Following the great success of The Oriental Thai Cooking School at sister property Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai offers its own Oriental Culinary Academy located on the upper storey of a delightful wooden pavilion behind Le Grand Lanna restaurant.

The classroom-style kitchen is fitted with modern equipment like individual cooking stations, extractor hoods, sinks and preparation areas for up to 20 ‘culinary students’.

The school runs classes daily except Sunday. Guests can review, prepare and cook both central and northern Thai dishes, learning the preparation and execution of a complete meal.  An early morning market tour is an enjoyable option which can be added to the class.

Guests are taken on a journey of culinary exploration and discovery, in which they learn the secrets of Lanna herbs and spices, the subtle balance of flavours in Thai cuisine and get to create their own Thai dishes such as northern-style spicy pork salad, spicy herb chicken soup or the delicious Chiang Mai favourite khao sawy - crispy soft noodles combined in a mild, creamy yellow curry. The menus change every two to three months as the seasons bring new products to the markets.

Popular desserts including fragrant coconut custard or sweet taro in coconut milk are also part of the school’s culinary syllabus. Guests can also take a lesson in fruit and vegetable carving in the afternoon.

At the end of a class, guests get to dine on the meal they’ve just cooked and appreciate their newly learned culinary skills. Guests are also presented with an apron, Oriental Culinary Academy certificate (perfect for hanging on the kitchen wall back home) and easy-to-follow menu print-outs of the dishes cooked… great mementos from a great experience.