Short answer
Our Chiang Mai cooking class costs from $30 per person for a small-group half day of about 6.5 hours. The price covers hotel pickup within about 3 km of the Old City, a market stop, a guided tour of an organic farm, all ingredients, your own cooking station, an English-speaking instructor, a recipe e-book, a welcome snack, drinking water and seasonal fruit. You cook five dishes and eat them. Dessert is not part of the half day. Guests aged 9 and over cook; children aged 4 to 8 come as visitors.
The class costs from $30 per person
Our Chiang Mai cooking class costs from $30 per person. It is a small-group half day of about 6.5 hours at an organic farm near San Kamphaeng, about 45 minutes by road from the Old City. The group collects you from your hotel, stops at a local market on the way, walks through the farm's herb garden and then cooks at individual stations with an English-speaking instructor. You eat what you cook, or take it away.
Booking is on WhatsApp. Send us the date, your hotel, the number of guests and whether you want the morning or the evening class. We confirm availability, the pickup time and the total before you pay, and how and when to pay is agreed with your booking. The price is per person, and child and visitor prices are quoted when you ask.
What does the price include?
The price includes hotel pickup and drop-off within about 3 km of the Old City, a visit to a local market, a guided tour of the organic farm with herb tasting, all ingredients and an individual cooking station, an English-speaking cooking instructor, and a recipe book for all the dishes as an e-book. It also includes a welcome snack, drinking water and seasonal fruit. That is the full list we hold, and the ingredients and equipment for the class are provided.
Two inclusions are worth a second look. The recipe e-book covers all the dishes, so you can cook them again at home. And you may take away what you have cooked instead of eating all of it at the school. Our tour information lists no other charge for the class itself, and we still confirm the total on WhatsApp before you pay, so you see one figure before anything is paid.
What does the price leave out?
Dessert is the main gap. It is not part of the half-day class; the school's full-day course adds a salad, a dessert and a herbal drink, so ask us if you prefer the full day. Hotel pickup covers hotels within about 3 km of the Old City, and if yours is further out, ask us first. A friend who does not want to cook can come as a visitor but cannot join the cooking. Visitors and young children have their own prices, which we quote on request.
That is all our tour information lists as left out. It does not mention a tip, a drinks charge or a separate lunch, and we do not guess. If something matters to you, ask before paying: the answer comes in the same WhatsApp chat as the date and the total. This is also the place to say that you have allergies or follow a vegetarian or vegan diet; our vegetarian cooking class guide explains what to ask.
What do you cook for $30?
You cook five dishes, and there is no fixed menu, so decide before you arrive. You make a curry paste and a curry of your choice (green, red, panaeng or massaman), a stir-fry (pad Thai, fried rice, cashew chicken or holy basil chicken), a soup (tom yum or tom kha) and deep-fried spring rolls. You decide dish by dish whether it is spicy or mild, so the class works for children and for guests who do not like chilli.
Wikipedia gives some background for the choices. Its article on massaman describes potatoes, onions, peanuts and curry paste cooked in coconut milk, and its article on panaeng describes a thick, creamy, mildly sweet curry. Green curry, it says, tends to be more pungent than the milder red curries. Tom kha is the coconut soup, milder and sweeter than tom yam, which comes clear or creamy.
Morning or evening class: which should you pick?
There are two sessions. In the morning class, pickup is at about 8:00 to 8:30 am and you are back at your hotel at about 2:30 pm. In the evening class, pickup is at about 3:00 to 3:30 pm and you are back at about 9:30 pm. The class itself runs about five hours. Tell us which session you want when you write, and we confirm the exact pickup time for your hotel the day before.
Choose by what else you want from the day. The morning class leaves your afternoon free, and the evening class leaves your morning free. Season matters a little. Our tour information says November to February is the coolest and driest time for the walk through the farm, March to May is hot and often hazy with April the hottest month, and the rainy season runs from about mid-May to mid-October. Wikipedia adds that air pollution in Chiang Mai occurs mainly between December and April.
Who can cook, and what about children?
Guests aged 9 and over cook at their own station. Children aged 4 to 8 come as visitors and do not cook, and you can ask us about prices for them and about children under 4. A friend who does not want to cook can come as a visitor too: they ride with the group and see the market and the farm but cannot take part in the cooking. Ask us for the visitor price.
Think about the length of the day before you bring a young child. The class runs about 6.5 hours door to door, with an early start and a drive of about 45 minutes each way. A child under 9 cannot cook at a station, and the tour information is firm on that. We would rather say so before you pay than at the farm.
Is it worth booking, and who should not?
Book it if you want hands-on cooking, a slower day and the recipes afterwards. The farm is in the countryside and the day starts early, so it does not suit anyone who wants to be back in town by noon. Ask us before booking if your hotel is further than about 3 km from the Old City, or if you want a dessert course, because neither is covered by the half-day price.
If you would rather spend the day outdoors, the elephant sanctuary and Doi Inthanon tour is the long mountain day, and our Chiang Rai day trip price guide covers the long culture day. For the reasons to choose this class, see our why-book article, and for the times, the tour schedule.
Practical checklist
- Tell us your hotel when you book: pickup covers hotels within about 3 km of the Old City.
- Choose the morning class (pickup about 8:00-8:30 am) or the evening class (about 3:00-3:30 pm).
- Decide what to cook: one curry, one stir-fry, one soup and spring rolls.
- Tell us about food allergies and any vegetarian or vegan wishes when you book.
- Bring mosquito repellent, sunscreen, comfortable clothes and shoes.
- Ask us about child, visitor and full-day prices if you need them.
Questions and answers
How much is the Chiang Mai cooking class?
From $30 per person for a small-group half day of about 6.5 hours. It includes hotel pickup within about 3 km of the Old City, a market stop, a farm tour, all ingredients, an instructor and a recipe e-book. We confirm the total on WhatsApp before you pay.
Is dessert included in the class?
No. Dessert is not part of the half-day class. The school's full-day course adds a salad, a dessert and a herbal drink, so ask us if you would like the full day.
Is hotel pickup included?
Yes, pickup and drop-off are included for hotels within about 3 km of the Old City. If your hotel is further out, ask us first, and we will tell you what is possible.
What time is the morning class, and what time is the evening class?
Morning: pickup at about 8:00 to 8:30 am, back at about 2:30 pm. Evening: pickup at about 3:00 to 3:30 pm, back at about 9:30 pm. We confirm the exact time for your hotel the day before.
Can children join the class?
Guests aged 9 and over cook at their own station. Children aged 4 to 8 come as visitors and do not cook. Ask us about prices, and about children under 4.
Can you take the food you cook away with you?
Yes. You can eat what you cooked at the school or take it away. The recipes for all the dishes come in the recipe e-book.