Tips & Tricks

How we started with our cooking school? It is actually usual story, or maybe not? As you guys who visited us so far know already, Akha Thai Cooking School in Chiang mai has been founded 2015, by 3 people. Nat, Nit and Nik. Hmm.. maybe we should call our cookery school as triple N? 🙂 In short, we know each other for some time and we are great friends. I like to say that its kind of destiny who connected three of us. Anyway here is the story of our Cooking School in Chiang Mai.

Nik has been living in Thailand for some time already. About 3 and a half years and counting. He has been working as a programmer but it is illegal to work in Thailand without work permission. He was looking for some opportunity and idea to start some business and to take care of his family. In between jobs, with a plenty of free time he decided to learn Thai language. Looking at ads on Facebook, he saw that Niti is looking for students. So they met. Learning Thai language with Niti it was extremely easy and soon Nik started to write and read Thai. Within not more then 3 weeks, he was able to read and write even tho he did not know the meaning of each word he would read. Niti was patient teacher and she was a lot of fun tho! Each time they meet for the class, they started to talk about many other things in life. Not only studying.So, one day Nik told to Niti that he has been looking to start some business and that previous day he has been looking into some guest house. I can help you there, Niti said. That is how they start talking about what they can do, and firstly it was idea about opening the best guest house in Thailand. Anyway, they realize that both of them love cooking and food and apparently Niti was a front end cook back in USA! Since Niti was from mountain tribe, Akha tribe, we don’t remember anymore who suggest to make mix of Thai food and Akha culture and food. They both got very excited with idea, since it is pretty much unique cooking school in Chiang Mai and whole Thailand!

Niti was working at the Guest house at that moment and she had a big knowledge about Chiang Mai tourism and what are foreigners looking for in Chiang Mai. She knew many place to go in Chiang Mai, she knew all of Cooking classes in Chiang Mai, more or less she knew everything tourists related. Nik was internet guru to say and he could handle anything related to Internet and internet marketing. But there as a small problem. How to get clients if we open a a Cooking School in Chiang Mai?

Niti said that if we start any business that she has an old friend who would like to join us in that adventure. That is how Nat got into the game 🙂

Nat was also from Akha people and has been working in the Chiang Mai marketing agency for past 3 years. She was one of the best agents and she had a huge knowledge about Chiang Mai, cooking class, guest houses, tours, everything related to tourism in Chiang Mai. She was working hard, every day driving motorcycle from one to another place, no matter if its raining or its hot day outside. So they met and idea about founding Akha Thai kitchen was born. Cookery school start to get its first shape in the mind of these 3 people.
It was not long time after that meeting when they put some money together and cooking school was born. Niti was working hard to make what you can see today in our cooking school. All furniture and decorations, all design in the school has been made by Niti and her friend, Svevo Mondino. He was great friend who helped us so much with amazing carpenters and many other skills. Nik started to plan and create a website which are you visiting right now. He created administration part so they can have all kind of statistics for cookery school, online payment so you can book your cooking class online and many more things. Nat was responsible for all the brochures and catalogs you could see, for a cooking book with thai recipes we are teaching in our cookery school. And she visited over 500 hotels, guest house and agencies in Chiang Mai to leave our cooking classes marketing materials there!

So far, we are very happy to work together. We have got a great students, we met so many different but basically same kind of people, people who enjoy cooking, who love to learn how to cook thai food, friendly people we shared a moment with. We will try to keep with our work and to meet much more people in the future.

So, if you did not yet, what are you waiting for? Apply for cooking classes today! 🙂 Come to visit our Cooking School in Chiang Mai!