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 Taking a Thai cooking class while you are in Bangkok is a wonderful way to engage Thai culture, enjoy some delicious Thai food, and learn the skills you need to bring a taste of Bangkok home with you. There are surprisingly few options available in Bangkok, especially compared to Chiang Mai in the north, where there are dozens of mom and pop cooking schools. However, the quality of the cooking schools in Bangkok is good and they offer a range of different styles, price points and locations.
Baipai Thai Cooking School
Baipai Thai Cooking School offers the best value. Classes are held in a charming open air Thai house, with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere without sacrificing quality instruction. Baipai's instructors have professional culinary experience (as opposed to home cooking experience) so are able to explain clearly and answer questions about the ins and outs of different ingredients and techniques. The menus here are comprised of more typical homestyle dishes, with straightforward preparation methods explained on easy to follow menu cards that make it possible to recreate the dishes at home. There is one primary instructor and one teaching assistant/facilitator who will also circulate to help you and answer questions.
Demonstration, instruction and preparation happen around a central horseshoe shaped bar, with individual cooking stations for hands on practice nearby. During the class, each dish is demonstrated first, followed by each student preparing the ingredients for that dish, then moving to the adjoining cooking stations to finish the dish. The pace is comfortable and ends with a shared meal.
My experience: The environment is very homey and laid-back, but the teaching is professional. During the hands-on practice, the instructors walk you step by step through each ingredient and method, using the recipe cards so you can follow along and ask questions about any written instructions that aren't clear. One caveat: the space is open air--there are ceiling fans and I was comfortable enough in October, but it could get quite hot in some months.
Menus: There are 7 rotating menus of 4 dishes each (check website for menus).
Schedule: The courses run daily from Tuesday to Sunday, with 2 courses a day, in the morning and afternoon. Each course (4 hours) features 1 set menu. Closed Mondays.
Morning class: 9:30 am to 1:30 pm
Afternoon class: 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Rates:
1800 Baht per person, per class
1700 Baht per person, per class, if enrolling in more than one class
Domestic contacts: Tel: 02-2949029 Fax: 02-2949027
International contacts: Tel: 662-2949029 Fax: 662-2949027
E-mail:
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Website: http://www.baipai.com/
Address: 150/12 Soi Naksuwan, Nonsee Road, Chongnonsee, Yannawa, Bangkok 10120 Thailand
Transportation: The class fee includes transportation from your hotel downtown to their school in the suburbs.
Blue Elephant Cooking School & Restaurant
 Blue Elephant Cooking School in Bangkok is part of the global Blue Elephant Empire which consists of high-end restaurants, cooking schools and Thai food products. It also sits at the high end of the price point scale but has several distinguishing features that could make this school the right choice for you.
Blue Elephant's morning session has the advantage of a market visit, where one of the chef's will introduce you to many local ingredients and spices, and can even help you make some simple purchases. The school is set in a beautiful and pristine colonial building; the school and staff are very polished and professional. The menus and recipes taught here are more sophisticated than Baipai or the Landmark, which may appeal to more advanced chefs or more refined palates. They will introduce you to more than the usual home style Thai dishes and also be more challenging and impressive to recreate at home.
Each dish starts with a demonstration, which is extremely well executed, with an easy pace, clear explanation and time for questions (and tasting). My main complaint was the demonstration room is set up in a somewhat stiff classroom setting, with students sitting in rows of chairs. After each demonstration the students move across the hall to the practice kitchen, a very large room with gleaming rows of work stations. Class ends with a shared meal in the restaurant's elegant dining room.
My experience: The dishes taught are delicious. In spite of the tantalizing set up, however, the most disappointing part of the class was the hands on practice. Nearly all of the ingredients are prepped and lined up in little bowls; the practice part is also the most rushed and there were many assistants running around ‘helping', handing you each ingredient as it is needed. This means there is little time for students to consider the recipes and ingredients. While I was technically present and ‘making the dishes', I was in reality just stirring the wok while someone handed me one ingredient after another. To improve this, I felt like time could've easily be borrowed from the very relaxed market tour and applied to the hands on practice. It is likely that the evening class, which is the same length of time but without a market visit, does not have the problem, and would be a better choice for someone wanting to focus more on hands on cooking.
Menus: There are 7 rotating menus of 4 dishes each, including a vegetarian program option; afternoon class menus include an additional dessert dish (check the website for menus).
 Schedule: The courses run daily with 2 courses a day: morning and afternoon. There is no afternoon class on Sunday.
Mornings, 9 am to 1 pm:
9-10:30 am market tour;
10:30 am-12:30 pm cooking class;
12:30 pm lunch
Afternoons, 1:30 to 5:30 pm:
1:30-5:00 pm cooking class;
5:00 pm dinner
Rates:
2,800++ Baht per person, per class.
5 ,000++ Baht per person for a package of two classes (2,500B/class).
10,000++ Baht per person for a package of five classes (2,000B/class).
Telephone: (66 2) 673 93 53-4
Fax: (66 2) 673 93 55
E-mail:
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Website: http://www.blueelephant.com/school/index.html
Address: 233 South Sathorn Road, Kwaeng Yannawa, Khet Sathorn, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Transportation: Blue Elephant is located on the BTS/Skytrain line; exit at Surasak station, the second to the last stop before Saphan Taksin at the Chao Praya river
The Landmark Bangkok: Nipa Thai Restaurant Cooking Classes
I haven't attended the Landmark's cooking class so cannot comment on the quality of their instruction, but I included this option because the Landmark Hotel is conveniently located right on Sukhumvit Road near Nana, and the class is only two hours long, so the class might be a good option for anyone on a tight schedule.
Though the class is much shorter, there are five dishes on each day's menu, compared to four at both Baipai and Blue Elephant, so I assume this means much less hands-on participation. I did experience the Landmark fruit carving class which was fascinating but also frustrating as you might expect if you've ever tried to turn a watermelon into a giant chrysanthemum! 
According to the school, the class consists of a brief lecture on the ingredients used in the recipes, a demonstration of the recipes with participation by students in the preparation of some of the dishes, followed by a tasting of the dishes. The class fee also includes a complimentary voucher for a set meal for either lunch or dinner at the Nipa Thai Restaurant.
Menus: There are 7 rotating menus of 5 dishes each, plus a vegetarian option.
Schedule: The courses run daily with two classes per day, morning and afternoon.
Morning class: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Afternoon class: 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Fruit carving: 4:00- - 6:00 pm (450 Baht)
Rates: The rates per class vary considerably based on the number of participants in your reservation and the total number of courses/days for which you are registering. The fruit and vegetable carving class is an add-on.
No. of participants 1-day 2-day 3-day 4-day 5-day
1-2 persons 2,200 3,900 6,000 7,700 9,900
3-4 persons 1,700 2,800 4,400 5,500 7,700
5 persons or more 1,500 2,200 3,300 4,400 5,500
Telephone: 66 (0) 2254 0404, Food & Beverage Office at extension 4823, 4305
Fax: 66 (0) 2253 4259
Email:
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Website: http://www.landmarkbangkok.com/dining_nipa.html
Address: Nipa Thai Restaurant, 3rd floor, Landmark Plaza; 138 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok, 101101, Thailand
Transportation: The Landmark Bangkok is located very close to the BTS/Skytrain station at Nana.
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