The Thai SELECT premium seal is a Thai government programme that was set up in 2003, with the aim of recognising quality Thai restaurants and cooking around the world. To be eligible for the award, companies need to have been trading for two years.
Nine of the TLG’s restaurants have been honoured with the seal, across all three of the group’s brands.
They are: Chaophraya, in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh; Thaikhun in Spinningfields, and Aberdeen; and Yee Rah in Liverpool.
The sites join only 30 restaurants in the UK to currently hold the award. TLG is aiming for all 21 of its sites to achieve the award once they have been trading for two years.
Chefs from the sites will be presented with their awards by the Thai Ambassador to the UK at the Thai Embassy in London.
Chris Williams, operations director at TLG, said: “We’re not just a Thai restaurant group, we’re a company that lives and breathes Thai culture, customs and cuisine – this achievement means the world to us.
“Thai food is growing in popularity across the UK and to be recognised by the Royal Thai government for the quality of our food across all of our brands is testament to the effort, passion and expertise that our teams put in every day.
“We’re continually investing and improving our processes while we scale the business and expect all the restaurants in our estate to achieve the accreditation, once they’ve been trading for two years.”
Founded in 2005, TLG currently operates 21 sites in total, including eight Chaophraya, 10 Thaikhun Thai Street Food sites, one Yee Rah Bar & Grill location, and two ChaoBaby Thai buffets in shopping centres. In 2015, it announced it had secured £10m investment from Santander bank to expand, and continues to grow, having also recently stated plans to open in London as well.