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A Thai banquet fit for a monk?

Long haul
Thai jungle cooking with a Michelin-starred chef
Among the abundance of companies offering cookery courses all over Europe, Tasting Places is an expert at treating its clients to something a bit special. So how about travelling a bit further afield with it, beyond the cuisines of Tuscany or Provence to somewhere truly exotic? Devised, overseen and hosted by acclaimed Australian chef David Thompson, its ten-day trip to Thailand is the Hermès handbag of the cookery course world. Thompson’s reputation for cooking Thai food began in Sydney at the Darley St restaurant, but he’s since taken over the kitchens at the Michelin-starred Nahm, in London’s own Halkin Hotel.

No one is pretending this isn’t a luxury course with a price tag to match (the trip will set you back £2,990), but it is rather exceptional. You’ll be cooking at the brand new, state-of-the-art cookery school at the Four Seasons hotel, Chiang Mai, for starters.

But the course begins in Bangkok, where you’ll brave the frenetic, but fantastic food markets and take in local rice paddies. The trip is as much a guided holiday off the tourist trail as it is a cookery course. After the Thai capital you’ll fly to Chiang Mai, where you’ll stay in the luxury of the Four Seasons, with its infinity pool, pavilion-style rooms and aforementioned cooking facilities. And obviously, Thompson knows his stuff: Chiang Mai is a mountainous region, so the food you’ll produce will echo local jungle dishes such as deep-fried catfish with garlic and peppercorns and spicy, ginger-infused curries. You’ll even prepare one meal for a group of local monks. The next course is set for February 2007 (you have to think ahead when it comes to many of these courses), but the organisers are considering extra trips if the demand is out there. For those with less to splash out, Tasting Places’ UK courses, with top chefs from restaurants like The Ivy, start at a more easily digestible £160.

Tasting Places (020 8964 5333/ www.tastingplaces.com).

Getting there Flights to Bangkok with Thai Air from £411 return (www.skyscanner.net). Internal flights are included in the price of the course.

Kate Riordan