Thai Cooking School in Aonang

This three-hour class in Ao Nang is built around six Thai dishes, cooked using fresh local ingredients and herbs. Instruction runs step by step rather than rushed, and the class is capped at 10 guests, small enough that the instructor can watch each pan rather than rotate through a queue — it’s rated easy, in line with a course designed for people who’ve never held a wok before.

Because instruction runs step by step rather than at a rushed pace, expect real technique coaching — how to control wok heat, how to balance sweet, sour, salty and spicy — rather than being handed a finished dish to plate. That’s also why the group stays capped at 10: enough people to make the class feel social, few enough that nobody’s pan gets forgotten on the stove.

Recipes and instructions are provided in English, in writing, so you leave with something to reference at home rather than trying to remember six methods from memory alone. The class itself is taught in English only, with no other language listed, which is worth knowing if that’s not your first language.

Both a lunch and a dinner sitting are built into the price, so you eat what you cook twice over rather than sampling a single dish and moving on. Bottled water is provided throughout. At 5.0 from 56 reviews, it carries a full cancellation window too — a full refund if plans change up to 24 hours before the class starts.

Watch out: Classes run in English only — worth knowing before you book if that’s not your first language, since no translation option is listed.