This century-old palace reveals the secrets to Michelin-worthy cooking

A century-old palace is an unusual place for a Thai cooking school, but then again, this isn’t your ordinary class.

Located in Phuket Old Town, the 1903-built Phra Pitak Chinpracha is a sprawling former baron’s house surrounded by well-kept tropical gardens. Abandoned for nearly four decades, the beautifully restored two-storey pale mustard mansion is a superb example of Sino-Portuguese architecture in the island’s historic centre. It’s a fancy spot to learn how to excel at Thai cuisine and complements the quality of food served for over 40 years.

The baronial mansion Phra Pitak Chinpracha is home to the Blue Elephant Cooking School.Credit: Pixabay

Within the estate is Blue Elephant, one of Thailand’s most celebrated culinary ventures and a Michelin Guide-rated restaurant. At the helm is chef Nooror Somany Steppe, often regarded as a world ambassador of Thai gastronomy. Steppe opened Blue Elephant in Brussels in 1980 before expanding her fine dining empire in her homeland, opening a restaurant and cooking school in Bangkok (2002) and then later in Phuket (2010). I’m prepared to work for my palate. Instead of dining, I’m donning an apron, ready to replicate Steppe’s flair for royal Thai cuisine on a half-day cookery course.

Phuket’s Blue Elephant is like a museum. It is immaculate and full of old-world charms, with turn-of-the-century decor, ornate chandeliers, and Thai artworks. European heritage forest green and white floor tiles beautifully contrast dark wood panels throughout the building. Abundant natural light peers through countless timber-framed windows. But before I can appreciate its splendour, there is shopping to be done.

Buzzing Ranong Road, in front of the central market.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

We follow chef Molly Chonjai – armed with a straw basket – for a stroll to the three-level Downtown Market, also known as Ranong, to buy fresh ingredients. The ground floor is vibrant and fragrant, with fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and cockroach-looking bugs. Chonjai joyfully holds a jar full of the delicacy I consider a household pest, trying to discern who the adventurous eaters in the group might be.

Insects aside, the other two floors are not for the faint-hearted. Butcher cuts dangle from hooks, and freshly caught fish are on display; the putrid smells starkly contrast the aromatic wafts below. As we wander through the market, Chonjai divulges popular ingredients, handy for when we attempt to excel at Thai cuisine in our modest kitchen back home.

Back in the mansion, it’s time to test our culinary prowess making Michelin-approved cuisine. Steppe stands behind a kitchen bench at the head of a small classroom and reveals which four dishes we will “master”: spicy green papaya salad (som tam), chicken with cashew nut (kai himmapan), stir-fried Thai rice noodles with prawns (phad Thai koong sod), and yellow curry with beef (kaeng karee nua).

On the menu… spicy green papaya salad (som tam).Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Sitting at a desk, we follow recipe worksheets as she performs a cooking demonstration of each dish right before our hungry eyes. A camera captures her every move in the kitchen, streamed on a suspended television. She makes it look so effortless with her no-sweat demeanour over the stove – if only.

Our class soon relocates to a delightful open-air kitchen overlooking a lush garden. It feels like being in a MasterChef kitchen, albeit on a smaller scale, with 20 students each behind a single hotplate. Everything needed is readily available on a tray under the workbench, each measured accordingly with little room for error – my kind of cooking.

Hunger pains are short-lived as meals are prepared one after another in quick succession. I flex my biceps using a mortar and pestle to recreate Blue Elephant’s renowned flavours, improving co-ordination with each grind.

Banging sounds soon blend with clanking woks and shuffling spatulas as each novice cook finds their rhythm. Multiple pedestal fans around the room bolster the intense aromas filling the air. The heavenly smells are such a tease.

The aprons are now off as we head into the banquet hall to feast on our creations. As expected, each dish is delicious. Certificates commemorating our feats in the Steppe’s kitchen are presented shortly after, a nice gesture of our time recreating award-winning cuisine. Now to work on my own Michelin star.

The details

Tour
Blue Elephant’s half-day cookery course on Royal Thai cuisine costs THB3270 ($145). See blueelephant.com

Fly
Thai Airways flies to Phuket from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth via Bangkok. See thaiairways.com
Jetstar flies direct to Phuket from Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. See jetstar.com

The writer was a guest of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.