So after eating so much food in Thailand, why should you go to a place and learn to cook Thai food? Clearly, it’s so you can go on a cooking adventure and learn to cook these same delicacies when you’re back at home! To be completely honest, I never cooked these dishes again. I’m a terrible cook, but Mrs. Cabbage cooked them! It was great!
While in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we visited the Thai Kitchen Cookery Centre. If you’re interested in taking a cooking class, read on because this post is all about our experience there.
How’d We get There, How to Book it and What are the times?
Mrs. Cabbage was able to book a half day morning cooking session through they’re website here:
https://www.thaikitchencookerycentre.com/17247035/booking
There is an option to get picked up (within a 3km radius from Chiang Mai downtown), but we were staying close enough so we walked there.
If you decide to book a cooking class here you’ve got a plethora of options:
- Full Day Course – 0940 to 1600
- Half Day Morning Course – 0940 to 1350
- Half day afternoon Course – 1340 to 1630
- Half day Evening Course – 1630 to 2030
- Private Course – Time Customized
Pick-up times start approximately 40 minutes before the course begins.
If there are people in your group keen to visit you on the course, there is an option for that, but there is a charge.
What did we do?
Coffee and Cookies
We arrived a little early since we walked there, so we sat with the rest of the Cookery patrons, drank some coffee, and ate some cookies. The tables are shared, so if you choose, you can start sharing stories with other groups; we didn’t, but it is an option if it suits you.
The cookies and instant coffee were kind of blah-tasting. However, I’m a bit of a coffee snob, so maybe your taste buds will guide you otherwise.
When everyone gets there, you’ll be introduced to the staff teaching you how to cook, and there will be a rundown of the schedule. After this, you’ll get to choose what you’ll be cooking.
The Visit To the Market
This visiting the market was an interesting part of the course. To get there, we entered a van and were driven there; it was approximately a 5-minute drive from the cookery.
I thought we would hunt and buy the ingredients ourselves, but this was not the case, probably because managing this would be a logistical nightmare. Also, we only spent about 30 minutes at the market.
You’ll basically be visiting a produce market, where locals go and buy ingredients to make dishes. I got a better coffee here, so I was happy visiting.
Cooking Sessions
When we did the course there was two cooking sessions:
- A small bowl of soup
- Our main meal
After each session, we sat at a low table with a butt pillow and ate what we cooked. If your cooking course is the same, you won’t be cooking straight through.
Also, the ingredients were provided by the cookery.
Our Small Bowls of Soup
As stated above, we cooked a small bowl and sat to eat it. Mrs. Cabbage and I both chose to cook different soups so we could try them.
The soups were generally good, but they were small. However, I’m personally a big eater, so it didn’t take me long to finish it.
I personally thought this was the most interesting part, as we sat with the other patrons while eating the soup. We shared stories amongst the group about everyone’s travel plans; this is what happened to us. There is always the possibility that no one will interact with each other and eat in silence, but fortunately, our group was willing to share their experience so far in Thailand.
Our Main Meal
Similarly to the bowls of soup, I thought the meals were good but quite small.
After you’re done cooking your meals, you’ll sit down for the main meal. Each of the groups were able to separate. Mrs. Cabbage and I were able to find our little spot where we could talk with each other and try each other’s meals.
Final Thoughts
I’ll preface this with, I’m not a good cook, and I don’t have a big interest in cooking. So this will be the filter through which I’ll be rating this experience.
Overall, I thought the experience was okay. The food we cooked was good. However, the portions were small. The techniques and recipes we were taught were interesting, Mrs. Cabbage cooked these meals after we left Thailand, so it was useful.
The coffee could have been better. I was never a fan of instant coffee. Also, I thought the experience in the food market could have been replicated by going to it ourselves. We didn’t need to join the cooking course at the Thai Kitchen Cookery for this.
Would I recommend going here? That really depends on how much you like to cook. If cooking is something you find interesting or important to you, then I’d recommend it. However, if you’re like me where cooking isn’t that interesting, I’d probably give this a pass and use the time to do other things.
Thank you for reading! I hope you found this post helpful.
