The Peninsula Hotel, THAILAND
Airing Date: Jun 14th, 2004
The Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok has been voted the world's best five star hotel, and now guests can enjoy more then just a luxury stay. The Peninsula Academy is offering guests the experience of learning to cook like a five star chef for the day.
The hotel is a stylish riverside oasis in the heart of the city with panoramic views from each of the elegant guestrooms. The hotel is famous for its spectacular suites, its warm Thai hospitality and its gardens, which incorporate a beautiful three-tiered swimming pool. It's got some of the best bars in Bangkok and the restaurants serve award-winning cuisine - so if you take a lesson, you'll be learning from the best.
The hotel offers a package deal with accommodation and a cooking class incorporated. Your one day Thai cooking class starts with buying the fresh produce necessary to make that perfect dish.
Anoong, the teacher, is one of the chefs from the hotel. She takes her students out to the Samyan Markets to buy the ingredients, as well as demonstrating what type of produce to buy and how to pick the best of the bunch. This is especially important when it comes to seafood, tofu and noodles, all the essential ingredients for a tasty pad Thai.
Back at the hotel, Anoong shows her students the important stages of making a pad thai that tastes like it does in the restaurants. You'll get to prepare a meal which includes a starter, main and desert, just perfect for when you go home and entertain your future guests. The classes last around three hours and all the students get to sit down and feast on their cooking at the end.
After all that cooking, it's time to explore the rest of the hotel. There's the Grand Terrace, a helicopter pad on the roof, 370 guest rooms, as well as unique, specially designed suites.
The location of the hotel provides easy access to the main shopping district and major tourist attractions, so when you're all done with the cooking you can go check out the rest of the city.
The facts
A two night package in a one bedroom suite at the Peninsula starts from around $1572 per person. This includes all meals and the Thai cooking class.
The Peninsula Hotel
Tel: 0011 66 2 861 2888
Thai Airways International fly to Bangkok with prices starting from $1203 from the east coast and $1097 from Perth.
Thai Airways International
Tel: 1300 651 960
Prices correct at 14/06/04
