We were lucky to catch up with Rolan Pongpuntara recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rolan, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic started at an early age, waking up at 4 a.m. on weekends. My dad had a small business which my brother and I would help him with every weekend. This taught us to be reliable and consistent. As I got older, I’ve never struggled with motivation or work ethic, which I consider to be some of my strengths.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Through years of healing and my experience through food, I found purpose in healing people by offering them nourishing meals. When I’m putting together a menu, whether it is for a big office or an individual, I develop creative recipes by putting mindful ingredients together to create healthy, fun, and tasty dishes.
We are still in our soft opening phase, but the restaurant will be fully open soon.
5954 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035, eating with intentions to Mid-City.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Putting in the work is very important to succeed. It takes more than 100% of your energy to make it happen, but the reward is everything. 2. Trust the process and continue to keep growing. There is always room for growth!
3. Be a good leader, and everything will follow.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My parents taught me that nothing is ever handled. They taught me ambition.
Contact Info:
- Website: sidekitch.com
- Instagram: sidekitch
- Linkedin: Rolan Pongpuntara
- Yelp: sidekitch
Image Credits
Petra Persaud and Morgan Pierre
