Few can claim the same level of talent and skill as Jonathan Mathews, a local interior designer, a leader in event design and planning, and a producer of high-quality events with culinary delights and crafted spirits. Through his design group, Kwanchai, Mathews has steadily built a career of being a jack of all trades and providing exquisite experiences.

Located in Queen Anne, Kwanchai offers services from real estate staging to event catering with its own line of vodka. Past clients include Microsoft, the Tacoma Opera, and the University of Washington, among others. Its catering is inspired by international flavors. For instance, last December, at the Society of Professional Journalists award ceremony, Kwanchai catered an array of delicious Middle Eastern dishes.

Mathews stressed the importance of having flexibility with clients in his line of work.

“I always want to work within the budget given,” he told the SGN.

As a Queer man, Mathews is active in Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ spaces. Back in 2010, the SGN covered an event he helped organize called “Night FantAsia,” which celebrated the Asian Queer community.

Mathews said the task of organizing those types of events has evolved since then. Once, they drew more buzz, but he’s noticed how people nowadays are more averse to attending large-scale events due to higher operational costs, with many nonprofits focusing on smaller fundraising events instead, he said.
Continuing to find ways to serve the community, Mathews said he’s become a board member of the Journey Project, a local nonprofit that helps unhoused and formerly incarcerated people find supportive services. He highlighted how the organization explicitly works to include Trans people experiencing hardship.
Through his business, Mathews finds new ways to connect with his clients. Inspired by his mother’s recipes and having been born in Thailand, he’s been working on My Thai Country Cookbook, with which he intends to share more accessible ways for people to enjoy Thai cuisine while honoring dietary restrictions.

He said that his Thai heritage has played a large role in influencing his entrepreneurial work on a broader scale. As a culmination of his business vision, client interest, and launch of his new cookbook, Mathews will lead a “Kulinary Treasures of Thailand” tour, showcasing its rich food traditions, on October 13–23, 2025. The tour will cover several cities, including Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

“It will combine the beauty, history, and adventures of Thailand with the tastes and flavors that make the cuisine so unique,” according to the tour announcement.


More information about Kwanchai can be found at kwanchai.net/home.