Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - On our recent vacation to Puerto Vallarta, we found no shortage of fun events and activities to fill our days and nights with. Among those, my personal favorite, hands down, was a Thai Cooking Class that we took at "Essence of Cuisine Cooking School" from Dolores Brittingham.

With a big group of us traveling together, it wasn’t hard to gather 8 eager foodies (men and women) interested in participating in a night of cooking and eating. Having our fill of Mexican food, we were delighted to see that Dolores offered a Thai menu options. And, as with most groups, there are always food sensitivities, which made this gluten-free menu perfect one of our ladies who has gluten intolerance.

The class is given in the comfort of Dolores and Robert’s private home in Old Vallarta which, I might add "is a showpiece." She starts with welcoming her guests/students with a glass of wine, and then gets into a brief history of Thailand before she starts the actual cooking instruction.

With tons of experience and expertise, she taught us about the actual ingredients, their benefits to the dish/food, where to find them, how to store them and finally the preparations, with welcome little food samples along the way. With a wealth of knowledge, Dolores answered all questions with ease and kept everyone entertained with her very charismatic personality. It was plain to see that cooking and entertaining is a true passion of Dolores’ and something she has mastered.

Cooking and entertaining isn’t Dolores’ only flare. Just one look at their home and it’s easy to figure out that she also loves fashion and design. And the dining table was a work of art. To complement the topic of the cooking class, it had been decorated in an Asian-themed table setting from Asian ornaments right down to bamboo-handled cutlery.

Dolores doesn’t miss a trick. And when the dishes were all prepared (the aromas were driving us crazy,) and instruction was over, we dined in style enjoying:

Watermelon and Papaya with Smoked Bacon Chipotle Habanero Sea Salt
Tom Yum Shrimp soup with Coconut Milk
Yellow Curry Chicken and Potatoes
Pork with Cabbage and Zucchini
Coconut rice
Crunchy Thai Salad with Peanuts
Curry Crusted Bananas with coconut sauce

It was so easy to see how much Dolores loves people. She has a vibrant and fun personality that takes the cooking class to another level. We shared lots of laughs, wine, and the most delicious food - all the ingredients for a perfect evening. Thank you Dolores!