Thai food has been one of the prime reasons for traveling to Thailand. While it’s true you can eat Thai cuisine in most American cities, it’s just not comparable to Thai food in Thailand.
Eating spicy chicken larb, with the hot air pressed against your skin and hearing locals chatting in the background creates an indescribable vibe. You can taste how the lime juice tames some of the Thai chili peppers in your mouth, and experience how the sticky rice compliments every single dish on the table. It’s a feeling that only people who have been to Thailand can relate to.
But for first time travelers (and first time Thai food “eaters”), what if you had the opportunity to see how the food is prepared first hand? From shopping in the market to prepping the food and then cooking it, the Four Seasons in Chiang Mai offers guests a fully-integrated experience with The Cooking School. The Cooking School at Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai introduces guests – both novice and experienced cooks – to the art of Thai cuisine.
Set in the heart of the resort, The Cooking School provides guests a hands-on learning experience through cooking classes and the Chef’s Table.
During the Chef’s Table, one of the hotel’s Chefs demonstrate and explain various preparation methods and culinary techniques, as you enjoy a sumptuous meal of 10 different Thai dishes to share, family-style, with up to 12 guests.
Below, I’ve featured some of my favorites dishes served at a recent Chef’s Table:
- (Fried Fish Cakes)
- (Tom Yum Goong)
Although eating Thai food in Thailand is an amazing experience on its own, we can’t neglect the chefs who prepare the food. At that recent Chef’s table, we were introduced to Pirun Pumicome, the Four Season’s Chef instructor.
Chef Pirun brings more than a wealth of culinary knowledge with him — he brings a certain flare that makes him interesting to interact with and learn from. When he first introduced himself, he threw his knife into the wood block and jokingly said, “Welcome to my nightmare.”
He has the right mixture of brash and boldness, infused with jovial humor and humbleness that kept guests’ eyes on him while he cooked. In other words, he is the perfect Chef to teach you about Thai cuisine, while giving travelers a glimpse of that Thai sense of humor that’s helped Thailand earn the nick name, “land of smiles.”
Guests may take part in Pirun’s classes at The Cooking School six days a week from Monday to Saturday, and those who participate will be in for a nice treat. Go ahead – have a seat at his table.
– Romey Louangvilay
