What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Highly recommended Mae Kampong experience - great food, great guides, beautiful walk

  Shaun L,,Dec 12, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  I really enjoyed this experience and would happily recommend it. Everything was well organised, and communication beforehand was good. They even asked in advance what kinds of food I’d like to cook, as well as anything I couldn’t eat. When we first started the hike, I was given a sticky rice treat cooked in bamboo, which you peel open and eat from the inside. It was lovely, and a nice way to start the walk. The hike through Mae Kampong village and into the forest was excellent. Nee was a fantastic guide and seemed to know everything about the plants, herbs and flowers we passed. It was genuinely eye-opening to see how much of the local environment is used and how useful it all is. The walk itself was beautiful, including up to the waterfall, and nothing felt rushed. The pace was relaxed, and Nee also pointed out local wildlife, such as birds and spiders, along the way. The cooking part was just as good. Su and Pook (a local guide) were involved with guiding the cooking, and the whole experience felt very different from other cooking classes I’ve done in Thailand. Usually, you’re choosing from the usual dishes like red or green curry, massaman, pad krapow, tom yum, etc. What made this special was that everything we cooked was different and felt genuinely local, not the standard set of dishes you see everywhere. We made a local steamed omelette dish, which was great, and a tomato-and-chicken dish I’d never had before, which was amazing and served with sticky rice. We also had a lovely blue-and-purple drink. Later on, we made khao soi. I’d suggested it beforehand because I’ve tried making it at home and had pieced together a version based on YouTube recipes. Going through it properly, step by step, I realised there were quite a few things done very differently and much more traditionally. By the end, I felt really confident that I’d be able to make it properly at home. We finished with a fabulous dessert made from rice flour. Overall, the experience was friendly, relaxed and really well run. It wasn’t rigid or formulaic at all — we had time to talk about ingredients, ask questions and actually learn. I came away having taken a lot more from this than I usually do from cooking classes. If you’re looking for something that feels local, unhurried and genuinely educational, this is a great thing to do.

• Great authentic and local cooking experience. 100% recommend!

  C5616REjuliev,,Nov 5, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  100% worth it! We had such a great experience on this trip. They picked us up on time and it was a pleasant trip to the village. We foraged with the help of a local lady and local guide Mr Smile. I’m not a chef, but my love for cooking made me a bit sceptical about all the common cooking classes I saw in Chiang Mai. This one did not disappoint at all. We plucked all these herbs I had never seen or heard from before and we enjoyed the great views over the village. When we arrived back at the workshop location, we were joined by Nee who had prepared everything for us to cook with. We made five different dishes in total and they change the menu each time based on what they find at the markets. We made authentic northern dishes and we were also able to adjust the spice levels to our liking. Everyone was so friendly, knowledgeable and also funny. :D