Thai Cooking Classes in Bangkok & Chiang Mai: How to Choose

A Thai cooking class is one of the easiest ways to eat well and bring something home from Thailand, and both Bangkok and Chiang Mai have schools that cover the whole routine: a market or garden visit, a cooking station of your own and a meal at the end. The short answer: pick a half-day class of roughly 4 to 6 hours, check that it includes a market or farm visit, ask how many dishes you cook and whether transport is included, and compare the school's own page before using a reseller. We list a price only where the school's own page states one, and we show the date we checked: 2026-10-16.

Many pages say they have "the best class" without showing the format, so below we compare real, sourced examples. We have not taken any of these classes ourselves.

How to choose a class

1. Format. Half-day (about 4 to 6 hours) is enough for most visitors. Full-day classes add more dishes or a farm.
2. Market tour or farm. A market stop teaches ingredients; a farm visit shows herbs and vegetables growing. Both are useful, but check whether the stop is included or optional.
3. Group size. Individual cooking stations matter more than a headline number. A school that publishes a maximum (Baipai: 12 per workshop) is easier to judge.
4. Dishes. Thai Farm lists five dishes, one from each category: curry paste, curry, soup, noodle dish and dessert. Ask other schools for the menu.
5. Transport. Thai Farm says an air-conditioned minivan is included in its pickup zone. Baipai's own page does not describe pickup, so confirm.
6. Dietary needs and children. Baipai describes a family class for ages 7 and up; ask any school about vegetarian or allergy changes before you pay.
7. Price and what it includes. A baht price on the school's own page beats a reseller figure in dollars.

Chiang Mai: two schools with official figures

Asia Scenic is at 31 Rachadumneon Soi 5, Chiang Mai 50200, phone +66 53 418 657; its pages list a market tour and carving courses but do not state class length, start times or group size, and bookings go through a FareHarbor form. Thai Farm describes its half-day morning class this way: pickup between 08:00 and 08:30, return between 14:00 and 14:30 (about 6 hours), a market stop on the way, a tour of the organic farm where you pick ingredients, five dishes at individual stations, English instruction, and the following included: all ingredients, an e-recipe book, lemongrass tea and water. The school says it is about 17 km from the city. Other formats (half-day evening, full day, a seasonal rice-planting day) are on its programme page, and we did not check their prices.

Both schools quote prices in baht on their own pages. They can change with season and promotions, so treat our figures as the reading on 2026-10-16.

Bangkok: the schools we could verify

Baipai Thai Cooking School (8/91 Ngam Wongwan Road Soi 54, Ladyao, Chatuchak) says it runs two sessions daily, 09:30 to 13:30 and 13:30 to 17:30, each with a herb-garden or market tour, individual cooking stations and English teaching, with up to 12 people per workshop and a family class for ages 7 and up. The fee covers recipe booklets and fresh ingredients, but the pages we read did not list a baht price: its courses page still showed placeholder text on the day we checked. Contact: [email protected] or +66 89 660 6535. Guest reviews mention hotel pickup, but the school's own page does not, so confirm it.

Silom Thai Cooking School and Blue Elephant are well known, but we could not open an official page for either. Third-party listings give: Silom, a 3-hour class with an optional morning market tour, sessions at 08:45, 13:45 and 17:45 (Trazy listing); Blue Elephant, a half-day class of about 4.5 hours starting at 08:45 or 13:00 (reseller listings). We do not quote prices from those listings because they are in different currencies and change by seller. Ask the school directly.

Market tours: what to expect

A market tour usually means walking through a local fresh market with the teacher to identify herbs, vegetables, curry pastes and coconut milk before cooking. Baipai's pages mention Or Tor Kor market in guest reviews; Asia Scenic lists a walk through a local market. A market stop may not run on every session or day, so ask. For other food trips see the Bangkok street food guide and the Chatuchak market guide.

What you cook

Most classes teach a curry paste pounded in a mortar, a coconut-milk curry, a soup, a stir-fry or noodle dish and a dessert. The stone mortar and pestle in the photo is the tool that makes a paste taste different from a blender.

Costs

See Thailand budget per day for wider costs.

Plan it into your trip

In Chiang Mai, a morning class fits before an afternoon at the old city temples or a 3-day plan; an evening class suits a night you skip the Sunday Walking Street. In Bangkok, use the 3-day plan. For rain and heat, see best time to visit Bangkok. Stay options: Bangkok and Chiang Mai. For data on the way, see Thailand eSIM vs SIM.

About the booking link on this page

We have no registered affiliate link for a cooking class. The button in the booking box is a plain Klook search for Bangkok cooking classes, so it earns us nothing unless a registered link exists, and Klook prices may differ from the school's own. Booking directly with the school is a fine option.

FAQ

Prices, schedules and entry rules change. Figures here are approximate as of 2026; always confirm on the official or operator page before you book. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.