Teach a man to fish.

There are many cookery courses in Thailand but I was lucky enough to choose Kata Kitchen, run by Sally and Jim on Phuket island. I asked them to help me understand Thai cookery rather than just reproduce a couple of set meals so they adapted the course for me to do just that! We prepped for the three main Thai curries so that I could see the difference before cooking one to eat. We did Tom Yum soup from scratch and spent a long time practising how to wrap spring rolls rather than spend all the time chopping vegetables, which I can already do. They told me why I was cutting lemon grass in a certain way rather than just tell me to cut it up or have it pre-cut for me. I developed skills and technique. After three hours intensive learning we all sat down and enjoyed our meal with a cold beer. The soup I made was the brightest, zingiest tom yum I have ever had. If you want to spend a pleasant half-day of your holiday cooking Thai food, then there are numerous courses all over the island. If you want to learn what Thai cooking is really about, then Sally and Jim are waiting for you.