To really get to know a culture, many like to do something hands-on. These Thai cooking classes in Bangkok will have you take the knowledge and their recipes home to impress anyone.
There’s a lot involved in cooking Thai cuisine. Of course, you have your essentials, from the classic tom yum, to fragrant curries with well-cooked proteins. If you had your share in beginner courses, there are also ample classes for baking, vegetarian cooking, and even how to select better ingredients from the market. Here are the best Thai cooking classes in Bangkok you will fall in love with.
[Hero and featured image credit: Blue Elephant Bangkok Sathorn Cooking School & Restaurant/Facebook]
Thai cooking classes in Bangkok for a hands-on experience
Cooking with Poo and Friends
Price: THB 1,800 per person
Saiyuud Diwong, also known as Poo (short from Chompoo), became internet famous for her cookbook Cooking with Poo. She is a resident of Klong Toei, the largest slum area in Bangkok. By 2007, she could not continue making a living selling food from her house, as the price of rice doubled. One of Poo’s neighbours heard, and gathered some friends to help Poo start her own cooking class. With time, she and her team mastered the English language, and have been manning a successful cooking school for over five years — a remarkable model of positivity in the face of Khlong Toei’s complex landscape of hardship. Support local business, and try cooking with Poo.
Cooking with Poo and Friends, 100/103, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok. Open daily, 8.30am onwards.
Blue Elephant Bangkok
Price: THB 2,800++
With more than 40 years experience cooking Thai food, Chef Nooror Somany-Steppe has been showcasing Thai cuisine to the world, with the first Blue Elephant in Brussels, then Bangkok, and Chiang Mai. Even now, you’ll see her doing demonstrations and passing on her knowledge in many of the cooking classes at Blue Elephant Bangkok. The higher price tag compared to other cooking classes in Bangkok ensures you’ll get to work with many herbs and proteins, including prawns, sea bass, beef, and more. If requested, the chefs are able to do classes in English, Thai, French, Dutch, or Chinese.
Blue Elephant Bangkok, 41 S Sathon Rd, Yan Nawa Sathon, Surasak, Bangkok. Open daily, 8.45am-4pm.
House of Taste
Price: THB 1,400 per person
That price tag at House of Taste comes with a local market tour where you shop for fresh ingredients to use, and get hands-on experience cooking four fixed menus. If you feel like tackling something more advanced, they offer private classes where you can select from their 30 menus, from steamed seabass, to massaman curry. Whichever you choose, they’ll send all the recipes via a follow-up email.
House of Taste, 147/4, Sukhumvit 4, Samahan Alley, Khlong Toei, Bangkok. Open daily, 8.30am-9pm.
Arun Thai Cooking
Price: THB 1,700 per person
Arun Thai Cooking is located just a few minutes away from Wat Arun, and the class begins with a tuk-tuk ride to the nearby fresh market alongside the chef. Then, get ready to cook four Thai dishes, including making green curry paste from scratch. One-off classes are already enough to impress anyone at your next house party, but they also offer longer programmes — six or twelve sessions spanning over six months for you to really master the cuisine.
Arun Thai Cooking, 24/42 Itsaraphap Rd, Wat Arun, Bangkok Yai, Bangkok. Open daily, 9am-6pm.
Siamese Cookery House Bangkok
Price: THB 1,200 per person
Siamese Cookery House Bangkok provides a hassle-free yet very educational lesson on Thai cuisine. Led by certified professionals, you’ll meet them at MRT Huai Kwang station, let them take you through a fresh market for ingredients, and then use these in the class after. If you book the evening class when the market is closed, you’ll learn about and pick vegetables and herbs from their garden. The class itself takes place inside a beautiful 100-year-old house in a traditional-style kitchen.
Siamese Cookery House Bangkok, 132 Pracha Rat Bamphen 7 Alley, Lane 2, Huai Khwang, Bangkok. Open daily, 9am-9pm.
Tingly Thai Cooking School
Price: THB 1,200 per person
Thai food shines through good ingredients, and that’s the emphasis at Tingly Thai Cooking School. They’ll take care of you from start to finish, from choosing the right ingredients at the local market, to how to store them to preserve the most of them. After you’re done cooking up a storm, you’ll part ways with the school along with a cookbook with all the tips and tricks, as well as how to adjust ingredients for your preference.
Tingly Thai Cooking School, 17/1 Prachum Alley, Suriya Wong, Bang Rak, Bangkok. Open daily, 8am-9pm.
Sompong Thai Cooking School
Price: THB 1,300 per person
There’s more to Thai cuisine than your usual pad thai and mango sticky rice, and that’s why Sompong Thai Cooking School offers something different for every day of the week. Their highlights are how to present a beautiful pomelo salad, creating your own homemade curry pastes, and trying your hand in Thai desserts, from golden banana in coconut milk, to egg custard in pumpkin. You’ll also be entitled to their cookbook, for whenever you need to step into the kitchen back home.
Sompong Thai Cooking School, 2, 6-2/7 Waiti, Si Lom, Bang Rak, Bangkok. Open daily, 9.30am-8.30pm.
Green Garden Cooking School
Price: Starts at 30 USD
Green Garden Cooking School is led by chef and cookbook author May Kaidee, who specialises in vegan and vegetarian cooking. Even without protein, the cooking classes in her Bangkok location offer an extensive look into the cuisine, and have something for every skill level. There’s a two-hour long express class, half-day courses, and up to a ten-day programme to dive deep into complex recipes. Plus, you’ll find special courses on Thai desserts, chili pastes, tofu, raw food, and even fruit carving.
Green Garden Cooking School, 54, 1 Soi Samsen 5, Wat Sam Phraya, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. Open daily, 9am-10pm.
Sabieng Thai Cooking School
Price: THB 1,500 per person
Sabieng Thai Cooking School prides itself in implementing the mindset of a Thai chef into anyone that signs onto their classes. First, you’ll ride on a tuk-tuk to pick out suitable fresh vegetables, herbs, proteins, and more. Second, you’ll learn how to balance between the five basic tastes that make a dish sing. Third, Thai chefs will be guiding you through how to cook, while letting you be as hands-on as possible. Advanced classes are also available for those who want to take it up a notch.
Sabieng Thai Cooking School, 318 32-33 Sukhumvit Alley 22, Khlong Toei, Bangkok, Open daily, 8.30am-9pm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thai cooking classes in Bangkok normally last around 3-4 hours, and dig deep into how to use ingredients effectively, as well as Thai recipes you can use back home.
Thai cooking classes in Bangkok normally come with a market tour, a guided session with professional chefs, and many also provide cookbooks and recipes to take home.
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Written by
Vichayuth Chantan
Digital Writer, Drinks and Dining
Writer by day, skinny legend by night, "Kook" Vichayuth works closely with Bangkok's F&B industry. His hobbies include bar-hopping, catching up with friends, and silently judging you from across the room.
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