faqs

We’d love to hear from you. The Krua Thai Cookery School has a prompt reply policy. We are open 7 days, 9 am-10 pm, by appointment only. (Please don’t just turn up without an appointment). For those who wish to talk to us in person, to avoid any wasted time, please make an appointment by phone or e-mail before you visit the school as we are not always free. Also when classes are in progress, we can’t always answer the phone immediately, so please leave a message, clearly. The best method is to send us an email with your telephone number and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

An arranged appointment will give us time to organise any necessary information for you to take home. However, it is not necessary to talk face to face. It is important that you leave your telephone number and/or your e-mail so that I can contact you effectively. All information is held in the strictest of confidence and will not be divulged to anyone. Please ensure that the phone number provided is attended to avoid any delays or wasted time.

Thai cookery and fruit carving classes are mostly through private tuition and private group lessons to suit clients. Our classes are presented by a fully qualified, professional Thai chef and are presented in a way to suit the total beginner or the professional chef. We offer you a true professional both fruit carving and Thai cookery here. The procedures used allow our student to master the techniques in a very short time scale while the recipes used and the blending methods are those prescribed for our top-flight professional clients. We only use quality Thai ingredients that are available in the UK

Group lessons are available for up to 12 persons but must be organised by the clients only, as each person’s needs can be different. The lesson will be based on agreement between the School and the group spokesperson.

Private lessons start from as low as £99 but can rise to £790/pp/lesson/day for specialist, professional tuition. Please contact the school for more information.  We are happy to hear from you and recommend the course that will be perfect for you.  The lesson can be structured to suit your budget.  We will find the best course for you.  Please feel free to discuss your specific needs, we are more than happy to talk through them with you.

You can enrol at any time. Training is very flexible and usually can be adapted easily to suit all requirements. Please book every well in advance (preferably 4-6 weeks).

If you wish to enrol on one of our courses urgently, please supply 4-5 suitable dates and we should be able to fit you in as we are busy all year round. We may be able to change our schedule to suit you. No need to book for recipients they will book when they are ready.

No problem; it’s our job to help you achieve success. You will be surprised what you can learn in one day. Our classes and style of tuition are carefully structured around the specific needs and abilities of our customers and it is strongly recommended that we establish competencies at the time of booking. If you have some knowledge of carving then a few photos of you work will help us to assess the most suitable course on which to progress of just brush up on your existing skills. It is up to you.

No problem. We will teach you our special techniques, gleaned from many years in the study of traditional Thai cookery. Your expertise will be useful background help but we will definitely introduce you to new and exciting procedures that can only augment your existing skill set

You will be our special guest and will be well looked after here.   It is our job to  make you feel at home and very comfortable at Krua Thai.  You won’t have time to feel shy during private tuition as there are plenty tasks to complete and so much to learn. You will find time flies very quickly.

You should if you are serious in wishing to learn Thai cooking and able to cook professionally even you are not professional.  We analyse the recipes for you to be able to use effectively.  We will supply you with professional blending techniques that you are unlikely to learn elsewhere. We have more than 100 recipes professionally for you to show off confidently to your customers/guests/families. There are many types of ingredients such as oyster sauce, fish sauce and soya sauce available, but we will advise on the best and most effective available and how to use it in the various recipes to the best advantage.   You will learn how to perfect each dish using the best brands of ingredients that available in UK.    

Learn  in Thailand is cheaper? :  Indeed, it is cheaper but for tourists and fun.  If you ask them if the recipes are highly professional, they can’t confirm you that., anyway recipes from Thailand don’t work effectively in UK unless you are good at balancing and implementation on taste.   Krua Thai recipes set up from ingredients available in UK Asian supermarkets as the strength of ingredients are not the same in Thailand ie.  shrimp paste our home in Thailand uses 4 tablespoons (there are many types of shrimp paste available in the market), but here we use 1 1/2 teaspoon per portion).  Ingredients the same brand as Thailand but different strength/level of salt/ingredients when export to UK due to EU regulations.

We specialise in intensive, private tuition supported by our friendly service policy. We have found this policy to be the most effective and productive method of learning. Each course is structured in a way to suit individual students to aid learning but in an enjoyable fashion.  The recipes we use cannot be found in cookery books or on the internet; they tend to be developed for the western market.  Our recipes are based around traditional Thai recipes and techniques and do not skimp on ingredients.  This policy brings out the colour, texture and taste of the traditional Thai methods. 

Krua Thai offers serious recipes for professionals.  We have the largest list of dishes compare to other cookery schools whch more than 100 professional recipes for you to choose.  Learn from us we show you what is the best brand for successful Thai recipes.  I should inform you that ingredients/sauces in Thailand have different strenght/saltiness.  The recipes from Thailand won’t work in UK as export Thai ingredients are different stenght even the same brand because of the EU regulations.  You won’t need to go to Thailand to learn Thai cookery; these schools are for tourists and not for the true professional chef.   I can assure you that you will master Thai cookery and, if you have studied elsewhere, we will encourage you to compare and contrast your experiences.   We teach you to make your own curry paste using authentic recipes as opposed to the use of ready-made paste, full of additives, used in most restaurants.    We sell recipes to professionals from more than 30 countries.  You will definitely learn the best recipes and take them home to enjoy with family and friends.

Indeed, cooking for yourself can be far superior to many restaurants where costs need not be compromised.   You will learn professional recipes.  Our recipes are guaranteed the same as those used for our outside catering and chef-hire service for top flight clients. We work for various clients such as the Hilton Board executives, Airbus www.airbus.com and Chef Albert Roux http://www.albertroux.co.uk. to help with their special events.   Following our training, you might surprise yourself with what you can do with the preparation, cooking and presentation of Thai dishes.  Fifty percent of our professional students are from superyachts and others from more than 30 countries around the world.   Our recipes are used by professionals and not just for home cooking where techniques are normally simplified.  The class is run 7 days a week by appointment only.    We strongly recommend that you enrol and learn how to prepare, cook and present high quality Thai cuisine any time you wish to a consistent standard.   It is well known that even in Michelin starred restaurants quality can vary as chefs move around.

There are major disadvantage from learning to cook speciality foods from books and the internet. You can’t be entirely sure that the textures, consistency and taste are exactly right. Several of our students said they used YouTube to prepare and cook some dishes, but they never really hit the mark! For this reason they decided to come to the Krua Thai Cookery School in order to be instructed directly by a professional chef and learn the secrets of traditional Thai cookery that are not available on the internet.

We can advise you on where to buy the best ingredients and how best to keep them fresh, keep them in the best condition and for how long. There are a few specialist utensils and again we can advise on these. Make sure you make a list all your questions and we will provide the answer.

Payment must be made on the booking date, by cheque or bank transfer or via PayPal via Gift voucher’s page. Please advise by phone or e-mail when you have sent the cheque/bank transfer in case of non-delivery or banker error. Our bank details can be forwarded to you.

Once all payments have been made the course can be booked for up to one year ahead. Free cancellation is accepted provided you notify us at least 11 days before the date booked. However there will be a 50% charge for cancellations made 10 days or less before the date booked. You may postpone within the 10 days prior to the lesson, free of charge, provided a new date has been arranged. If less than one week, the ingredients have been ordered and ready for your lesson. We offer flexible service, but not our terms. We set up the course specifically for you as private tuition, ordered all ingredients/allocated support staff.

HOW TO FIND US

Please visit our website www.kruathai.co.uk and click ‘location’. We are at the first bus stop at the bottom of Liberton Brae. There is ample parking spaces around the school and 1 parking space at the school itself.

Our courses are set up to suit each booking whether a single person or a group. Since each lesson is individual to that person or group we do not have set fees for each lesson. It is recommended that you have an idea of your upper budget limit and we will arrange the lesson to suit your particular needs and budget. You should set up and agree the maximum budget with your group then contact us. We will then be able to suggest the most suitable menu and programme for your group. We cater for a maximum of 12 guests but if you don’t mind a little squeeze we can cater for up to 16 guests. For larger numbers, we are very happy to cater for the group in a venue booked by the group and inspected by us to ensure its suitability. A cookery demonstration may include fruit carving as part of the show. Our fees start from as low as £65 and can rise to £180/pp/day for intensive cookery and fruit carving demonstrations.

We guarantee to pass on all necessary techniques to enable the student to master this delicate and exquisite Thai art form in a very short time

Please contact the School so that we can discuss your requirements and finalise an overall cost for the event. There are numerous ways for us to provide a service to you from just supplying the dishes pre-cooked to providing a full banquet with table decorations, including cutlery and crockery. Our rates start from £25-£120/pp. Following initial discussions we can provide you with several options for your consideration. All venues will require to be inspected by us to ensure the suitability of the facilities and what equipment is provided or will need to be supplied by us

Our service is very specialised and does not compare to outside catering provided by an agency. Please contact us for an in-depth discussion on the service we can provide. Fees vary depending on numbers catered for and the number of dishes and service provided. If our standard hand out does not suit you please discuss your needs and your budget with us. You can hire us for only food presentation. We will create a ‘WOW’ factor to your guests

You will be guaranteed to learn from each dish. The preparation and cooking of Thai dishes have their own techniques. If you have already experimented with Thai cuisine before coming to us we are happy to discuss your recipes and suggest any changes that may suit you. It is very unlikely that your recipes are the same as ours since many books or recipes found on the internet do not follow traditional Thai methods very closely. No matter what dishes you choose to cook, you will learn so much more from just one lesson