Testimonials of Kasma's Thai Cooking Class Students
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ONCE YOU'VE helped make and eaten the dishes in her first beginner's class – usually a green curry, a masaman curry, stir-fried hot and sour vegetables, and bananas in coconut milk – you'll be tempted to beg Kasma Loha-Unchit, of Kasma's Cooking Classes, to allow you to come to her house once a week for the rest of your life. There just isn't a Thai restaurant in the Bay Area that serves food of such authenticity, complexity, and balance. The author of Julia Child [IACP] Award-winning It Rains Fishes, Kasma teaches beginning, intermediate, and advanced Thai cooking classes in her Oakland home, gently ushering you from prep chores toward full responsibility for such dishes as spicy mussel salad, Panaeng beef curry, mee krob, and green papaya salad. She tutors you in shopping (with field trips), techniques, philosophy, and, above all, tasting.
Saveur Magazine – The 2010 Top 100 List
Kasma was chosen for the Saveur 2010 Top 100 list after a submission by one of her students, Donna Yee. It was published in Saveur #126. The post mentions that Kasma stresses how to make authentic Thai food and that she gives her students the knowledge to cook and eat like a Thai. Your can read the listing on their website.
Here's the rest of the 2010 Saveur 100 List (Kasma's at #81).
Diablo Magazine Article
She teaches as a guest chef at culinary institutions around the Bay Area, but I recommend learning from her in her own home. Students jockey for space at earth-toned tile countertops or work elbow to elbow around a folding table covered with a vinyl tablecloth, all of which makes the class feel like a laid-back dinner party at a graduate student's flat.
Student Series Testimonials
I have taken a bunch of cooking classes in the past (culinary institute, JCC classes) and, Kasma's class is by far the best cooking class for a variety of reasons. Firstly, Kasma is a warm and, wonderful story teller. She teaches you about food, Thai culture, health and many other things. You get a blend of historical, nutrition, and anecdotal information along with immense knowledge of food, and cooking combined with lots of hands on learning. But, the best part (besides Kasma) is the food! You will never eat as well in your life (unless you go to Thailand on one of Kasma's trips), and learn to make such a variety of Delicious items. You learn to make so many dishes and, all of them are delicious. You eat ALL day long. Just when you think you've reached your limit there is another dish to sample. – Louisa Philipp, San Francisco. CA.
– Richard, Advanced student, Pattaya, Thailand (formerly Vallejo, CA) Kasma: Thanks so much for all the classes over the years. All the great recipes, and more importantly the love of cooking Thai, have greatly enhanced my life. I had a Thai dinner for friends last weekend (as I do every few months), and everyone agreed it was the best Thai food they'd ever had, lots of companionable eating, talking and appreciating the food. All thanks to your great teaching skills (and recipes)! – Diane, Advanced student, Berkeley, CA
– Peggy, Bay Area Intermediate Student Just want to say thank you for your wonderful classes in Thai cooking. You have given me the confidence in cooking. Sure I have seen other Thai people cook but I always shy away. Now I am more interested and ask them what they are doing, what they use, etc. Your food is the best. You don't have to go to Thai restaurants to eat, you have the best Thai food in your kitchen! – Peter Ganthavorn, a Thai residing in San Francisco, CA
– Ed Adams, Berkeley By the way, my wife told me that she really loved Kasma's class. And I can confirm that she really did learn some wonderful skills – she has already made about six of the dishes she learned in the class (entrees and desserts) and every one was fantastic! I think this is the best present I ever gave her since I get to enjoy it, too. – Steve, in Albany, who gave his wife the beginning Series as a present. I take cooking classes regularly, but yours are far and away the best I've ever had, also the most fun and warm-spirited, and have certainly had the biggest effect on the food I serve at home – friends are now disappointed if I invite them for dinner and I'm not cooking Thai! And I ordered haw mok in a Thai restaurant a few weeks ago – one that often wins the Best of the Bay award – and they couldn't hold a candle to the haw mok we learned in your class. I find I'm completely spoiled for Thai restaurants now, but since I can cook so well at home, I don't mind at all! – Cyd Harrel, San Francisco
– Magdalene L. Crowley, Berkeley, CA, in East Bay Bests: 1993 of the Express The intermediate cooking series was nothing less than enchanted for me: incredibly tasty and complex dishes and a truly delightful group of people with the bonus of a generous and gifted teacher. Kasma, I've told all sorts of people about how much I've enjoyed your classes. Thank you for every ounce of energy and information you've given us. – Linda Carucci, owner/operator of Linda Carucci's Kitchen cooking school, culinary consultant, and former dean of the California Culinary Academy. > – Mark Torresan, formerly of A Taste of Paradise Catering. |
Student Week-long TestimonialsReflecting on the week, it was a total immersion in Thai ingredients, food and culture. Short of spending time in Thailand cooking with your "Thai Mum", I don't think you could find a better way to learn Thai cooking! – Just Foodies blog entry, Thai Cooking Class with Kasma
It was a fabulous week of FEASTING + CELEBRATION of wonderfully prepared food and why and how food should taste this good! You have created a very nice balance of a professionally run enterprise that is at the same time warm and "homey" in the best sense. Kasma, when I took your class 20+ years ago I thought you were an extraordinary person and it's wonderful to see you blossom and walk so comfortably in your journey. You have created an amazing opportunity for your students to share in your passions. Thank you! – A 2007 student from Sebastapol, CA
– A 2007 student from Santa Fe, NM Thank you for a truly wonderful experience. I'm looking forward to next year. It's hard to describe it all. I will, however, say this... there are three women who have played a significant role in shaping my culinary experience - my mother, my grandmother and Kasma. – Jim Carnevale, Placitas, New Mexico. I made Massaman chicken curry, long green beans, sticky rice, chicken coconut milk soup and coconut pancakes last night! Andy was speechless! He kept on saying, "I can't believe we're having such incredible food at HOME... how can you cook better meals than restaurant chefs?!!?" Ah yes.... I owe it all to our thai cooking queen, Kasma! – Jean Kim, San Francisco, CA.
– Don Chennavasin, Austin, TX I've taken a lot of cooking courses – from the Beijing Culinary Academy to the Cordon Bleu in London – but nothing comes close to the learning experience of Kasma's classes. I learned more in one short week of cooking in her kitchen than I learned in all those classes combined. She is a dear, dear lady and her food is among the best food I have ever had in my life! I can't wait to return to her kitchen next year for Thai Intensive II and to travel and taste my way around Thailand with her. – Joanne Skowronski, Carnelian Bay, CA
– Louise Morrison & Terry Forsyth, Danville, CA The only problem with having taken your weeklong class is that NONE of the food I order out tastes as good as those delicious things we made! I had duck soup noodles at a restaurant the other night and they didn't even come CLOSE to ours. So, thank you for great techniques, great tastes, and great times. I really did have so much fun, and the memories of that great food will last a LONG time. – Linda Smith, Author of Smith & Hawken's Garden Structures, Pacific Grove, CA
– Diane Cooper, Cooking Instructor, SF Bay Area Kasma's classes are like learning to cook from your mom. Kasma is warm and nurturing, making you feel comfortable learning something very new and different. The result is always exciting and delicious. It's given me a new appreciation for homemade Thai food and how much better it can be than the dishes served by Thai restaurants. – Daryl Ansel, Director of Food Services, UCLA Housing & Hospitality Services. Thank you so much for what was one of the most interesting and fulfilling vacations I have ever experienced. A great alternative to spending five days in San Francisco with all the other tourists! Taking Kasma's Intensive Course this summer will be an experience my stomach will never forget! I appreciate Kasma's obvious enthusiasm for sharing her knowledge of Thai cuisine and culture. Stories of her childhood and travels in Thailand, as well as the detailed instruction for preparing those massive(!) daily menus, made the course a fine substitute for those who wanted to "experience" the magic of Thailand and can't travel to SouthEast Asia.– Lilibeth Aycud, Japan
Judy Sharlip, Cooking Instructor, SF Bay Area My two most intense "food epiphanies" were my first trip to Italy and the week I spent learning to cook Thai cuisine in Kasma's kitchen. The only problem with Kasma's food is that I may never again be happy with eating in 99% of the Thai restaurants out there! – Paul McGuckin, Northern California |














