Im Suwanee.

I'm a Thai food blogger and photographer in Spokane.

[Voiceover] We first met Suwanee in the summer of 2025, when she was a contestant on PBS “The Great American Recipe.” But her journey began long before our cameras ever rolled.

I grew up in a small village in Thailand, in the northeast called Isan Region.

And it has about 300 people.

It's a leprosy village, meaning people that were infected by leprosy were sent to my village to live there.

I did not know anything else.

I was there as an infant until I was 13 years old.

So growing up in the leprosy village was something that was not abnormal or unusual for me.

[Voiceover] As a teenager, Suwanee was adopted by an American woman, and her life changed in ways she could have never imagined.

I moved from Thailand to the US when I was 13 years old, and that transition was extremely difficult, was a learning process.

And the one thing that I did not want to let go of was the language and the food.

And My American family were extremely supportive.

They would take me to the Asian markets and let me pick out ingredients.

And so, yeah, at 13 I was just experimenting, putting this and that together.

But they never complained about the taste at that time.

You know, like if they didn't like it I didn't know it.

[Voiceover] What began as experimentation in the kitchen grew into something more, a passion that would eventually catch the attention of a national casting team.

So for The Great American Recipe, I was contacted by a casting agent and it just came out of nowhere.

It was a complete surprise for me.

And then, I just realized that going on a show like this, it wasn't just about me.

It was about telling the stories of the people that I grew up with.

The people with leprosy, in a small village of 300 people.

The people that don't have a voice, the people that were oppressed and suppressed and were so, outcast, weren't accepted by society.

And I wanted to tell that story, even if it's a small group of people.

I wanted to use my experience, my voice, to share with the world that these people do exist.

[Voiceover] And Suwanee was selected as one of eight home cooks to compete on season four of “The Great American Recipe.” Welcome back to “The Great American Recipe.” [Pen scratches] Cooking in my kitchen, I have so much fun.

It's relaxing.

It's like therapy for me.

And then cooking for a competition, we had limited time with “The Great American Recipe.” [Your time starts now!]

And within those 60 minutes, we had to get this dish together.

And on top of that, you know, talking to the judges, and cooking in a new kitchen, it takes some adjusting and adapting and it slows you down a bit, too.

So it's just a lot of pressure.

Alejandra: Welcome back, cooks.

It is time to announce the 3 home cooks who will be moving on to the big finale next week for the chance to be named this season's winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Tiffany: The final cook making it to next week's finale is... Coby!

[Cheering] [Voiceover] She narrowly missed a spot in the finale, but for Suwanee, the experience was never just about winning.

It was about sharing her story.

And even after the show, that story continues to bring people together.

Since the show ended I've been busy doing many different things.

Watch parties.

[Chef Suwanee, this is just one of many accomplishments,] [but its one to celebrate.]

[And we are so thankful youre celebrating here with the] [Feast family] [and with all your amazing community!]

[So.]

[”Great American Recipe”] [to chef Suwanee!]

[Cheering] Cooking classes.

So in an American grocery store you usually have Italian basil.

Thai basil have purple stems.

They always have purple stems.

But even as her schedule fills, Suwanee remains grounded in where she came from, carrying forward the lessons she learned from her village.

So Feed My Village is a personal mission of mine to feed the elderly in my village.

It started when I was 13.

My Thai mom, before I left the village, brought me to say goodbye to each person in my village, and as we were saying goodbye to each one of them, elderly with leprosy handed me Thai baht, Thai bills.

And I didn't understand that until way later when I was looking back and I kind of reflecting on the story and realize it was such a big, giving moment on their parts that they had so little, but they give me what they had.

And it stuck with me.

And I told myself, when I'm able, when the timing is right, I'm going to go back and I want to feed them, I want to give back to them.

[Voiceover] And in Spokane, she's found something similar, a community that reflects the same spirit of generosity and connection she grew up with.

It has been really a just a humbling experience to see people, Spokane being so supportive of me and just kind of rallying behind me, you know, with the watch parties at Feast and at the station, how people just showed up.

It was just incredible.

It is a beautiful community of people.

Reminds me of my village, Yeah, it's a small group of people, but it's also like a family.

We show up for people that we know and we want them to be successful.

And so I'm very thankful for our Spokane community.