So... One of the things that I (jono) was keen to do was catch some culinary tips off the Thai people, and so whilst in Chiang Mai we headed to celebrity chef Solomon (don't worry, I hadn't heard of him either) school to delight in the marvel of Thai food...
We were picked up from our hotel and driven to the office. Upon picking up people from 15 different countries we headed to the markets. AT the markets we were shown different vegetables, meats, fruits and rices. My favorite smell was the jasmine rice. It is really different to the stuff we have in Japan but it smells so good, especially when so fresh. Unfortunately for my palate and nose the smells of the drains (or lack of) surrounding the markets out stenched some of the other fresh goodness!
After the markets we headed out of Chiang Mai to the actual school... Here we were set up with our own aprons and work stations... We were given a cook book with the days work (and the rest of the week as well... some people do 5 days) and we went inside to watch the first demonstration. I think from memory it was a chicken in coconut milk soup, but I shan't be quoted on that... We did a few more stir fryish kind of things, some curries, a salad and a desert. We also learnt about garnishing food. Over here they say a meal isn't finished without some garnish (please note Jodi's rose she made for our salad. I shall be expecting that every night for the rest of my life... How lucky am I ... owww...). Overall it was about 6 courses one after the other.
The thing I liked most is how fresh the ingredients were, despite the obvious concern about where some of the stuff had probably come from... Although as westerners we were the but of many a Thai joke (ahaha... they can only do 2 chillies, I can do 15!), we had a lot of fun. The food turned out really well and it worked out really well for the school, as we were so full they didn't drive us back on the bus, we rolled back! We can't wait to cook some of this goodness for you all!