The Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 returned the school to the top of the world: another TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best, ranked the #1 cooking school worldwide, with #1 experience in Asia and #1 experience in Thailand. Founded by Niti Muelaeku, whose vision drives the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022, a direct descendant of the Akha hill tribe of Northern Thailand, the school reclaimed the global number-one position it first reached in 2019 – earned, as always, on genuine guest reviews.
The sections below set out the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 in detail: the official announcement, the kitchen itself, the continuing Lonely Planet recommendation, and the headline ranking. To experience what earned them, reserve the morning class with its market tour, or review the full record on the awards page.
Thai Akha Kitchen Wins 2022 TripAdvisor Best of the Best as #1 Cooking School in the World
Chiang Mai, Thailand – 2022 – Thai Akha Kitchen has been recognised in TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best 2022, ranking the #1 cooking school in the world. The Best of the Best is the highest tier of TripAdvisor’s awards, reserved for the top 1% of listings worldwide. Reclaiming the global top spot is the central distinction of the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022.
As the world’s largest travel guidance platform, TripAdvisor carries unmatched authority with travellers, and the distinction rests entirely on genuine, first-hand reviews left over a rolling 12-month period. As international travel returned, so did guests from around the world – and their reviews carried the school back to first place globally, alongside #1 experience rankings in both Asia and Thailand. The Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 reflect sustained excellence rather than any marketing campaign.
“To be number one in the world again, after everything the last years brought, means more than the first time,” said Niti Muelaeku, founder of Thai Akha Kitchen. “It belongs to every guest who has cooked with us and to our Akha team, who never stopped caring about every dish.”
“Congratulations to the 2022 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, part of the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 story, 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, with hundreds of millions of reviews and opinions of accommodations, restaurants, experiences, airlines and cruises.
Back to #1 in the World: 2022
The Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 marked a return to the summit. TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice named the school the #1 cooking school in the world once more – its second world title after 2019 – with #1 experience in Asia and #1 experience in Thailand alongside it. From #52 in Chiang Mai in 2016 to a triple number-one in 2022, the trajectory speaks for itself.
As ever, reviews did the work. With travellers returning in greater numbers, fresh first-hand feedback joined years of earlier praise, and the combination carried the school back to the top globally. 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. That is the engine behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022.
The class itself stayed exactly as it was. Mornings begin 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 behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 runs 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 – part of an award-winning cookbook available free in eleven languages.
By 2022 the pattern was firmly set: a TripAdvisor Best of the Best and a continuing Lonely Planet recommendation, year after year. The Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 sit within eleven consecutive years of awards (2016-2026), the fourth of the Best of the Best years and the second at #1 worldwide. The journey continues in the years on either side of 2022.
Continue the journey: Awards 2021 · Awards 2023 · Write a review · All awards
The Thai Akha Kitchen in 2022
In 2022 the kitchen welcomed the world back without changing a thing: 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 stayed 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 using market-fresh ingredients. That steadiness is the foundation beneath the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022. You can read more about the people and the place on our about page.
Amazing Thailand SHA – Certified Safe to Welcome Guests Again
Thai Akha Kitchen holds the Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA) certification – the national standard introduced by Thailand’s tourism and public-health authorities so that tourism businesses could reopen safely after COVID-19. The SHA mark confirms that the kitchen meets the country’s hygiene and safety requirements, from food handling to the cooking space itself. For guests, it is straightforward reassurance: the same hands-on Akha experience, in a kitchen certified to welcome travellers safely as the world returned to Chiang Mai. It is one more credential standing behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022.
Recommended by Lonely Planet (2022)
Listed among the best things to do in Chiang Mai by Lonely Planet – independent recognition that stands beside the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022.
Lonely Planet continued to recommend Thai Akha Kitchen among the best things to do in Chiang Mai through 2022 – the fourth year of a recommendation that has run every year since 2019. Two of travel’s most trusted names, TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet, pointing independent travellers to the same open-air Akha kitchen. It is the kind of steady, repeated endorsement that sits naturally beside the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022.
Built on the Certificate of Excellence Years
The foundation behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 – three TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence (2016, 2017, 2018).
Today’s world rankings rest 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 never changed.
Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 – 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. It is the same approach behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022.
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, and what languages is it in?
Yes, it is free. The cookbook won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in 2020 and is available in eleven languages. Download it from the cookbook page and cook 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 2022?
In 2022 the school took another TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best, ranked the #1 cooking school in the world, with #1 experience in Asia and #1 experience in Thailand – its second world title after 2019. Lonely Planet also continued to recommend it. 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.
Discover more: Morning Class · Evening Class · Market Tour · Online Class · Recipes · Awards · Contact
🏆 Thai Akha Kitchen Awards Timeline:
Thai Akha Kitchen on the Web – Further Reading
A selection of sources on the city, the cuisine, and the recognition behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022:
🏆 TripAdvisor – Thai Akha Kitchen
Over 2,500 verified guest reviews from travellers in 80+ countries – the reviews behind the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022 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 2022.
✈️ 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 2019, part of the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2022.
🌏 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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