The noble Thai folk quickly sprang to recover their good name after our dismal driving experience around Chiang Rai. The following day we attended a Thai cookery class, with the Chiang Mai Organic Farm Cooking School. Several outfits run cooking classes in the city, buying ingredients in one of the local markets, but this one was recommended to us – by the same lady who sold us the previous day’s experience – for its out of town, farm location.

Our 09:30 pickup was prompt, and after picking up some more aspiring chefs, our group of ten was bussed to a local market for a brief introduction to Thai vegetables and herbs while one of our teachers bought some of the ingredients not grown on the farm. We got to wander around for a few minutes, marvelling at the smells and gagging at the sight of fried insects and grubs on sale, before taking the half-hour drive out to our farm school. More instruction and show-and-tell followed in our kitchen; an outdoor covered pavilion with individual cooking stations and gas burners, as the place lacks electricity.

For our menu, we prepared either a red or green curry paste from scratch, a Tom Yam soup, and a stir-fry dish, with chicken, shrimp or tofu, depending on the inclination of the student. Any one of those dishes would make a satisfying lunch, but we got to eat all of our creations, accompanied by a combination of steamed and sticky rice. After that, a nap in the shade would have been very pleasant, but we were taken around the farm area to look at, prod and taste the various fruits, vegetables and herbs being grown, to reinforce what we’d learned at the stove.

Still no siesta, as we were put back to work, each preparing four vegetarian spring rolls, which we were allowed to pack home with some dipping sauce for tea, and a dessert of bananas in coconut milk. All in all, the instruction was excellent and presented in very good, easy to follow, English, with an emphasis on fun. Despite usually being exiled from the kitchen, Dawn enjoyed the experience, and produced some delicious dishes, though was less impressed with having to wash up her utensils. Gavin learned a lot, and knocked out a pretty nice red curry, but will need to practice to get better looking spring rolls, as Dawn’s handicraft techniques enabled her to produce far better results.

We were allowed a brief sit down to digest dessert, then driven back to our hotels, arriving back in town at around 4:30. At 900 baht per person (though we think it may be only 800 if booked direct), we rate this the best value for money excursion yet – we’d happily have paid 800 baht to eat all that food in a restaurant, after all! Two thumbs way up for this one, and it’s restored our faith in Thai tourism. :-)