Hone Your Culinary Skills at Thai Cookery Classes

Learning how to cook the local cuisine has become a staple on travelers’ to-do lists in recent years, and one of the best ways to do this is through a cooking class.

There’s no better way to get to know a country than by making its food, munching down on the delicious end result and maybe even making a few new friends in the process.

Thailand is one of the hot spots for cooking classes, with a cuisine that ranges from fiery curries to crunchy noodle salads and sticky sweet desserts. No matter which part of the country you visit, there’s likely to be a local cookery class nearby, so here are just a handful of the best-rated:

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Sompong Thai Cooking School, Bangkok

Sompong Thai run classes every day of the week, teaching a different menu each time. This means you can either choose the menu that sounds tastiest to you, or you can visit more than once to learn how to cook numerous local dishes.

The classes take place in modern classrooms within an attractive colonial-style building. Teachers will carefully explain each ingredient and cooking step in full English and will guide you along the way.

Dishes you can create include stir-fried prawns with tamarind, chicken green curry and spicy Thai omelet.

READ MORE: Old World Thailand Meets Modern-Day Bangkok

Basil Cookery School, Chiang Mai

Basil advertises as a “healthy Thai cooking school” who prides themselves on using the freshest ingredients and providing a cozy, welcoming atmosphere.

Classes are run in either the morning or evening—and they’ll even pick you up and drop you off at your local accommodation. Over the course of around six hours, you can learn how to cook seven different dishes (including a from-scratch curry paste).

Classes are kept small (between one and seven people) and you can choose your own dishes such as hot and sour soup, drunken noodles and deep-fried bananas.

Island Organics, Koh Samui

This cookery class is hosted on an eco-farm from which you can help to pick your own ingredients. It is a family-run business that focuses on creating healthy, organic meals in an authentic Thai environment.

Classes are run four times a week, and each participant gets their own private cooking station with views across the farm. Over the course of the class, you can learn how to create four Thai recipes, as well as making your own coconut cream and curry paste.

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Phuket Thai Cooking Academy, Phuket

At this fun cooking school, you get to choose the five Thai dishes that you’d like to learn how to prepare—one curry, one appetizer, one soup or salad, one stir fry and one dessert. Half-day classes are run twice daily, but the school also runs full-day classes that include a market tour and a visit to a local waterfall.

Time For Lime, Krabi

It doesn’t get much better than cooking up some delicious Thai food while staring at a sandy beach, does it? That’s exactly where Time For Lime operates—in an open-air beachfront cookery school on the shore of Koh Lanta.

Classes are run twice a day, Mondays to Saturdays, with the morning classes aimed towards families and the evening classes featuring cocktail-making for the adults. Menu dishes include refreshing-yet-spicy papaya salad, Pad Thai and crispy spring rolls.