Exploring Food Tourism in Bangkok

July 28, 2016

On a last minute whim I decided to join Travel Massive‘s latest event in Bangkok – Exploring Food Tourism, which basically featured an evening full of interactive discussions with food bloggers on food tourism in Bangkok, a networking session with food community members and expert panelists and finally a fun Thai cooking class.

I arrived at the Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy (the host) a bit late thanks to the rain and traffic. The room was half full but more people expected to come. After signing in (having pre-registered on the website for just THB 300) I introduced myself to everyone in the room and sat down on a table with the fewest people. Two young Thais from SiamRise, a sustainable tour operator sat next to me and ultimately would be my team for the cooking session.

Soon after Ian (founder of Travel Massive) started things off by introducing himself, the event and the co-hosts. He gave some interesting facts, figures and trends on food tourism in Bangkok and worldwide.

Did you know that the term foodie on Google has been growing exponentially while food tours and food bloggers have been relatively stagnant? It seems like foodie has been a real buzz word as of late, which might contribute to its rise.

Panel Discussions

First up, the software developers from Cookly (a marketplace for culinary activities) were invited to the panel as they were interviewed by Ian. Cookly was launched in late 2015 to offer foodies, chefs-in-training and travelers to find culinary experiences with ease. Through Cookly, you can join cooking classes, go on wine tastings and even food tours. Although a simple Google search could list out all the food tours and classes in a city, Cookly makes it easier by having them all in one space.

Up next, a discussion with expert food bloggers who were none other than the couple behind With Husband in Tow. They shared their experiences, thoughts on food tourism and how they started off blogging. After 4 years of traveling for food, they noted that they are extremely happy with where they are.

The Cooking Class

Finally time for the good part – cooking. There were three dishes on the agenda – chicken satay, fried spring rolls and corn fritters.

A chef from Cookly started us off by introducing the ingredients, method and cooking process. He explained it very well and guided us every step of the way.

There were three stages of our cooking. The first was the prep – cutting of meat/vegetables and marination.

Then we went on to the actual cooking, which was mostly deep frying or pan frying.

It was quite a fascinating scene as half of the people were cooking while the other half were either snapchatting or live Facebook videoing the class for their blogs. Guilty as well! Here’s my Snapchat ID in case you were wondering (lol shameless plug in).

Anyways, here’s our final output. I must say by the way, these spring rolls were the best I’ve ever had. So juicy and fresh!

To be honest, this was my first time joining a cooking class and other than making simple dishes like fried rice/noodles or stir fry chicken, I’ve never really cooked a Thai dish before. So this was really interesting for me and rather enjoyed it.

Here’s a short video of my team member cooking.

14 Comments

Christina August 17, 2016 at 7:30 pm - Reply

Thai food is one of my favourite cuisines. You can’t go wrong with a good Thai meal. Those spring rolls look yummy.
Megan Indoe August 17, 2016 at 7:45 pm - Reply

What an awesome event! I wish we could have attended! It sounds like there were some great guest speakers and to be able to cook at the end too is a special treat! Glad you were able to go despite the rain!
Jen Morrow August 17, 2016 at 8:04 pm - Reply

Apparently, I need to go to Bangkok! This is the second post on Bangkok that I have read today, and I really need to go. The food looks amazing! I always say that I want to attend cooking classes, but honestly, I just want to eat the food!!!
Suma Jain August 17, 2016 at 8:38 pm - Reply

Oh, this looks like such a fun activity!! and the springrolls do look delicious.
marie August 17, 2016 at 10:24 pm - Reply

I make a mean Thai Green curry! I would love the chance to attend a Thai cooking class, what a great experience. Thank you for sharing.
- Shayan August 18, 2016 at 11:52 am - Reply
  
  I’d love to try your green curry. It’s one of my favorite Thai dishes. Try making it fried rice style. Just make the mixture with rice and stir fry it. It’s awesome!
vyjay August 18, 2016 at 1:57 pm - Reply

This looks like a really satisfying experience. Food and travel go together and the local cuisine is a doorway to the local culture. BTW the rolls look inviting.
JM August 18, 2016 at 10:09 pm - Reply

Thai food is one of my favorites. I love how the way they combine the ingredient which makes it reallt unique dish . I would love to learn some of their dishes as well so i can prepare at home
- Shayan August 22, 2016 at 10:47 am - Reply
  
  We have the recipe for these 3 dishes so if you want, just email us and we’ll give them to you.
Natasha August 19, 2016 at 5:39 am - Reply

This looks like such a cool event. I love Thai food by the way — this has me craving it 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Stella the Travelerette August 19, 2016 at 7:19 am - Reply

That looks like a fun event! I’ve never made Thai food but I do love eating it! And those spring rolls look very delicious.
Danielle Des August 20, 2016 at 2:17 am - Reply

I love the walk through of the event! I also try to blog about travel events that I attend. I want to try the corn fritters. She was putting some serious shoulder action into making the dish.
- Shayan August 22, 2016 at 10:48 am - Reply
  
  We believe events are a big part of travel. So is food so this was perfect. Well, we weren’t traveling here cuz we live in Bangkok but stil… hahah
Ian September 29, 2016 at 12:35 am - Reply

Hey thanks for sharing this about our event! Glad you could be a part of it!

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Panel Discussions

The Cooking Class

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