Adventures in Thai Cooking & Travel
Weeklong Beginning Thai Cooking Intensive

Weeklong Beginning Thai Cooking Intensive
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2008  | 2009

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Spend a week learning to cook delicious Thai food from a master Thai chef in Oakland, California, across from San Francisco. It is a perfect chance to enjoy San Francisco and the Bay Area in-between classes.

Note: Authentic Thai food is by nature spicy and this class will teach you to cook authentic Thai as it is found Thailand, which may be different from Westernized Thai food served in many American Thai restaurants. You should be able to tolerate a spiciness/heat level of at least 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, otherwise there will be many dishes you will not be able to eat.

Schedule for 2008.

Kasma has two beginning weeklong classes in 2008:

• July 7 – 11, 2008 – Waiting list only.
• August 4 – 8, 2008 – Waiting list only.

Schedule for 2009.

Kasma has two beginning weeklong classes in 2009:

• July 6 – 10, 2009
• August 3 – 7, 2009

Location and size: Held in a private kitchen in Oakland with a limit of 13. (Oakland is across the bay from San Francisco.)

Cost: $600 for the five full days; this includes

Class hours: From 8:30 a. m. to 4:00/5:00 p. m. Monday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00/5:00 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, and from 8:00 a. m. to 5:00/6:00 p. m. on Friday.

It is difficult to give an exact ending time for the classes as it depends on the make-up of the group and on how many questions are asked. It is best to just plan to be here until the end of the day.

Registration: See below for registration.

Note: Authentic Thai food is by nature spicy and this class will teach you to cook authentic Thai as it is found in Thailand, which may be different from Westernized Thai food served in many American Thai restaurants. You should be able to tolerate a spiciness/heat level of at least 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, otherwise there will be many dishes you will not be able to eat.

Special Dietary Needs: In these Thai cooking classes, Kasma is unable to accommodate special dietary needs. Her classes present ways to make authentic Thai food, which includes all manner of dishes with all manner of ingredients, including shrimp, chicken, catfish, pork, beef and squid, to name a few. Fish sauce is used is nearly all the dishes. When teaching the classes, making substitutions or omissions is unfair to the majority of the students.

Options:  Description is just below   |  Intensive menu   |  Testimonials  |  Registration   |  Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format – 2008 or 2009  |  Advanced Weeklong Intensive   |  About Kasma   |  Contact Kasma   |  Return to top  

If you want to receive notice of the classes, whenever they are announced, there are two options:

• Join the Yahoo group "Kasma's Classes" by signing up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kasmas_classes/. You will receive notification of both series and weeklong classes until you unsubscribe from the list. You can also join by sending an email to kasmas_classes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com . You must register with Yahoo in order to join this list.

• For a one-time only email notification of the next available schedule, email Kasma..

Kasma believes strongly in the value of traditional and traditionally raised (organic) whole foods. Whenever possible, the produce used in our classes is organic – unfortunately, many Asian herbs and vegetables are not available as organically-raised produce.

With rare exceptions – for a few cuts of meat that are used in dishes in advanced classes, we need to use cuts unavailable in western markets – our pork is either organic from Canada or raised naturally by Niman Ranch. When possible we purchase grass-fed beef and when unavailable we purchase beef from either Harris Ranch (raised without antibiotics or growth hormones) or Niman Ranch. Kasma mostly uses the organic Rosie hens for her chickens although sometime certain cuts will be Happy Dans (no antibiotics or hormones).

Kasma is a strong supporter of The Weston A. Price Foundation. We recommend a thorough perusal of the great information on their website as an antidote to the incredibly inaccurate information about food and health that we are normally given. You can read a summary of Price's Dietary Wisdom on our site.

Description  

Thai cooking is a creative and fun process of blending the five primary flavors that the human tongue is able to discern. By skillfully balancing the salty, sour, sweet, pungent and bitter flavors and the varied sources from which they are derived, an almost infinite array of exquisite dishes can be created to satisfy every craving – from simple hot sauces and salads to complex curries and intriguing appetizers. Flavor ingredients do not work in isolation, but interact with other flavor ingredients, sometimes in unexpected ways, to bring forth both the delicate and rich tastes of herbs, spices and foods with which they are blended and cooked.

In this Thai cooking intensive, Kasma will carry participants through the basics of how to balance, harmonize and play with these five flavors to bring about the results desired. Participants will actively engage in tasting, getting to know the different primary flavors and their sources, and learning how they interact with one another to affect the way you experience food. By tasting dishes in different stages of preparation, you will get a sense of how individual ingredients can be conducted in creative ways to sing beautiful harmonies together.

Although written recipes will be given at every session, Kasma encourages students not to become dependent on them, but rather, to rely on your senses to help you create the flavor harmonies most optimum for your palate.

Classes are hands-on. The group will break into teams to do preparation on the dishes. You'll come together as a group to do the final cooking under Kasma's supervision. Kasma does the cooking on some of the more difficult dishes and also most of the cooking on the first day.

Options:  Date and Costs   |  Intensive menus   |  Testimonials  |  Registration is just below   |  Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format – 2008 or 2009  |  Advanced Weeklong Intensive   |  About Kasma   |  Contact Kasma  |  Return to top  

To reserve your spot for the Thai cooking intensive in July or August 2008 or 2009, first Contact Kasma by email or phone to make sure there are spaces available.

We do ask for a $150 deposit to hold a spot. That deposit applies to the specific class that you sign up for only. Do not mail a deposit until it is confirmed that there is still a space for you. If you subsequently must cancel, we will refund $100 (there's a $50 processing fee) provided that you notify us by the date final payment is due, 6 weeks before the first class (see below). Deposits are not transferable.

Paying the deposit is the only way to ensure that there will be a spot for you in the intensive. We do not always have time to follow up when someone does not send in the deposit – and there have been occasions in the past where our follow-up email was not received or not received in time and someone lost a place. We generally allow two weeks for you to send the deposit and if we do not receive it may mistakingly assume you have changed your mind and will not be attending – so it is best to get in touch with us if you have not received our acknowledgment within two weeks from the date of acceptance. If you are unable or unwilling to make a deposit at this time, you can always check back in later and see if spaces are still available.

The balance of $450 is due 6 weeks before the intensive start date:

• May 26, 2008 (July 7 through 11 class)
• June 23, 2008 (August 4 through 6 class)
• May 25, 2009 (July 6 through 10 class)
• June 22, 2008 (August 3 through 7 class)

Refund policy: If you wish to withdraw from an intensive or transfer to a different class, a refund of $100 (class deposit less a $50 handling fee) will be made if you notify us before the final payment date (see above). (If you have made full payment before then we will return all moneys paid less the $50 processing fee.) After that time, no money is refundable. If an emergency should arise following the given date for your intensive and you are not able to attend, you may have a friend come in your place.

Communication Note: It is your responsibility to make sure that we have a current email address and phone number for you. We do send class information and reminders about the final payment – if we are unable to reach you and you miss a deadline you may end up losing your place in the class.

Options:  Date and Costs   |  Description   |  Intensive menus   |  Testimonials  |  Registration   | Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format – 2008 or 2009  |  Advanced Weeklong Intensive  |  About Kasma   |  Contact Kasma  |  Return to top  

About this site
Photograph #1 Copyright © 2005 Jim Block; all rights reserved. Visit www.jimblock.com
Drawings Copyright © 1995 Margaret DeJong. All rights reserved.
Photograph Copyright © Bob Sogge. All rights reserved.
All material on this website is Copyright © 1995 to 2008 Kasma Loha-unchit. All rights reserved.
For comments, feedback or questions, contact Kasma.
Last Updated 24 June 2008.