On 6 – 7 July 2023, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata in collaboration with the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) organised the 'Thai Culinary Class' at IIHM (Kolkata campus) with the participation of over 39 guests comprising chefs from various hotels and restaurants, food bloggers, and home-cookers as well as over 70 IIHM students. It was organised as a part of the Amazing Thailand Festival in Kolkata last May, which showcased Thailand’s unique culture and tradition with a focus on Thailand’s 5F; namely, food, film, fashion, fighting, and festival. The class aimed to offer participants the experience of cooking authentic and delicious Thai food in a fun and interactive way.

Ms. Acharapan Yavaprapas, Consul-General of Thailand in Kolkata welcomed the participants to the class which aimed at promoting the popularity of Thai food in Kolkata as an easy-to-make food, easy-to-find ingredients, and healthy and nutritious food option. The class was comprised of:

(1) Activities on day 1 for IIHM students: a lecture on general information about Thailand, Thai culture, popular tourist destinations as well as the knowledge and history of Thai cuisine given by the Consulate-General’s officers, followed by a cooking demonstration by Consul-General’s personal chef featuring Green Papaya Salad (Som-Tum), Spicy Prawn Soup (Tom-Yum-Kung), Chicken Massaman Curry (Gaeng Massaman Gai), and Rice Dumplings in coconut milk (Bua-Loy); and

(2) Two cook-along sessions on day 2: which brought hotel and restaurant chefs, food bloggers, home-cookers and IIHM students to learn together by replicating Consul-General’s personal chef’s recipes featuring popular Thai savory and dessert dishes; namely, Glass Noodle Salad (Yam-Wun-Sen), Green Papaya Salad (Som-Tum), Chicken Green Curry (Gang-Khiao-Wan-Gai), Stir-Fried Noodle with Prawn (Pad-Thai-Goong), Mango and Sticky Rice (Khao-Niaow-Ma-Muang), and Thai Custard and Sticky Rice (Khao-Niaow-Sang-Kaya).  

IIHM is one of India’s top hotel management colleges comprising 10 campuses across major cities in India as well as Bangkok (in partnership with Kasem Bundit University), Singapore, and Samarkand, Uzbekistan. IIHM also collaborates with the University of West London, United Kingdom. The objectives of the Thai Culinary Class aimed at (1) providing basic knowledges and skills about Thai cuisine for IIHM students who will continue their careers in tourism and hospitality industry; and (2) enhancing cooking skills and techniques of Thai cuisine for hotel and restaurant chefs in Kolkata which would help promoting Thai cuisine to the wider audience.