Chef Bee Leaves Khong River House In Miami Beach

Chef Bee is leaving his post at Miami Beach Thai restaurant, Khong River House, and will commit full time to his restaurant, Oishi Thai, Short Order is reporting.

Chef Bee, whose full name is Piyarat Potha Arreratn, announced the split on Friday without citing a specific reason for his departure. It appears the split was not amicable, with 50 Eggs Restaurant Group owner John Kunkel remarking that "Chef Bee was no longer acting as a part of the family," in a statement he released regarding the split.

Khong River House was a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2013 by the James Beard Foundation, and though many could argue the establishment was centered on Arreratn, 50 Eggs insists that there is a "talented team of chefs trained in traditional Thai cooking methods tirelessly working behind the scenes."

Chef Bee is returning to Oishi Thai, a restaurant he opened in 2005 but rarely spent time at since he began working at Khong. 

He has employed his mother to work with him in the kitchen, who arrived from Thailand and plans to spend the next four years cooking with him.