36 CHICAGO | SEPTEMBER 2019 Photograph by LISA PREDKO
FOUND
A
WEEK AFTER SRIRATANA
opened Pink Salt in the new
food hall Fulton Galley in
June, repeat customers werealready craving her fried bananas — a
sweet, custardy concoction on a menu
inspired by the northeastern Thai cook-
ing of her aunts and grandmother. The
32-year-old West Loop resident, who
worked in medical research for seven
years before stints as a line cook at Au
C heva l a nd Nico Oster ia, t r ies to keep her
daily routine methodical to balance the
chaos of restaurant life.
HYDRATION HABITS
“I try not to start the day with coffee
because, on an empty stomach, it stresses
your system. I drink hot lemon water, then a
green smoothie — spinach, frozen pineapple
I chop myself, coconut juice, a small chunk of
ginger, a squeeze of lime, and a hint of cay-
enne if I’m feeling spicy. I used to juice, but
then I got a Vitamix.”
EATING PLAN
“My breakfast typically consists of what-
ever is left over from the night before
with some rice. Sometimes I’ll top it with
a Thai-style fried egg — that’s called kai
dao, or ‘star egg.’ I don’t mind eating a
heavier breakfast because I know I’ll
burn it off throughout the day. For lunch,
I’m big on eating whatever I want but
portion control. If I get hungry later, I’ll
eat yogurt. Siggi’s Icelandic skyr is my
favorite. They have fun, fresh flavors
that aren’t too sweet. Dinner is some-
thing like gai pad krapow — Thai spicy
chicken and basil — which is super easy
and relatively healthy.”
DAY DRINKING
“If I know I’m going to be in front of the
camera a lot, like for special events, I
drink carrot juice. The beta carotene
is really good for your skin.”
Palita
Sriratana
THE REGIMEN
Chef, carrot juice drinker,
serious stretcher By CINDY KUZMA
PLIABILITY STRATEGY
“At the start of the shift, I encourage every-
one in the kitchen to stretch — a heart
opener, like the one where you interlace
your fingers behind your back and pull your
shoulders down. Once you start to feel
relaxed, you can offer a much better level of
customer service.”TRAINING ROUTINE
“I used to work out early in the morning, but
now I try to get a jump-start on work and
go to the gym at 9 p.m. instead. It clears my
mind and helps me sleep better. Typically
in a week, I go three to four times. I start
with 10 minutes of yoga to wake my mus-
cles. Then I do three sets of a few different
strength moves: dead lifts, weighted lunges,
hip thrusts, Turkish get-ups, and kettlebell
swings. I had back issues in my 20s, so core
strength is important, especially since I’m
on my feet in the kitchen all day. I make sure
to do shoulder presses — I have to keep my
right shoulder cup mobile, because chop-
ping takes a toll. Then I do five minutes of
cardio — ropes or rowing — and close with
10 minutes of meditation in the sauna. I also
love to box, and my friend John is an incred-
ible muay thai instructor, so I spar with him
on occasion.”BEAUTY IN A BOTTLE
“I used to work in a lab and now I work in a
kitchen, so I’m always dunking my hands in
water. My nails were breaking, so I started
taking collagen supplements — this brand
BioSil. I’ve noticed that my skin looks plump-
er and my nails are super strong — now
they’re kind of crazy and talon-shaped.”DECOMPRESSION TACTIC
“I like to sweep when I’m stressed out. The
visual of seeing the floor clean internalizes
something in me. Sometimes — like when we
ran out of fryer oil during our friends-and-
family night — I have to tell my team I’m going
offline for a few minutes to sweep.”