Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy — Local services in Phra Khanong Nuea Subdistrict

I attended an afternoon cooking class here (using trip advisor) for only $34 on trip advisor. And I'm so glad I did it here as it was near where I was staying in Bangkok, not too far off from the On Nut BTS. Let me just start off by saying this cooking course is for anyone and everyone, even if you have never cooked anything before in your life (like me), you don't need to be a professional chef in a restaurant or even someone that cooks at home to enjoy this course. This is infact a wonderful experience all foreigners/tourists in Bangkok should participate in, so you can see how the food you spend money on is made, the processes involved and so on. I spent thousands of £'s throughout my life in Thai Restaurants in London, and the curiosity has always been there. We get the option to make 5 dishes, which we pick from, from the list, and I knew what I wanted to pick from the get go, it's the ones that I've been eating all my life. Before we engaged in any cooking, we were escorted to the local market where the produce is purchased from, which was the local market where the locals go, not necessarily tourists. The lady given us an explanation of the ingredients used in most Thai dishes, ie Holy Basil, Kaffir Lime, coriander, Thai eggplant and chillies. Then we were taken to the premise where the course happens. We were sat down, on our allocated seats, with the ingredients already placed on our tables, since we picked whet we wanted to cook earlier (the staff/supervisors had everything set up for us in advance). The raw ingredients & spices, which we had to cut into appropriate sizes for all the dishes we were making. For the the curry paste (in my case the green curry) I had to grind it was fun to do so, the aroma given off, was able to almost taste it. Once we got the ingredients for the 5 dishes ready, it was then time to start with the cooking, all in one go, one after the other with no gaps in between, there were numerous instructors to oversee us cooking, I probably required most support as I came from a position of zero cooking experience (yes, I only eat, not cook), so the supervisor had to explain to me to stir and turn the ingredients over so the other side can heat up. It was an enjoyable experience. Once the cooking was done for each dish, we had to put them onto small serving bowls, which then was placed on the table where we sat to cut the ingredients. What I didn't expect was, we were expected to eat the food too 😂 If I knew this, I would have come with an empty stomach. I enjoyed the food that I cooked, made me appreciate the time & effort that went into cooking, which made the eating part all the more enjoyable. Whilst eating, I did engage with other people on the course too, all foreign from Brazil, UK, Germany and Australia. We all agreed that the course did seem a tad bit rushed, but also acknowledged that if it slowed down a tiny bit then we wouldn't have been able to make the number of dishes we did, hence that might have been the compromise, and I personally preferred it the way the organisers set it up, it was well thought out for the time we were there from, 1.15pm (meeting point) to 5pm (when we left after eating) and in that limited time, we squeezed as much as we could. Would I recommend this ? Absolutely. Would I come back again ? Not entirely sure as its probably a one time thing we should experience, especially the social aspect with other foreigners there participating in the same activity as you. The staff here knew exactly what they were doing, from extensive experience, probably doing the same thing everyday, it seemed like they could operate in auto pilot mode if they wanted. Had to fight the urge to tip the Chef (or supervisor) Lush, as she did watch over me the most, she probably realised I had zero cooking experience as I probably made it quiet obvious. I've had a look at other reviewers here, some are negative but then you can't please everyone. I'm giving this a full 5/5 because...

Attention to all Muslims interested in learning Thai cooking at the Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy, I feel compelled to share a deeply disappointing experience that my husband and I had at this cooking academy recently.

First and foremost, I want to emphasize that pork is included as an ingredient in some of the recipes taught at this academy. Not only is pork cooked on the premises, but the same utensils are used for all food preparation, raising concerns for Muslims who adhere to strict dietary restrictions.

It is evident that the staff at this cooking academy lack a proper understanding of what halal means and they used the term halal in a cavalier manner without giving due respect to the dietary needs of Muslims.

Let me provide you with a detailed account of our experience. I had made a reservation with a lady named Panawan over the phone for a cooking class on 29 August 2023. I specifically asked her if pork was cooked in their facilities. Panawan assured me that no pork was prepared in the area where the beginners' cooking class took place – the class I had intended to attend. She mentioned that pork was only used in the intermediate and advanced classes, which were both held in a separate area. Additionally, she confidently asserted that the chicken used in their recipes was halal. Furthermore, she informed me that numerous Muslim learners had previously taken the same beginners' class. It was because of this confident assurance that I made the decision to enroll in this cooking academy

However, much to our dismay, during the class, the female chef revealed that one of the ingredients in my pineapple rice recipe was, in fact, pork! Please see the attached photo. Naturally, I questioned the chef about this discrepancy, and to my shock, she explained that the use of pork in recipes depended on the particular dish being prepared. This directly contradicted the assurances given to me by Panawan. My husband and I decided not to disrupt the class, albeit simmering with anger. The chef substituted the pork in my pineapple rice recipe with the ingredients used for pad thai instead.

When it came time to enjoy the meal we had prepared, I requested to speak with Panawan to address the issue. However, the chef told me to use my own phone to contact her, which struck me as highly inappropriate and unprofessional. Ideally, the cooking school should have taken responsibility for resolving the situation using their own company's communication device.

During my subsequent conversation with Panawan, she continued to deny that pork was used on the premises and claimed that there was a misunderstanding. She even requested to speak with the chef on my phone, a request that I declined, as such matters should have been handled using the cooking school's official phone lines.

What ensued next was a long conversation between Panawan and the chef in a possibly heated argument. Fed up with waiting for their long arguments to end, my husband and I made the decision to leave the cooking school, in a state of anger and disappointment. Naturally, we chose not to consume the food we had prepared.

In conclusion, I feel it is my duty to warn fellow Muslims who have an interest in learning Thai cuisine that the Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy is not a suitable place for us. The claims made by Panawan regarding the absence of pork were a deliberate deception and not a mere misunderstanding. The chef involved was well-aware of the utilization of pork in their recipes. This cooking school has demonstrated a blatant disregard for the dietary requirements of Muslims, prioritizing profit over honesty. Consequently, I strongly advise against placing any trust in their claims about following...

Assembling ingredients is fun, but does not make for a cooking class. Yes, cooking classes are a very popular tourist activity in Thailand and almost always attract rave reviews. If you like to cook, you must certainly do one or two. I think I am a serial offender! My course today with Bangkok Academy was maybe my 5th course in Thailand over several years. I feel I have the experience to judge the great courses and this course has some good and some bad points. The facilities at this cooking school are first-rate and the staff are friendly and helpful. The structure of this course is like nearly every course I have done in Thailand. Starting out with a market visit to look at fresh Thai ingredients, then cooking 3 to 4 dishes - in this case, an entire, a curry, a stir fry and basic desert. The courses end with eating your food and then you receive online access to the recipes you made. The staff are so efficient here, but maybe too much so. The bulk of the food preparation is done for you already and the ingredients laid out on trays. The only thing you need to do is just slice some vegetables and stir-fry. This makes everything so simple and would probably be great for kids, but it also means that you are blindly following instructions without learning to think like a real Thai chef. The teacher was friendly, but lacks the experience and insight of a true culinary teacher. In my opinion, there was not enough theory, cooking techniques and knowledge supplied in this course. The teacher did not help any of the students with their knife technique and several needed it. The class was managed well with multiple dishes being cooked at once. However, it's not enough just to follow instructions, if we are to learn to cook Thai at home, we also need to understand the process and to be involved in it, understand the sequence and why things are done a certain way. This whole course felt very rushed to me. It needed to be at least an hour or maybe two longer. However, this is the tourist industry! If they did that and took extra special care, they could not squeeze two courses into one day and push people out...