By TripAdvisor’s travellers, Thai Akha Kitchen has been voted the best cooking school in Chiang Mai every year since 2016 – eleven consecutive years of awards, twelve years since we opened in 2015. We are proud of that record. But the awards are not really the point. Our goal as the best cooking school in Chiang Mai is simpler and more personal: to make you feel at home, as if you were cooking in your own kitchen with a group of friends.
That is why we care about the small things. At the best cooking school in Chiang Mai we keep the kitchen clean and tidy, we set up your station before you arrive, and we look after every detail – because a relaxed, welcoming space is what turns a class into the feeling of home. We don’t always get everything perfect at the best cooking school in Chiang Mai, but we always do our best, every single day. It is the quiet reason travellers keep voting us the best cooking school in Chiang Mai.
Below is the full journey of the best cooking school in Chiang Mai, year by year, from our first open-air bamboo kitchen in 2015 to the present. Every recognition reflects the same promise – and the same reason Thai Akha Kitchen keeps being called the best cooking school in Chiang Mai. Explore our Morning Class, Evening Class and Local Market Tour, or read each year’s full story below.
11 Years of Awards – Year by Year (2026-2015)
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2026
Best of the Best · #1 Cooking School & #1 Food Tour in Thailand
In 2026 we again led both categories in Thailand – #1 cooking school and #1 food tour – closing eleven consecutive years of TripAdvisor awards since 2016. The same kitchen, the same welcome, the same promise to do our best – and the same reason we are still called the best cooking school in Chiang Mai. Read the 2026 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2025
Best of the Best · #1 Cooking School & #1 Food Tour in Thailand
2025 brought a double crown at home – #1 cooking school and #1 food tour in Thailand – a dedicated Lonely Planet badge, and a new air-conditioned kitchen for added comfort, without changing anything about the cooking. Read the 2025 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2024
Best of the Best · #1 in Thailand · Top 3 in the World
In 2024 we remained #1 cooking school in Thailand, #2 in Asia and #3 in the world, as the field grew more competitive each year. The recognition as the best cooking school in Chiang Mai still came from one place: guests who cooked with us and shared their experience. Read the 2024 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2023
Best of the Best · #1 Cooking School in the World (3rd time)
2023 confirmed it was no one-off – #1 cooking school in the world for the third time (2019, 2022 and 2023), again with #1 experience in Asia and Thailand. Staying at the top as the best cooking school in Chiang Mai, we have learned, is harder than getting there. Read the 2023 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2022
Best of the Best · #1 Cooking School in the World
As the world reopened in 2022, we returned to the very top: #1 cooking school in the world, with #1 experience in Asia and Thailand. Our SHA safety certification meant we could welcome travellers back with confidence – the best cooking school in Chiang Mai was, once again, the best in the world. Read the 2022 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2021
Best of the Best · #1 Cooking School in Thailand
2021 kept us #1 cooking school in Thailand through a quiet year for travel. As the best cooking school in Chiang Mai, we consolidated onto one site, closing our original historic location, and never lowered the standard our guests had come to expect. Read the 2021 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2020
Best of the Best · #1 in Thailand & Asia · Gourmand Cookbook Award
In 2020 we held #1 cooking school in Thailand and Asia. Our cookbook won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award and grew to eleven languages – and with travel paused, we took the kitchen online so guests could still cook with us from home. Read the 2020 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2019
First Best of the Best · #1 Cooking School in the World
2019 was the breakthrough: our first Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best and the #1 cooking school in the world. To celebrate, we gave our cookbook away free in four languages, Lonely Planet began recommending us, and we opened a second kitchen to meet demand. Read the 2019 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2018
Certificate of Excellence + Travelers’ Choice · #1 in Thailand
2018 brought a third Certificate of Excellence and a TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice award, ranking us #1 cooking school in Thailand. A neighbourhood favourite had become a national name – earned the same honest way. Read the 2018 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2017
Certificate of Excellence · #1 Cooking School in Chiang Mai
By 2017 we were the #1 cooking school in Chiang Mai, with a second Certificate of Excellence. The kitchen had not changed and neither had the care for every detail – guests simply kept telling others, and the city listened. Read the 2017 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2016
First TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence · #52 in Chiang Mai
Our first TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence arrived in 2016, even while we still ranked #52 among Chiang Mai cooking schools. It proved that honest guest reviews – not marketing – would carry us, and it was the first of eleven straight years of awards. Read the 2016 Story →
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2015
The journey begins – no award yet
2015 is where it all began: a single open-air bamboo kitchen and our very first guests. There was no award this year – only the start of the journey and the determination to make everyone who cooked with us feel at home. Read the 2015 Story →
Thank You – We Always Do Our Best
Across eleven years of awards, one thing has never changed: we show up every day and do our best for the people who cook with us. The aim of the best cooking school in Chiang Mai is always the same – that you leave feeling you spent the day in a friend’s kitchen, not a tourist attraction.
That is why, as the best cooking school in Chiang Mai, we sweat the details, keep everything clean and tidy, and treat your station as if it were your own home. We believe that, more than any trophy, is what truly makes the best cooking school in Chiang Mai.
We owe every one of these recognitions as the best cooking school in Chiang Mai to the thousands of guests who took the time to write a review. Your words mean far more than a ranking: they support us emotionally and push us to raise the standard, class after class. From all of us at Thai Akha Kitchen – thank you. Come and cook with us, and feel at home in Chiang Mai.
Voted the Best Cooking School in Chiang Mai
11 years of TripAdvisor awards (2016-2026)
#1 Cooking School in the World in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
From a #52 newcomer in 2015 to the best cooking school in Chiang Mai, our story is written by the thousands of travellers who cooked with us and shared their experience. Come and see why for yourself.
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards
Your Questions Answered
These are the questions travellers ask most about our awards. Thai Akha Kitchen has been voted the best cooking school in Chiang Mai by TripAdvisor every year since 2016.
Is Thai Akha Kitchen really the best cooking school in Chiang Mai?
By TripAdvisor’s travellers, yes – it has been recognised every year since 2016, including #1 cooking school in the world in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Every ranking comes from verified guest reviews. See the full record below or book the Morning Class.
How many years of awards has Thai Akha Kitchen won?
Eleven consecutive years of TripAdvisor awards, from 2016 to 2026 – twelve years since opening in 2015. The first year, 2015, was the school’s debut and carried no award yet. Explore each year on this Awards Page.
When did Thai Akha Kitchen win its first award?
In 2016, with its first TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence – earned while the school still ranked #52 among Chiang Mai cooking schools. Read the 2016 Story to see where the climb began.
What is the TripAdvisor Best of the Best?
It is the highest tier of TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice awards, given only to the top 1% of listings worldwide, based on a full year of genuine guest reviews. Thai Akha Kitchen has earned it every year since 2019. Browse the years on the Awards Page.
Did the Thai Akha Kitchen cookbook win an award too?
Yes – the cookbook won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in 2020 and is available free in eleven languages. Download it from the Cookbook Page.
What makes Thai Akha Kitchen the best cooking school in Chiang Mai?
It is not the awards themselves – it is the goal behind them: to make you feel at home, as if you were cooking with friends. We teach authentic Akha hill-tribe recipes, give everyone their own wok station, and care for every detail, keeping the kitchen clean and welcoming. The awards simply reflect that. Try it on the Morning Class or Evening Class.
How can I support Thai Akha Kitchen?
Cook with us, and if you enjoy it, leave an honest review – it is the single biggest way you can help. The thousands of reviews our guests have written are what earned every award and what keep us doing our best. Share yours via the Review Page.
Discover more about Thai Akha Kitchen:
Morning Class · Evening Class · Local Market Tour · Online Class · Cookbook · Contact
Thai Akha Kitchen on the Web
Further Reading
A selection of sources on the city, the cuisine, and the recognition behind the best cooking school in Chiang Mai:
🏆 TripAdvisor – Thai Akha Kitchen
Over 2,500 verified guest reviews – the reviews behind every Thai Akha Kitchen award since 2016.
🎖️ TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice
TripAdvisor’s highest awards – the Best of the Best places winners in the top 1% worldwide.
✈️ Lonely Planet – Chiang Mai
The world’s most trusted independent travel guide – recommending Thai Akha Kitchen every year since 2019.
🌏 Tourism Authority of Thailand
The official Thai government guide to culinary tourism across Thailand.
📖 Wikipedia – Chiang Mai
The cultural capital of Northern Thailand – home of Thai Akha Kitchen since 2015.
🍜 Wikipedia – Thai Cuisine
History, techniques and traditions behind the dishes we teach.
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