Cooking with Poo

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People started settling in Khlong Toei in the 50s after emigrating from the poorer regions in the North East in search of a better life. At the time cheap labour was in demand, and therefore Bangkok promised a plethora of opportunities. However, the average earnings for those living in the slum are only half of the national average and only a third of that of a Bangkok household. Basic amenities such as water and electricity are in short supply, and living standards are low. Serious crime, drug addiction, unmanaged waste, and unemployment have led to a crushing sense of doom. Social mobility is incredibly hard in these situations. We all need a bit of hope! Poo had been making a living by cooking in front of her home for over a decade. She would sell up to 100 dishes a day to feed her family. In 2007 though, the rice prices doubled, thus making her business no longer profitable. So, being the entrepreneurial woman that she is, Poo approached Anji, her Australian friend, to ask if she would help her set up a cooking school to teach tourists and locals how to make simple yet delicious Thai meals. I found Poo’s story incredibly inspiring. Poo is an excellent example of what can be achieved when you have a dream and are willing to work hard for it. Poo can now take time off and have a holiday, something that is unheard of within the slum community. In fact, only 30% of the people living in Khlong Toei are able to take time off. The majority work 7 days a week for the entirety of their lives without ever considering retirement. Poo also volunteers regularly with a number of other projects within the community, including acting as a mentor for other young people wanting to start their own business. Where does the cooking class take place? In the eight years she’s run the school, Poo has seen the community change for the better. Now, she says, many students in “our family” go to university, and with the financial support, families are able to take weekends off and even have the occasional holiday from work. The twelve staff Poo employs are all neighbourhood friends. Since Poo trained them up they earn more money and rest time than they would otherwise. It is very important to remember when visiting Khlong Toei, or any other market for that matter, that these are working markets where people need to make a living, so please be respectful and don’t get in the way. Time to learn how to cook Thai cuisine!

Cooking with Poo by Saiyuud Diwong | Goodreads

We open the class for 12 participants to join at one time, this is in consideration of transportation, staff-student ratio, and facility space/equipment. Now, ten years later Poo not only speaks excellent English, she has a dedicated cooking school (still in the slum) and employs numerous people from the area in her business. All the food items were pretty much prepped (thank heavens) and so, it really was a case of just getting on with it. Poo cooked first so you could see what was going to happen – then it was my go, We're sorry; this specific copy is no longer available. AbeBooks has millions of books. We've listed similar copies below.Floor, Room No. plz.2shp029b Future Park Rangsit, 94 Paholyothin Rd., Prachathipat, Thanyaburi, Pathum Thani 12130 You don’t have to travel very far south from the shops and hotels of downtown Sukhumvit Road before you reach Bangkok’s largest slum area located just north of the Chao Phraya River. Klong Toey is home to an estimated 100,000 people, a mix of poor people from Bangkok plus economic migrants from other regions of Thailand (mainly the north and north-east) who have been drawn to the Thai capital by the prospect of work. The numbers at Klong Toey are swelled still further by immigrants from neighbouring countries like Laos and Burma who arrive with no legal status or documents and are left with little option but to take the dirtiest and lowest paid jobs on offer. With basic amenities like fresh water and electricity in limited supply, the Klong Toey residents have no legal rights to occupy the land and live with the threat of eviction hanging over them. Khun Poo’s Story The class costs 1800 baht (at the time of writing) which includes transport, the Klong Toey market tour, your cooking lesson and whatever you cooked to eat. The Khlong Toey Tour… The buffet breakfast is enormous with every cuisine known to man; it’s a brilliant place to fuel up before a long day trip.They also offer buffet lunch if you fancy a lazy day. When we were there they were gearing up to open their cheese and wine room.

Cooking with Poo – the Ultimate Thai Cooking Class - BEA Cooking with Poo – the Ultimate Thai Cooking Class - BEA

During this part of my Bangkok trip I stayed at a hotel called the Amari Watergatewhich is an absolutely brilliant hotel for foodies. My travel articles have been published in titles including The Australian, Body & Soul at the Sunday Telegraph, RAC Horizons, Jetstar magazine and more. Khlong Toei is one of the most authentic markets in Bangkok, selling very cheap raw meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit. Chances are, that wherever you eat in Bangkok, the produce will have been bought here. Visiting a wet market might be fascinating, but not necessarily enjoyable!The second reason was the owner. Cooking with Poo is named after its founder Khun Poo who grew up in the Klong Toey slum in Bangkok. When the idea of writing this book was first suggested we could only hope that this could be a possibility one day in the future. Shortly after this it became really clear that Poo (Saiyuud Diwong) was not just a great cook and a fun loving personality, but also a gifted mentor and trainer. (She has helped 3 other small businesses start, and mentored those neighbours in an empowering way to help them maximize their businesses.) We started to dream about the possibility of using the very successful cooking school as a way of training and developing more men and women from the Klong Toey slum community. Thanks to the amazing support and hard work of many people this dream has become a reality. The hope is that Poo will earn her income from the successful sales of this book, and therefore be not as reliant on income from her cooking school, the result being the opportunity to train others and help them develop meaningful employment. By purchasing this book you are part of this exciting adventure – changing the world one life at a time. To say a cooking class is not my normal home is, therefore, an understatement…so, the fact that I not only enjoyed Cooking with Poo, but I produced three edible dishes is nothing short of a miracle – and probably all you need to know as my review! She told us we would see live animals (and maybe some of them might not be live for long) and offered anyone who would find this uncomfortable the chance to opt out of this part of the lesson. There are many cooking classes in Bangkok – most of them have pretty names involving elephants, colours or spices (or some combination of the three). I choose one called Cooking With Poo, but as much as the name makes me giggle, it wasn’t the reason for my choice.

Cooking With Poo - The Londoner Cooking With Poo - The Londoner

We find the fun, unusual or less-touristy things to eat, see and do in some of the world’s most popular travel destinations. I love unusual food so learning all about how these things are consumed from Poo’s colleague Noi who was escorting us around, was fascinating. We’ve been to Bangkok eight times (or nine, I’ve lost count now) and so there’s quite a few posts about it on the blog. But, you’re probably going to want to start with our fun and unusual Bangkok guide.That to me was what made Cooking With Poo stand out in Bangkok. Anyone (except me) can teach you to make a Pad Thai, but not everyone can help a community while they do it.

Cooking with Poo: Diwong, Saiyuud: 9780977507078: Books Cooking with Poo: Diwong, Saiyuud: 9780977507078: Books

I really, really enjoyed it. Poo is a natural entertainer – she’s really funny, tells brilliant stories and makes the process of cooking fun (something I never thought I’d ever say). I really wanted to visit it but wasn’t sure I was going to have time to go under my own steam so, the idea that I would a) go and b) actually discover what some of the unusual things I was seeing were was Cooking With Poo’s first lure over the competition. I think you made a great point about the slum tourism. I think it’s one of those things you know if you see it Ans it’s hard to out into words. This cooking course isn’t that. It doesn’t reveal in it and it’s not the focus.Floor, Retail Center, CRC Tower, All Seasons Place, No.87/2 ,129A, Wireless Road, Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok 10320