Sweets. Yum!

Learn To Cook Thai In A Day — Start Eating And Cooking Thai For A Lifetime

Thailand is chock full of Thai cooking schools. It can be hard for the traveler with limited time and too many things to focus on to figure out which school will meet one's expectations.

This school has a high rating on TripAdvisor. That's why we chose it.

Rather than report on the instructional coverage and technique, I'll focus here on what you'll learn categorically.

Orientation

First, you'll learn in a group setting. Groups range from 4–12 depending on how many people sign up on a given day. Some clients sign up for a ½ day of instruction. Others sign up for a full day. The school offers a short nighttime course for those unable to attend during the day. They'll ask you to fill out a form where you specify what types of dishes you want to learn how to prepare, by category. This will drive which group you are put into for the food preparation and cooking stage.

Shopping

Second, after introductions, you'll embark on a walking tour of a local market. Your instructor will show you which vegetables and spices to select and explain the variations between species. Thai history and cultural methods are woven in to all aspects of instruction throughout the day.

Cooking

Third, on return to the school, your instructor will review which ingredients go into which dishes. You look at and handle samples of all ingredients associated with cooking. Then you'll be broken up into groups. You'll be placed with the group of folks cooking the same dish as you.

Sometimes, instruction will involve you preparing (washing, cutting up) veggies and other foods for cooking. Sometimes the food will already be prepared for you to speed up instruction. You'll experience both.

Eating

Fourth, you'll eat with your group at the end of each cooking session. And you'll share foods. It's great fun!

At the end of the day, you'll walk away with a plastic bag full of the entrees you couldn't finish at the school. Don't plan on going out for dinner on the day you're learning at this school — you'll be too full to do so.

Transportation — Getting to the school

You can't park at this place. It's on a narrow side street. A motorbike or bicycle is the only way to get there if you're not walking. The school will send their tuk-tuk to fetch you at your hotel and return you at the close of instruction.

You'll walk away from this course with a very clear, clean, well-laid out 44-page cooking pamphlet with pictures. You'll have no trouble putting your new cooking skills to good use following this booklet.

Note: While we thought this was an excellent cooking instructional experience, please take a look at our review for the Tamnak Lao Cooking school course in Luang Prabang, Laos. The instructors in that school brought 12 years of experience teaching that course to clients, respectively. The professionalism, level of detail and personable instruction surpassed the Baan Thai school. Plus, Lao food is not as sweet as Thai food — a plus from our perspective. The instructors at this school spoke English better than the instructor at the Baan Thai school.

The Baan Thai course featured a new instructor with about two days experience at the school. Clearly, she didn't know a lot about the school. We jumped from instructor to instructor depending on which dish we were cooking. This didn't diminish the instruction.

We found the consistency and level of professionalism higher at the Tamnak Lao school.

Contact

The Baan Thai Cookery School
9 Phra Pok Klao Rd. Soi 9
Phrasing Subdistrict
Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Tel: (+66)-5335 7339
Email: support@baanthaicookery.com
Web: baanthaicookery.com