Koh Samui Jungle Kitchen - Evening Cooking Class (max 8 guests)
Description
Jungle Kitchen cooking classes take you back to times where food was prepared and cooked using handmade tools and old-style techniques. Although just minutes from Fishermans Village, the school setting is a world away from the busy streets around the coast. Guests cook at our 8 metre long cooking station with the sounds of nature and panoramic views of Koh Phangan. The ethos of the class is to keep alive knowledge of traditional cooking methods and to use the same tools and techniques which were widely used in a Thai kitchen over 50 years and more ago. Class finishes with dinner in the gardens where the atmosphere is often like a dinner party.
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
Reviews(78)
What a great experience. Very informative and delicious food. You will feel like a MasterChef. Tom and his wife are lovely hosts and great photographers also.
I am no cook but I love Thai food and the evening spent at the Jungle Kitchen was amazing in many ways, firstly what a wonderful setting with great views, the hosts Tom and Lin amazing the pair of them so welcoming, Tom introduced us to the gardens full of ingredients, Lin and her team introduced us to the world of cooking Thai even the experienced cooks in attendance would have gone home learning something from her, personally I left feeling as if I can cook but most importantly I had a great night in great company, Thank you to every one at Jungle Kitchen.
Our evening at Tom and Lin’s home and the home of the Jungle Kitchen and organic garden was worth every penny we spent on this excursion. Tom is a wonderful host and world traveller, Lin a patient, gifted chef in her own right. Their kitchen is spectacular, the cooking course is clear, (very) organized and you really get a feel of the authentic organic nature of the place both in the creating and preparing the meal from beginning to end. The ingredients for the meal are mostly from their organic, sustainable garden and/or farm. The difference from other cooking classes is the location and the understanding of authentic Thai preparation and cooking. Cooking on open flame while looking over the jungle at the ocean is unforgettable. The rock bar, lol! So great! We highly recommend this experience, you will not regret it. You will make some fantastic meals, meet really interesting and cool people, both quantity to take home and quality and taste that will not be forgotten. Thank you Tom and Lin, we are grateful for the experience and feel privileged to have enjoyed your beautiful home and kitchen, thank you. Keep living the dream, what you’re doing is really quite something. We will remember Tom, Lin and their home for many years to come as we talk about our adventures to Thailand. Tessa and Will. 🙏🌷🌴✨
Unfortunately no German course, the operator was a German but probably was last in Germany a very long time ago. Course was held mainly in English , although the majority of participants were German. Food super delicious and way too much took it with them. Promised recipes have unfortunately not been sent after demand.
Hi Katrin, thanks for leaving a review. We advertise that our classes are run in English. Yes, the owner speaks very good German, but is actually British. Our chef does not speak German. We offer translation support for German but not direct 1 to 1 interpreting. Apologies if that was not clear to you. Please check your WhatsApp account. We sent you the recipes last week to the WhatsApp number you left on the booking as promised. During the briefing before cooking we told you that the recipes would take up to a week. We have a different menu each day based on guests requests so making a recipe booklet for you is an individual task which takes a little time 🙏🙏🙏.
We had a fun evening touring the garden and learning Thai recipes. The food was one of the best we had in our time in Thailand. We made curry paste from scratch which was very interesting. Come hungry as there was plenty of good! Tom and Lynn were wonderful hosts. We would highly recommend if you are visiting Koh Samui!
We had mixed feelings about this experience, and I want to be honest while also fair. Unfortunately, Tom’s attitude made the experience very uncomfortable. He was arrogant, dismissive, and at times raised his voice and yelled at guests, which felt completely inappropriate in a service setting. If you’re visiting Samui with family or hoping for a relaxing vacation experience, this is not something you would expect or want, and it can really affect the mood of the day. That said, Lin was absolutely wonderful — she was kind, warm, patient, and a genuinely good cook. She clearly cares about the food and the guests, and it honestly felt bad to write this review because of her. She was the bright spot of the experience. We honestly would have preferred to pay more if it meant the experience without Tom’s involvement.
Thank you Ying for joining us and for leaving a review For those reading this, I’m Tom, host of the Jungle Kitchen. The same Tom mentioned in numerous other reviews. I may not see eye to eye with all our guests but I treat everyone invited into my house with respect. And this is my reply to Ying During our interactions in the days before class, it was clear that we had different understandings of how our classes operate. We normally communicate with guests by text messaging before class but I felt compelled to call you by phone to clear up any misunderstandings of the way class would operate. At that time I took the highly unusual step of offering you a full refund the day before class (outside of our normal cancellation policy) if you were not satisfied with the descriptions we had offered because it seemed you were expecting more than we described. So we were surprised when you arrived with your child who was clearly under the required age for cooking which is clear on our website. We still did our best to accommodate you and your child and gave your child a unique experience cooking alone with our chef. We have never done that before. During the briefing before cooking started I took care to tell everyone about the one single rule we have in class. When our chef Lin is talking, you must listen to Lin, and not talk to me. Everyone agreed it was a sensible rule. Everyone who has ever joined our class before has understood that. Pad Thai is a stir fry dish and is famously cooked quickly - and burns easily. And yes, when you asked me a question while the pad Thai was burning, and the question you asked was one which I had already answered patiently 4 times, then yes. Of course. I would agree that I was dismissive. And I needed to be. Why? For one reason You should have been listening to instructions from Lin not asking me questions. Our single rule for class. You agreed to it. It’s for safety reasons. When chef is talking you must listen to chef, not talk to me. There is a time and a place for non urgent questions and that’s outside the kitchen when food is on the stove. And I chuckle when I see you describe our class as a service setting (in your review on Google). Seriously? Our kitchen is not a ‘service’ setting. It is potentially a dangerous place with burning charcoal and boiling oil and we expect guests to listen to and follow instructions in a potentially dangerous environment. You brought a child into the kitchen who was below the age we told you we accepted bookings for. While we accommodated your child as far as we could, you took no respect for our requirements to uphold a safe environment. Sadly paying more for the experience would not mean that you can just do what you want and ignore our safety requirements. Thank you for the opportunity to respond. Please pass our regards to your daughter, husband and mother in law. Tom & Lin
I don't often post reviews, but this was truly an exceptional experience! Lin is an incredible Thai chef and we really enjoyed cooking with her in the beautiful outdoor kitchen with amazing views. The food was absolutely amazing and it made for an unforgettable evening. Her partner Tom arranged transport, showed us around the grounds/garden, took great photos/videos and entertained us throughout the evening. They were very accommodating when we needed to make a change last minute and even let us make menu requests. If you do only one cooking class while in Thailand - this is the one!
We loved our experience at the jungle cooking class! The property is gorgeous and easy to get to—Tom and his partner are so welcoming and helpful throughout the recipes so skill level doesn’t matter and the food ended up delicious. They were also super generous on transportation to and from as it can be difficult on the island. It was sweet to watch the generosity to a couple in our group who brought an infant and a toddler by keeping them occupied and offering up a sleeping pad for him to rest on. Also the pictures they captured of us are 10/10 and probably will be included in our Christmas card! Thanks for hosting us and highly recommending not thinking twice about signing up for this tour, you won’t want to miss it.
Fantastic experience. Explorer garden. Small group so intimate. Menu tailored to what the group wanted. Authentic Thai cooking style and great view over ocean.
Fantastic experience. Tom, our gracious host, took us around the beautiful property and gardens to learn about the ingredients we cooked with. The views from the outdoor kitchen were breathtaking. Highly recommend this for families and friends groups.
