In researching cooking schools in Chiang Mai, I sought to find the ones which offered five consecutive days of instruction with different menus. Chiang Mai Thai Cookery was the original cooking school in the city and was the only establishment to afford the luxury of 6 dishes daily totaling 30 for the 5 days. They also offered pickup and drop off from my location so that made it an easy choice.
The location of the cooking school was about 20 minutes from the city center in a beautiful serene gated community. The school had a large lot on which the colonial style building sat with its open air dining tables,
bookcases filled with regional cookbooks,
cooking stations for about 100 students and
2 instructional air conditioned classrooms in which the instructors demonstrated the preparation of each dish.
Behind the school was a vast garden,
a large pond with hundreds of koi fish
and an expansive lot which may eventually become a bed and breakfast or hotel of some sort to house the students of the school. Its location was remote, quiet and peaceful and the colonial structure had a restrained elegance and beauty.
What made my experience amazing was Pong, the chef/instructor who became a friend at the end of my time at the school. 
His classes were informative and funny. Pong’s English was as perfect as his culinary expertise. He had each student assist him in demonstrating the preparation of the dishes before we were sent off to cook on our own.
On my second day, I was literally the only student in the school so we had several hours of cooking together so I had the benefit of a one-on-one private cooking class from Pong.
He explained how and why everything needed to be cooked in a certain order and though I accidentally burnt garlic once or twice, which I personally didn’t mind as it gave the dish a smoky flavor, I knew it wasn’t proper technique because of Pong. He also shared how our fingers should be positioned when cutting so that we can cut quickly like those chefs we see on cooking competitions and not cut ourselves in the process.
His methods were very refined which can only come from a great deal of training and practice. He observed each student with a watchful eye and like a choreographer of a ballet, knew when each move should be executed and sometimes helped each student find their way.
I was amazed at how simple and yet intricate Thai cooking actually was. Some dishes required a few ingredients and minimal effort to make
while others were quite labor intensive and required nearly a dozen or more ingredients.
I loved every minute of my time at the school. It was my first foray into an experiential excursion while on vacation.
I learned so much more on this holiday and it definitely enhanced my visit to Chiang Mai.
I have zero hesitation recommending Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School as a Must Do during any trip to Chiang Mai.
The facilities are immaculate, the instruction is A-level quality and the abundance and variety of delicious Thai food makes for a comprehensive and immersive experience.
My first introduction to Thailand was through their food. I was a teen at the time and my dad was in a car accident with a waiter from Original Thai BBQ. I’m not quite sure what the specifics were but the waiter offered to comp our dinner if we visited him at the restaurant in Universal City. We both thought we had nothing to lose so we made the 30 minute trek from West Covina. To say that my mind was blown would be an understatement. The unique savory and sweet combination was utterly delightful. I was hooked!
To this day, my husband’s and my guilty pleasure is ordering delivery from Thai BBQ and enjoying their BBQ chicken, yellow curry with chicken and potatoes, phad woon sen with chicken, chicken sate appetizer and a side of their fried rice which is so addictive that I swear that crack is an ingredient.
I was not really surprised when 23andMe updated my profile which showed that 5.2% of my roots hail from the Thai, Indonesia, Khmer and Myanmar region. I clearly have a natural preference and affinity for their food. In planning our trip to Chiang Mai, I wanted to immerse myself in its very specific northern Thai cuisine.
As much as I love cooking, all of my experience has been self-taught with the help and guidance of Martha Stewart shows and cookbooks as well as similar chefs and recipes from Food Network and Cooking Channel. I have never actually attended a cooking class, let alone a cooking school.
Thai Kitchen Cookery is the first of all cooking schools founded in Chiang Mai and they offer a five day immersive cooking school experience. It was a no-brainer so as soon as our flight and lodgings were arranged, I booked my classes. This particular cooking school includes pickup and drop off so that made it even more particularly attractive.
On day one, I arrived at the lobby 5 minutes earlier than what was indicated on my reservation and was greeted by the driver who was surprisingly also the cooking instructor. He had to pick up another couple at Shangri-la next door but was not allowed to park and wait for them so he picked me up first which explained his early arrival. After he returned for them, we headed off to the market which was about 15-20 minutes from our location. We were joined by 3 other people for the market visit and class.
Having consumed 3 cups of tea, I was in need of facilities. Side note: it costs 3 baht to use them and one should bring your own seat covers and portable toilet paper which I luckily had in my possession.
inside the market was a true food lover and cook’s paradise! In Asia, the Pacific Islands and likely in other parts of the world essentially excluding America, the norm are indoor or outdoor markets like these where produce are stacked in piles alongside other produce and each section is owned and managed by different people.
Next to the produce section are the meat and seafood sections which cause all the scents to intermingle and waft throughout. If one is not used to the smell, it can be a jarring jolt to one’s olfactory system.
After the market, we finally headed off to school. It was northeast from the center of town, further than I expected. It seemed to take another 20 minutes to get there.
The school appeared to be a large sprawling white colonial estate located in a beautiful upscale gated residential area. We entered the school, were shown the facilities, the water, tea and coffee stations and were escorted to our cooking stations. After a 10 minute break, we headed into the classroom. It was wonderfully air conditioned and bright.
The classroom setup had 3 rows of pews with desks and the front of the class had the overhead mirror like at cooking demonstrations. On the table was cookware over one or both burners and small dishes to the side with previously measured and cut ingredients. There was also a cutting board and a chef’s knife.
Our instructor, Pon, was quite the ham and would crack jokes, making the experience much more lighthearted. He explained, however, that there’s a proper order in incorporating and/or pairing the ingredients and what the effects were if protocol wasn’t followed. Pon also shared some of the shortcuts in cutting the vegetables and preparing the ingredients. He allowed each of us to be his helper and demonstrate each dish we would eventually cook on our own so that we could have some practice preparing the dish and also to get a better understanding of technique. The structure of the cooking class was demonstrating one dish at a time, explaining how to prepare it with each student getting a taste and then heading to our cooking stations to prepare each dish on our own with his guidance and sometimes helpful hand in intervening before we omitted ingredients and/or burnt our dishes.
Our first dish was Tom Yam Goong, a hot and sour shrimp soup, which we typically order from Thai BBQ during cold and flu season so me learning how to make it is going to be immediately beneficial in our household. Pon explained how to minimize or enhance the spiciness of the soup by how the chili pepper is prepared.
That was followed by Tord Man Pla (fish cake),
Gaeng Kheo Wan Kai (green curry with chicken)
and Phad Thai with tofu. We ate the last two dishes as a group for lunch.
Laurie and Jeremy from Toronto, the couple we picked up from Shangri-la, left after lunch as they only scheduled a half day cooking class, but Jennifer, her husband from Chicago and Alex from France stayed to finish the rest of the class.
We proceeded to make Tab Tim Grob as a group, in the classroom. The water chestnuts with sugar syrup and coconut milk dessert was surprisingly delicious and easy to make provided you follow the directions exactly. It needs to be devoid of liquid before adding all the ingredients or it will not properly coat them onto the chestnuts.
Our last entree was the Nam Prik Gai or minced chicken northern style which was delicious and very simple.
Thai Kitchen Cookery School is an easy recommend. They provide roundtrip transportation, detailed instruction with helpful hints and techniques, an immaculate, air conditioned professional classroom setting, a clean, well equipped cooking station and varied menu options.
It is also vegan friendly as my classmate Jennifer happily discovered. The meat dishes were substituted with butternut squash which was purchased at the market and the instructor helped her prepare her dish when it came time to cook. As in most Asian countries, coconut milk and coconut cream are used in lieu of dairy so that was helpful for her as well.
At the end of class they send you off with a cookbook of the recipes you’ve prepared and a well-earned apron as a souvenir of your time at their school. I’m happily returning to school 4 more days so more to report and share soon!
Thai Cookery School
Grace Gambin
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