Experience Thailand
Husband and wife team, Executive Chef Montakran “Bam” and Owner and Manager Jeff Schofield founded Blue Orchid to inspire a love of Thai cuisine and culture. It is their mission to offer the Jacksonville community a place where authentic Thai food and hospitality are always on the menu. Blue Orchid sources fresh and authentic ingredients, something that many restaurants outside of Thailand don’t do. Native to Thailand, Bam infuses her dishes with flavorful ingredients from recipes that were handed down by generations before. She knows exactly how to use ingredients such as Thai basil, galangal and Asian mushrooms to create dishes that beautifully represent Thai cuisine. As a family owned and operated restaurant, Blue Orchid values tradition and hopes to bring a bit of traditional Thailand to the local community.
Founders
Montakran Schofield – Founder, Executive Chef
Montakran, a Thai native and naturalized US citizen, has a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from Dhurakij Pundit University in Bangkok Thailand. She has worked extensively in the hospitality industry, including several years at a five-star restaurant at the Hilton Millennium Bangkok, and she has served as our Executive Chef since 2016. She is renowned among her family and friends for her exquisite Thai cooking. She manages multi-site responsibilities such as menu content, recipe development, and kitchen operations.
Jeff Schofield – Founder, Chief Executive
Jeff, a US citizen and Montakran’s husband, has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Chicago and an MBA from University of Central Florida. He has a CPIM certification and has nearly two decades of leadership experience in financial and manufacturing industries. Practiced in the arts of Supply Chain Management, Lean Manufacturing, and Total Quality, he has held significant leadership roles in $300+ million supply chains at FARO Technologies, Inc. and GE Oil & Gas. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of the North Florida chapter of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and previously served on the board of Central Florida’s local APICS chapter. He is responsible for setting overall company strategies and objectives, training the management team, establishing back-of-the-house processes, managing our marketing efforts, and overseeing our financials.