Alex Boonphaya, owner of Circles Thai restaurants in Philadelphia, spent all night before Thanksgiving cooking 10 turkeys and all the festive fixings.
But even though he was running on little sleep by late Thanksgiving morning, Boonphaya, a top Philly chef, still had a smile on his face. At his Circles outpost on South Street near 5th, Boonphaya on Thursday hosted his restaurant's first-ever free Thanksgiving meal for people in need.
"I felt great doing. We've been up all night doing this, and the food's really good, so I'm happy," Boonphaya, whose restaurants won Philadelphia magazine "Best of Philly" honors in 2011, 2012 and 2013. "Being a chef, making good food makes you happy. It doesn't matter if it's a customer or anybody that needs food, it feels good."
Boonphaya and his team cooked up turkeys for the inaugural Thanksgiving giveaway, plus stuffing, cranberry sauce, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes.
At least 20 families were served meals during the event, which ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Boonphaya said he planned to donate any leftover food to local shelters.
The chef said he plans on holding the Thanksgiving event every year.
"I think it's going to be an annual thing for our company," Boonphaya told NBC10. "I'm really happy to do it."
