The Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 marked the school’s breakthrough year: its first TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best, ranked the #1 cooking school in the world. The same year brought a first Lonely Planet recommendation and the opening of a second Akha kitchen in Chiang Mai. Founded by Niti Muelaeku, a direct descendant of the Akha hill tribe of Northern Thailand, the school reached the top of its category worldwide on the strength of genuine guest reviews – not advertising.
There is a lot to cover, so the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 are set out in clear sections below: the official announcement, the new school, the Lonely Planet recommendation, and the headline ranking. To experience what earned them, reserve the Morning Class with its Local Market Tour, or review the full record on the Awards Page.
Thai Akha Kitchen Wins 2019 TripAdvisor Best of the Best Award for Cooking Classes
Chiang Mai, Thailand – 2019 – The Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 opened with recognition in TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best 2019, ranking as the #1 cooking school in the world. The highest tier of TripAdvisor’s awards, the Best of the Best places winners among the top 1% of listings worldwide. It is the central achievement of the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019.
As the world’s largest travel guidance platform, TripAdvisor carries unmatched authority with travellers. The distinction is based entirely on genuine, first-hand reviews left by the community over a rolling 12-month period – in Thai Akha Kitchen’s case, more than 2,500 of them. To celebrate the milestone, the school also released its cookbook free of charge in four languages, so home cooks worldwide could recreate the recipes. The Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 reflect years of consistent, hands-on teaching rather than any marketing campaign.
“From a small bamboo kitchen ranked #52 in our own city, to the number one cooking school in the world – I still find it hard to believe,” said Niti Muelaeku, founder of Thai Akha Kitchen. “This belongs to every guest who has cooked with us and to our Akha team. We have always cooked honestly, and the world has answered.”
“Congratulations to the 2019 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best winners,” said TripAdvisor. “This recognition reflects the genuine enthusiasm of travellers around the world and celebrates the very best experiences on the platform.”
To see traveller reviews and popular activities of Thai Akha Kitchen, visit Https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293917-d3189120-Reviews-Thai_Akha_Kitchen.html.
About Thai Akha Kitchen
Thai Akha Kitchen is a multi-award-winning cooking school in Chiang Mai, founded by members of the Akha hill tribe. Its hands-on classes, central to the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019, celebrate Akha culture, tradition and gastronomy, and have been recognised among the world’s best for eleven consecutive years (2016-2026).
About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel guidance platform, helping hundreds of millions of travellers each month plan and book their trips. Travellers use the site and app to browse hundreds of millions of reviews and opinions of accommodations, restaurants, experiences, airlines and cruises.
From #1 in the Country to #1 in the World: 2019
By 2019, Thai Akha Kitchen had reached the summit. TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice named it the #1 cooking school in the world – its first Best of the Best – alongside #2 experience worldwide and #1 experience in Thailand. The climb behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 had been remarkably fast: #52 in Chiang Mai in 2016, #1 in the city in 2017, #1 in Thailand in 2018, and now first on the planet.
As ever, the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 were earned through reviews. More than 2,500 travellers had cooked at the school and written about it, and that volume of honest, first-hand feedback is precisely what the Best of the Best measures. There was no advertising behind it – only guests who pounded their own curry paste, cooked eleven dishes at their own wok, and wanted others to know. To share the moment, the school gave its cookbook away free in four languages.
The class format that earned the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 stayed exactly as it was. Each morning begins at a local market, where guests choose lemongrass, galangal and Thai basil before returning to the kitchen, ten minutes from the Old City. The morning class runs for about six hours, including the market tour; the evening class runs about five. Hotel pick-up and drop-off from central Chiang Mai is included, and every guest leaves with a printed recipe book. These everyday details are the substance behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019.
2019 also set the pattern for the years ahead: a TripAdvisor Best of the Best, a Lonely Planet recommendation, and growing demand that opened a second kitchen. The Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 stand as the first of the Best of the Best years and sit within eleven consecutive years of awards (2016-2026). The journey continues in the years on either side of 2019.
Continue the journey: Awards 2018 · Awards 2020 · Write a Review · All Awards
The Thai Akha Kitchen in 2019
Even as the rankings reached the top of the world, the original kitchen stayed exactly itself: an open-air bamboo room about ten minutes from Chiang Mai’s Old City, with individual wok stations, wooden prep counters, and the stone mortars where every curry paste begins. Classes remained small and personal – about 12 guests per kitchen, in two dedicated groups – cooking alongside Akha instructors rather than watching a demonstration, with every dish prepared from scratch. That steadiness is the foundation beneath the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019. You can read more about the people and the place on our About Page.
A Second Akha Kitchen Opens: 2019
Demand had outgrown a single kitchen, so in 2019 Thai Akha Kitchen opened a second location in Chiang Mai. The aim was simple: welcome more guests without changing what made the school special. The new kitchen kept the same Akha philosophy, the same individual wok stations, the same hand-pounded pastes and small groups – only with room for more travellers to take part. It was the clearest sign of the momentum behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019.
Recommended by Lonely Planet
Listed among the best things to do in Chiang Mai by Lonely Planet – independent recognition that stands beside the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019.
2019 was also the first year Lonely Planet recommended Thai Akha Kitchen among the best things to do in Chiang Mai – a recommendation it has repeated every year since. For independent travellers who trust Lonely Planet over advertising, it is a second, separate endorsement alongside the TripAdvisor ranking at the heart of the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019: two of the most trusted names in travel pointing to the same open-air Akha kitchen, for the same reason – the cooking is real.
Built on the Certificate of Excellence Years
The foundation behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 – three TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence (2016, 2017, 2018).
The world ranking behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 did not come from nowhere. It was built on three consecutive TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence across 2016, 2017 and 2018 – the years that turned a #52 newcomer into Thailand’s #1 cooking school. From 2019, TripAdvisor’s top recognition became the Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best, but the standard behind it remained the same.
Thai Akha Kitchen Awards 2019
Your Questions Answered
Thai Akha Kitchen has been welcoming guests from over 80 countries to its open-air bamboo kitchen in Chiang Mai since it first opened its doors in 2015. Voted the #1 Cooking School Worldwide on TripAdvisor in 2019, 2022 and 2023, and #1 Cooking School in Thailand in 2026, our philosophy is simple: Your Wok, Your Rules – every guest cooks at their own station.
Morning Class · Evening Class · Local Market Tour · Online Class
Is Thai Akha Kitchen suitable for families and children?
Yes. Families are welcome, and children cook at their own pace beside a parent. The stations are supervised, the spice levels adjust to anyone, and the Morning Class suits all ages.
What makes Thai Akha Kitchen different from other cooking schools in Chiang Mai?
It teaches authentic Akha hill-tribe recipes, not a tourist version. The founder, Niti Muelaeku, is Akha; the kitchen is open-air bamboo; and every curry paste is pounded by hand in a stone mortar. The full story is on our About Page.
How many students are in each cooking class?
Classes remain small and personal – two kitchens of about 12 guests each, up to 28 for larger groups, always in two dedicated groups – so everyone receives attention and their own wok station, never shared. Reserve a place in the Evening Class or the morning session.
What is included in the price of the cooking class?
The price covers eleven dishes, an individual wok station, a printed recipe book to take home, and free hotel pickup from central Chiang Mai. The Morning Class also includes a guided fresh-market tour.
Is the Thai Akha Kitchen cookbook free?
Yes. To celebrate the 2019 #1 worldwide ranking, the school released its cookbook free of charge – in four languages that year. You can download it from the Cookbook Page and recreate the recipes at home.
Can I book a class on the same day or last minute?
Same-day booking is occasionally possible when seats remain, though classes fill quickly in high season. The most reliable approach is to reserve a day or two in advance through the Contact Page.
What awards did Thai Akha Kitchen receive in 2019?
2019 was the breakthrough year. Thai Akha Kitchen won a TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best and ranked the #1 cooking school in the world for the first time (with #2 experience worldwide and #1 in Thailand), and was recommended by Lonely Planet among the best things to do in Chiang Mai. It also released its cookbook free in four languages. The full record is on our Awards Page.
What is the best cooking class in Chiang Mai for beginners?
For beginners, Thai Akha Kitchen is one of the most welcoming places to start in Chiang Mai. Guests cook at their own wok with step-by-step guidance, choose their spice level, and have each dish adapted to their pace. Most first-timers complete all eleven dishes with confidence. Reserve the Morning Class with its market tour, or the shorter Evening Class for a relaxed start.
🏆 Thai Akha Kitchen Awards Timeline:
Discover more about Thai Akha Kitchen:
Morning Class · Evening Class · Local Market Tour · Online Class · Recipes · Awards · Contact
Thai Akha Kitchen on the Web
Further Reading
Discover what the world’s most trusted travel platforms and encyclopaedias say about Thai Akha Kitchen – a journey from the 2015 opening through the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 and every year since.
🏆 TripAdvisor – Thai Akha Kitchen
Over 2,500 verified guest reviews from travellers in 80+ countries – the reviews behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019 and every year since.
🎖️ TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice
TripAdvisor’s highest awards – the Best of the Best places winners in the top 1% worldwide, central to the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019.
✈️ Lonely Planet – Chiang Mai
The world’s most trusted independent travel guide – it has recommended Thai Akha Kitchen among the best things to do in Chiang Mai every year since the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2019.
🌏 Tourism Authority of Thailand
The official Thai government guide to culinary tourism, cooking classes, and authentic food experiences across Thailand.
📖 Wikipedia – Chiang Mai
The cultural capital of Northern Thailand – home of Thai Akha Kitchen since it opened its doors in 2015.
🍜 Wikipedia – Thai Cuisine
History, techniques and traditions behind the dishes we teach – from hand-pounded curry pastes to the five fundamental flavours of Thai cooking.
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