Full Day Course Thai Cooking Class - Smile Organic Farm Cooking School

The full-day course at Smile Organic Farm is the one to pick if you want to cook through the whole Thai menu rather than a sampler. Over a day at the farm you cook eight categories of dish: a curry paste from scratch, the curry to go with it, a stir-fry, a soup, a salad, spring rolls, a dessert and a Thai herbal drink, which is only made on the full-day course. There is no fixed menu; in every category you choose the dish you want to learn.

You are collected from your accommodation between 8:00 and 8:30. The farm sits about 45 minutes from the Old City near the San Kamphaeng hot springs, and on the way you stop at a local market to see what Thai cooks buy every day. At the farm the instructor walks you through the organic garden, where the school grows its own vegetables, herbs and fruit, and you taste the herbs that will go into your dishes. The class runs from 9:00 to 16:00 at individual cooking stations, so you do every step yourself. You decide whether each dish is spicy or mild, and every dish on the menu can be made vegetarian or vegan. You eat what you cook as you go, with a welcome snack, drinking water and seasonal fruit provided, and take away anything left over.

Pickup and drop-off are included within 3 km of the Old City. Recipes come as an e-book afterwards, and the school posts photos of the day on its Facebook page. Wear comfortable clothes and closed shoes for the farm; bring sunscreen and repellent.