“Is everything okay?” Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume asked his wife, Jamie Brown-Soukaseume, over the phone back in 2023 after receiving her five missed calls. “I just got nominated for a James Beard,” Jamie Brown-Soukaseume replied.
Jamie Brown-Soukaseume is the executive chef and backbone of Ahan, a restaurant serving Asian-inspired dishes at 744 Williamson St. in Madison. She won Madison Magazine’s 2024 Chef of the Year alongside nominations for two James Beard Awards, Best Emerging Chef in 2023 and a semifinalist spot for the 2025 Best Chef: Midwest category.
Chuckie and Jamie Brown-Soukaseume are the founders and co-owners of Ahan. The COVID-19 pandemic led to their first restaurant opening in August 2020. They shared their pop-up features at The Robin Room on Madison’s East Side and originally planned to open a food truck.
The business was so busy from the beginning that it would run out of multiple recipe items in just a few hours, Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume told The Daily Cardinal. Then, it moved to its larger current location in the bustling Willy Street neighborhood.
Ahan is an Asian-fusion restaurant that serves traditional dishes from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam like Praram Long Song with a simple, modern twist. A typical special incorporates staple ingredients paired with a fun idea — poutine with a pho gravy or Orange-Jasmine Dole Whip are some examples.
Ahan’s food is “grounded in the traditional Lao flavors,” Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume said.
“We just really pride ourselves in putting out something that's top notch,” said Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume.
Members of Jamie Brown-Soukaseume’s family owned restaurants in Beaver Dam and eventually moved to Madison and opened Ha Long Bay, a Vietnamese restaurant at 1353 Williamson St. Jamie Brown-Soukaseume has been an influential force in the community, starting her career in the city’s restaurant industry in 2011.
What makes Ahan unique is the story behind its creative menu. Both the owners’ mothers actively work to keep Ahan running — Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume’s mother works part-time and Jamie Brown-Soukaseume’s mother, Manola Hoang, is one of the head chefs in Ahan’s kitchen. Chuckie and Jamie Brown-Soukaseume met in Madison doing what they love: cooking. The essences of family and compassion encompass the restaurant.
Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume believes Ahan is here to stay for a while.
“We love the neighborhood. There's so much already in place here, and so much more just developing in this area of Madison…I don't see us anywhere other than right here,” he said.
The Ahan staff is proud to be a part of Madison’s growing food scene and appreciates the support of their regulars and newcomers to the restaurant, Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume said.
“When you have a scene that is as strong as Madison's, it's just beneficial to everybody, the restaurants, the creatives, the people in the community that have so many people pushing each other to be better,” he said.
The interconnection and “friendly competition” of Madison’s culinary community “is helping make the city the destination spot it’s becoming,” said Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume.
Ahan is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, noon to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Lauren Aguila is a current photographer and writer for The Daily Cardinal. You can check out her work on Instagram at @shot.sbylaguila.
