Are you traveling in Northern Thailand and want to do a classic Thai cooking class but vegan style? After loads of research and my own personal experience, I discovered the best vegan cookery school in Chiang Mai — the vegan restaurant Taste from Heaven! Keep reading to find out why Taste from Heaven offers the BEST vegan cooking class in Chiang Mai.
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A top destination for Southeast Asia backpackers, Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand is a cultural hub, foodie heaven, a beautiful blend of captivating history and modern touches, and a top spot to learn the art of cooking up mouthwatering Thai food.
In addition to exploring the gorgeous temples and wandering nearby waterfalls, many travelers seek to taste the local delicacies by taking a Thai cooking class!
That’s exactly what Dan and I did when we were backpacking through Southeast Asia!
And it. was. awesome.
Psst, this city is an excellent base for exploring the north of Thailand! To help figure out your itinerary and whatnot, click here to find out how many days stay in Chiang Mai (and why it’s even worth visiting!).
Instead of going for the regular Thai cooking class, we opted for a vegan cooking class with Taste from Heaven, which is a fully plant-based restaurant in Chiang Mai.
Throughout Chiang Mai, there aren’t many 100% vegan cooking classes. You can easily find vegetarian cooking classes but they often include fish sauce, anchovy paste, and egg.
Taste from Heaven is one of the few Thai cookery schools that offer an exclusive vegan cooking class — and after taking it myself, I can wholeheartedly say this is hands down the BEST one in Chiang Mai!
So, if you’re interested in doing a veg Thai cooking course, keep reading to find out why you should take the Taste from Heaven one!
Not sure how to travel Thailand? Find the BEST 10-day Northern Thailand Backpacking Itinerary HERE!
DISCOVERING THE BEST VEGAN COOKING CLASS IN CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
Taste from Heaven Cooking School
First things first: what exactly do you get when opting for the Taste from Heaven vegan cooking course?
When searching for a cooking course in Chiang Mai, this was one of the top questions that came to mind. As budget travelers, Dan and I wanted to get the most for our money.
There were a few aspects we looked over:
✓ Private vs. group
✓ How many dishes one gets to cook
✓ Fixed vs. custom cooking menu
✓ And price
Taste from Heaven ticked all of our boxes and more with regards to how much awesomeness we got with our money!
Not only is the Taste from Heaven vegan cooking class totally private, meaning it was just Dan and I with our knowledgeable chef, we also got to choose each dish (Dan LOVED this, as he was itching to learn how to make mango sticky rice!) and cooked 5 meals in total — which resulted in SO much delicious Thai food!
Even cooler?
We received a handy dandy little recipe book with each of the 5 vegan Thai meals we cooked so we could bring a taste of Thailand home with us. It was so good!
Cooking the Vegan Thai Food
So what dishes did Dan and I create?
With the option to choose 5 different Thai dishes, we both picked out 2 each and then 1 collective dish!
Dan picked out Khao Soi and Papaya Salad; I picked the Vegan Duck Red Curry and Tom Yum Soup; together we chose the delicious dessert Mango Sticky Rice.
Before we got started cooking the vegan Thai food, our knowledgeable chef went through all the produce, jars, and sauces to get us up to speed on what each was and how it played a part in each specific dish.
I was enthralled with how many ingredients each dish contained, yet how simple it was to create!
From tamarind and massaman curry paste to coconut milk and palm sugar, we had the opportunity to see all the traditional Thai ingredients up close and personal to get a better idea of how each plays a part in flavoring a dish.
Once we were friendly with each ingredient, we fired up the stove and started cooking up a storm!
(And yes, we literally fired up the stove — it was SO hot! They really do cook on high here and if you can’t handle the heat, get outta the kitchen!)
With the help of our awesome chef, we fried up curry paste, seared the coconut milk, chopped the veggies, and even flash fried teeny tiny rice noodles, which enables it to bloom (it’s the weirdest thing!), to top the Khao Soi curry with!
By the end of our vegan cooking journey, we had a plethora of plant-based Thai dishes that looked absolutely, mind-blowingly delicious!
And by the time Dan and I were done eating our way through each dish, we could barely walk back to the hostel, as we both were completely stuffed and showing off an uncomfortable (but happy) food baby!
Safe to say, this Chiang Mai vegan cooking class is totally worth it.
A Taste of Thailand in Photos
Here’s a collection of photos showcasing our Taste of Heaven vegan cooking class in Chiang Mai!
What’s Included?
So, what’s included in this awesome Chiang Mai veg cooking class?
Well, for the price of ฿1,200 Baht (around $40) per person, you get a whole lot!
Though this one is a bit more expensive than other cooking classes in Chiang Mai, I wholeheartedly believe you get your money’s worth when opting for the Taste of Heaven cooking class.
What You Get with the Taste of Heaven Vegan Cooking Class:
- Private Chef — This cooking class is completely private. You get a super awesome, knowledgeable Thai chef all to yourself!
- 5 Custom Dishes — Between the two of us, Dan and I got to choose 5 different dishes. (This is also the case if you’re just one person!)
- Awesome Setting — The cooking class is held in the top floor of their restaurant, Vegan Heaven. It’s a super spacious room with a full kitchen and a beautiful view of Chiang Mai!
- Take-Home Recipe Book — Hands down, this was one of my favorite aspects of the class! When you’re done with the cooking class, you get to take home a little recipe book filled with directions on how to cook the custom dishes you chose! So cute.
- Unbelievable Value — For $40, you can a private class, custom recipe book, and an incredible opportunity to learn from a real-life chef on how to cook traditional Thai food… now tell me, wouldn’t you say that’s more than $40 worth of experience?!
Vegan Cooking Class Experience
Okay, okay, I’m not going to lie to you… I took a lot of photos during this awesome vegan cooking class! But hey, it was absolutely fantastic, so how could I not?
Anywho, I just wanted to show off a bit more so you can get a better idea of how freakin’ cool this experience is.
If you’re looking for the BEST vegan cooking class in Chiang Mai, Thailand, hands down this is it. The Taste of Heaven cooking class will absolutely blow you away!
Sophie xx
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Tara Wilkie
November 27, 2023 7:26 pmThank you for the great write up about your experience at the Thai cooking school that was vegan… I’m just wondering how did you book? I don’t see them on the Internet. I’m just wondered how would I go about setting up something like this?
Thank you greatly, Tara