in both New Orleans Restaurant Week and Coolinary month in August,” they said.
Chef Aom and Weinberg said the recognition reflects years of work dedicated to sharing authentic Thai cuisine in New Orleans.
