The Waitress Who Grew Up with Prego Samui

When the young Khun Aor or Benjamad Mansaart first arrived at Prego Samui more than 23 years ago, she was still a teenager trying to figure out her future.

She had studied science and mathematics in school. Her family hoped she might continue into government service one day. Hospitality was never part of the plan.

In fact, her journey to the restaurant happened almost entirely by accident.

At the time, she was working part time at Pizza Company while waiting for university entrance results. One day, two women came to eat at the restaurant and noticed the young waitress serving customers with an unusually warm smile and natural friendliness. Before leaving, they asked a simple question.

“Would you like to come work with us?”

Only later did Aor discover they were the wife of Chef Marco Boscaini, founder of Prego Restaurant and the wife of the General Manager at Prego Samui.

At first, she could hardly believe she had been hired.

“I thought there was no way they would accept me,” she says. “I had no experience at all.”

But during the interview, she said something that the management team never forgot.

“I told them I was ready to learn.”

That attitude would eventually define her entire career.

Still, the early days were not easy.

Back then, Prego Samui operated with extremely high standards. New staff had to memorise Italian menu names, ingredients, wines, pronunciations, and food pairings in detail.

“There were 77 menu items and I had to memorise every single one,” Aor recalls with a laugh.

She still remembers standing nervously in front of guests, trying to pronounce Italian dishes correctly while learning restaurant service for the first time.

Some nights, she went home overwhelmed.

“I cried almost every day in the beginning,” she admits. “I wrote down all my mistakes before sleeping.”

But the people around her refused to let her give up.

Chef Marco and General Manager Vern constantly pushed her out of her comfort zone. If guests asked questions, they encouraged her to answer herself instead of hiding behind senior staff.

“At first, I thought they were being very hard on me,” she says. “Later, I realised they already believed I could do it.”

Slowly, her confidence grew.

When she did not fully understand guests, she learnt to smile honestly, apologise politely, and ask customers for patience. Many guests encouraged her warmly in return.

“That was how I learnt,” she says. “One table at a time.”

At the same time, Prego Samui itself was quietly becoming one of Koh Samui’s best loved restaurants.

According to Aor, the secret was never only the food. It was the feeling.

The moment guests arrived, cold towels, water, and warm bread appeared almost immediately. Chairs were pulled out carefully. Napkins were placed properly. Every small detail mattered.

“Guests felt important when they came to Prego,” she says.

Then there was Chef Marco himself.

Visitors arriving at Koh Samui airport saw giant advertisements featuring the chef. Guests lined up to take photographs with him after dinner. To many visitors, eating at Prego Samui became part of the Koh Samui experience itself.

But behind the warmth was discipline.

Chef Marco was known for being extremely strict about standards. Service, cleanliness, food quality, consistency. Everything had to be exact.

“He protected us very much,” Aor says. “But he also trained us very hard.”

That attention to detail shaped the restaurant’s reputation. Guests became obsessed with the wood fired pizzas, especially the seafood pizzas and Parma ham pizzas. One of the most famous dishes was the giant antipasto platter designed by Chef Marco himself, where guests could sample many starters on one dramatic plate.

“We became famous without realising it,” Aor says.

Then came Covid 19.

Like restaurants everywhere, Prego Samui suddenly faced closures, uncertainty, and almost no tourists. But Aor still remembers how hard the team fought to survive.

Chef Marco personally delivered food around the island himself. The team accepted catering jobs, joined food events, opened delivery channels, and searched for every possible way to keep revenue coming in.

“He was trying to protect everyone,” she says quietly.

Today, after more than two decades, Aor still smiles when she talks about the restaurant.

She still remembers guests who promised to return the following year. Guests who brought her gifts. Guests who mentioned her by name in reviews without her even noticing at first.

Recently, she ranked first in guest review mentions across Amari Koh Samui.

Even now, she says she never feels tired of coming to work.

“I still enjoy it every day,” she says.

Perhaps that is because, in many ways, she did not simply work at Prego Samui.

She grew up there.

Story: Sue Rattanamahattana • Photography: Anuphong Khienthong, ONYX Hospitality Group

ABOUT HEARTMADE 
Created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of ONYX Hospitality Group, Heartmade is a series of heartfelt stories inspired by the people who make every stay memorable, from dedicated team members to cherished guests across Amari, OZO, Shama, Oriental Residence, as well as our spa and dining brands.

Through personal memories, meaningful connections, and moments of genuine care, the series celebrates the warmth and spirit of hospitality that have brought people together for six decades. Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from the Heartmade series.