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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.

Discovering the BEST Vegan Cooking Class in Chiang Mai, Thailand • The Wanderful Me

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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!).

Vegan duck curry, tom yum soup, and papaya salad from the Taste of Heaven vegan cooking class in Chiang Mai.

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.

Vegan Khao Soi curry with tofu.

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!

Vegan papaya salad with vegan duck curry in the background.

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!

The Taste of Heaven recipe book we got to take home with some tom yum soup on the side.


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.

An array of Thai ingredients laid out just waiting to cook up a storm!

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.

An ingredient for the Thai cooking class.

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!)

Sophie holding a giant young papaya, an essential ingredient for vegan papaya salad!
Cooking up curry in a big kettle over a roaring gas stove.

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!

Cutting up some cilantro and topping the vegan Khao Soi with it.
Khao Soi curry topped with the flash fried rice noodles!

By the end of our vegan cooking journey, we had a plethora of plant-based Thai dishes that looked absolutely, mind-blowingly delicious!

A spread of vegan yumminess; mango sticky rice, papaya salad, khao soi, tom yum soup, and vegan duck curry.

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!

Vegan duck and other ingredients for vegan duck curry!
That brown slab is the vegan duck for the vegan duck red curry!
A basket of fresh vegetables and fruit.
Traditional Thai dishes contain lots and lots of fresh produce! Yum.
A fresh ingredient for the Thai cooking class.
Fresh lime leaves.
Cooking Thai curry over a gas stove.
Fresh curry pastes and some tamarind paste.
From left to right: massaman curry paste, tom yum curry paste, and tamarind paste.
Thai Papaya salad.
Fresh papaya salad – my favorite!

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?!
Steaming vegan Tom Yum soup!

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.

Tom Yum soup with papaya salad and vegan duck curry in the background.
Sophie holding a delicious bowl of Tom Yum Soup.
A pile of young papaya shredded, getting ready to make papaya salad!
Dan crushing papaya in a pestle and mortar.
Dan cooking up some mouthwatering Thai curry over the fiery stove.
Vegan mango sticky rice sitting on a pristine white plate.
Dan getting ready to cook some curry with fresh curry paste in his hands.
Taste of Heaven recipe book you can take home once done with their vegan cooking class in Chiang Mai next to some fresh papaya salad, vegan duck curry, and vegan Tom Yum soup.

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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Learn how to cook traditional Thai food vegan style! From vegan Khao Soi and duck curry to vegan mango sticky rice and papaya salad, you can take up a vegan cooking class in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and learn from the experts! | #chiangmai #thailand #cookingclass #vegan
Want to take a vegan cooking class in Chiang Mai, Thailand but aren't sure which one to pick? Taste from Heaven is HANDS DOWN the best one to choose! From vegan duck curry to vegan mango sticky rice, you can learn to cook vegan Thai food from the experts. Check it out. | #thailand #cookingclass #chiangmai #vegan

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