May Kaidee

A vegan Thai restaurant that teaches

May Kaidee is a family-run Thai vegan restaurant business that teaches its own cooking and fruit carving classes. The about page describes it as "a restaurant, but we also offer cooking classes nearly every day of the year along with the occasional sampling of authentic Thai culture through dance and music." Its restaurant is at 215 East Broadway in Manhattan, and the site says it also has locations in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand. The homepage says plainly, "We teach cooking classes in NYC," and the about page's title calls the business "Thai Vegan Restaurants and Cooking Schools." The locations, the page adds, "are managed and operated by a network of family and friends who currently or have previously lived in Thailand."

The story starts with the founder, May. According to the site, "In 1988 May started with just a street cart in Bangkok," which became a small restaurant and, at its peak, "six restaurants in three countries (Thailand, Cambodia and the U.S.)." The pandemic changed that. "In March of 2020 May Kaidee was suddenly reduced to a fraction of its former self," the about page says, with every Thailand location closed and May "once again cooking by herself without a staff," this time in the US. Since then the company has reopened in Chiang Mai and opened a new Bangkok location "not far from the previous ones we had operated for three decades." The New York branch began as "a one year popup in Murray Hill beginning in 2016" before moving to East Broadway.

The classes

The site describes its classes under the heading "Culinary Art Classes."

The chili paste making class is the one the company recommends "For those interested in an introduction to Thai cooking." Students learn "one of the most important base ingredient in Thai cooking," making Tom Yam, red and green chili pastes, and then "learning how to make three dishes using the freshly made chili paste." The site says "Each dish is enjoyed by the students after making it." The teaching uses "traditional equipment including a mortar and pestle," with an explanation of "how the recipes can be made at home using modern equipment as well."

The fruit carving class is billed as "an afternoon introductory class in fruit carving where you will learn how to add a centuries old Thai tradition to your culinary repertoire." The site says "First time students are welcome" and "Prior experience with carving or sculpture is not required."

Both descriptions end with a registration link, and the homepage invites anyone curious to get in touch: "Let us know and we can recommend the best classes for you."

The food behind the classes

Everything May Kaidee cooks is vegan. The homepage says "Our food is 100% plant-based" and that its customers "consist of vegans and non-vegans alike who simply enjoy authentic Thai cooking." The recipes, the site says, were created by May "while running a street cart in an alley of old Bangkok in 1988" and "have remained unchanged ever since." They draw on Isaan, the northeast of Thailand, where the site calls flavors "bold, agressive and unique," as well as Central Thai dishes such as its green curry and southern dishes such as its Massaman curry.

The company says it sources ingredients daily, including harder-to-find items such as galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, fingerroot and Thai basil, and that it buys organic where it can, particularly tofu and oil. On gluten, the site says "Nearly all of the dishes on the menu at our NYC location are gluten-free," because most dishes are rice based and the kitchen uses gluten-free soy sauce. It lists Pad Thai, Pad See U, the curries, Tom Yam and Tom Kha among the gluten-free dishes. For other requirements, it asks guests to email veginfo@maykaidee.com or call 917 443 7885, says it "can make our dishes including or excluding any ingredient," and offers "a Jain menu and Swaminarayan menu at our NYC restaurant."

Booking, events and extras

Classes are booked through the registration links on the site, and questions go to the same phone number and email. The New York restaurant is open Monday to Friday from 5pm to 11pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 5pm to 11:30pm.

The homepage also covers events. The New York space "can accommodate up to 40 people," and guests can book "May's private garden for a special outdoor experience." The team can "come to your home or venue and cook for groups up to 100 people." For large delivery orders, the about page suggests hiring one of the chefs instead, saying "The price of sending one of chefs to your location is typically only slightly more than the price of ordering from our menu," since noodle dishes like Pad See U and Pad Kee Mao are best eaten immediately after being cooked.

The company sells a cookbook, which the site calls its "third edition," with "several original dishes from our original Bangkok menu," described as "Suitable for both beginning and experienced cooks" and "Available for delivery worldwide." It includes recipes for spring rolls, papaya salad, Pad Thai, Massaman curry and green curry.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The site's class descriptions do not give a price, a length for either class, a group size, a minimum age or a cancellation rule. It says classes run "nearly every day of the year" but does not publish a class calendar alongside the descriptions. It is not clear from the site whether the classes also run at the Bangkok and Chiang Mai locations or only in New York, where the homepage says it teaches, and the language of instruction is not stated.

May Kaidee suits people in New York who want to learn Thai cooking from its roots, starting with chili pastes pounded in a mortar and pestle, from a family business with more than three decades behind its recipes. Vegans, people who eat gluten-free and those following Jain or Swaminarayan diets will find a kitchen that says it cooks with them in mind. Anyone who needs a price or schedule before committing should contact the team first.