WHADDYA MEAN I FLUNKED COOKING SCHOOL?

DAY THREE - IT'S NINE A.M. AND OUR LITTLE GROUP OF FOUR MERRYMAKERS ARE ENROUTE TO THE THAI FARM COOKING SCHOOL. We're going to learn Thai cooking and we're going to photograph the process. Then we're going to eat the meals we cook. Our first stop is at a local market. But this is like no market in the States. The amount and variety of produce dwarfs anything you'd see in a U. S. supermarket. And then there's the meat. There are no neatly packaged T-Bone steaks or lamb chops to choose from here. The meat is being hacked up into various cuts right before our eyes as we wander among the stalls. And unlike in the States, the meat here stares back at you: chickens and ducks with heads still attached , the unattached heads of pigs, cows and goats, and fish and eels still swimming around waiting to be plucked from their tanks and hauled home for dinner. There's lots to photograph here, but first we stand at attention listening intently as our teacher lectures us on the intricasies of preparing sticky rice and the proper use of soy, oyster, fish and mushroom sauces. Then it's all aboard for the ride to the cooking school. We speed past banana trees and coconut palms, cattle and goats, and rice patties. Then, approximately 17 km from Chiang Mai City, we arrive at the spacious self sustaining organic farm where the Thai cooking school is located. We've already each chosen the dishes we'll prepare. My choices include red curry with chicken, Tom Yan, chicken with cashew nuts, and Pad Thai fried noodles and, for dessert, pumpkin in coconut milk. We're each provided with our own cooking station. At each of the stations are propane stove, metal sauce pan, wok, measuring spoons, spatula, cooking spoon and knife. Soon we're busily pounding garlic, chilies, herbs and spices in mortar and pestle till they morph into curry paste. We slice, chop, mince and crush various ingredients, then boil or fry them. Amazingly, everything comes together and, before we know it, we're seated at a huge wooden table pigging out on all the delicious food we've managed to prepare. All of this we photo-document. We bag still uneaten food for transport back to our hotel. Then it's back on the road, heading toward the city. Soon we arrive at the Khumsiphaya exhausted but happy, four Bisbee photographers ready to call it a day. Larry Elkins Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography