Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Dee Benson, operator of My Thai Asian Cuisine in Salt Lake City, has retired after a long career in the food industry.
- She spoke of some of the lessons she learned in her years, notably that everyone has "a hidden talent."
- While her future plans aren't crystal clear, one thing won't change. "I still love to cook," she said.
SALT LAKE CITY — Dee Benson's long career in the food business has its roots in her youth, when she'd shop for her grandparents in the teeming markets in her native Thailand.
She learned how to gauge the freshness of produce and meat and observed how the cooks prepared food. "There you see how people cook things, and you learn," she said.
Varied positions in the food business followed in Saudi Arabia and the United States, culminating with her role as owner/operator of Salt Lake City's My Thai Asian Cuisine. The moment comes when it's time to hang up the apron, however, and Benson retired last month.
The My Thai sign has come down, and her old space in the Ballpark area at 1425 S. 300 West has since been taken over by another restaurateur operating a Thai restaurant with its own slate of offerings, Thai Lake City.
"It's bittersweet," said Benson's daughter, Elizabeth Thuernagle, who would frequently help at My Thai. Many customers were sad to see Benson and her distinct food offerings go away, "but they're happy for her."
Seated in her old locale last week as the new operators finished remodeling the site to suit their plans, though, Benson, 70 and a naturalized American, waxed nostalgic about her long career in the food business and some of the lessons she's learned along the way. Notably, everyone has "a hidden talent," she maintains, though it sometimes may take time and a little bit of luck to uncover it.
In her case, while she honed her cooking skills over the years at chain restaurants, making food for friends and catering for large organizations, she had never thought of running a restaurant. A friend encouraged her to give it a try, initially partnering with her in My Thai back in 2008, and to her surprise, Benson found that running a restaurant was a good fit, though it requires plenty of hard work.
"You don't know what God-given talents you have until you use it," she said.
Another lesson learned — follow your instincts. Benson has trusted her taste buds over the years, making food to suit her standards rather than adjusting her creations based on feedback from customers, family or others. "I cook according to my tastes, and I didn't adjust that," she said.
That focus served her well, helping her develop a loyal clientele and a solid roster of popular menu items at My Thai that didn't vary much over the years. Among the popular offerings were fried rice and some of her noodle dishes like pad Thai, drunken noodles and see ew.
Indeed, the number of Thai restaurants in the Salt Lake City has grown considerably since Benson launched in 2008, but she never got rattled, never felt the need to adjust her menu based on the competition. "I just do my own thing," she said.
'You've got to open a restaurant'
While running a restaurant, perhaps, wasn't an end goal for Benson in her younger years, the food business gave her a way to earn money and keep afloat.
She first came to the United States in 1972, lured by a half-sister, and got a job as a waitress at a Lums, the now-defunct restaurant chain that featured hot dogs. "For me coming from Thailand, I never knew what a hamburger or hot dog looked like," she said.
She adjusted, improved her English and worked hard, eventually winding up at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. There, she worked for the university's catering operation, learning organization and food preparation on a large scale. Along the way she married an American, Ed Benson. They moved to Saudi Arabia looking for economic opportunity, and while overseas, she learned just how popular her cooking could be.
Searching for a way to earn money on the side, she started baking cinnamon rolls to cater to expatriate Americans in Saudi Arabia. "I would wake up in the morning hearing her Bosch machine going," recalls Thuernagle, her daughter, referring to the mixer brand.
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Multicultural Utah
Looking for more news about the different cultures that call Utah home? Visit our Multicultural Utah section for more stories, events and features.The rolls caught on, as did her fried spring rolls. She would even cater events at the U.S. Consulate in Saudi Arabia and host gatherings of other expatriates at her home. "We would do potlucks, and people loved her food and said, 'Dee, you've got to open a restaurant,'" said Thuernagle.
On returning to the United States in 2000, more specifically, Utah, she took a job with Meals on Wheels, honing her organizational and management skills, ultimately paving the way to My Thai in 2008. "I never thought of opening a Thai restaurant," Benson said.
At My Thai, Benson maintained a very hands-on role, both in the kitchen and greeting customers. It could be demanding, and now, nearly 71, she wants to take a step back, relax a little, though she's very grateful for the support of My Thai customers over the years. "We kind of say it's an end of an era for her," said her daughter.
Benson isn't crystal clear on what comes next, though she's planning a trip to Thailand. One thing probably won't ever change, however. "I still love to cook," she said.
