From 18 - 23 March 2013, the Royal Thai Consulate-General and the Institute of Hotel Management in Aurangabad (IHM-A) organised an intensive Thai cooking course for IHM-A’s forty senior students for the second consecutive year.  Mr. Phonganan Sirisaengphaiwan (Chef Paul) and Mrs. Nathathai Chonglerttham (Chef Nat), two Thai culinary experts from Rajabhat Suan Dusit University, Bangkok, Thailand, flew from Thailand to demonstrate the art of authentic Thai cooking to the students. The course covered more than twenty Thai dishes including globally renowned Thai foods such as Phad Thai (stir-fried noodles - Thai style), Som Tam (spicy papaya salad) and Tom Yum (spicy soup).  Bearing in mind that 60% of Indians are vegetarians, the course was designed to strike a balance between non-veg. and veg. varieties of Thai foods.

On the final day, Mr. Teerapong Vanichanon, Deputy Consul-General, and Professor Satish Jayaram, Principal of IHM-A, presided over the graduation ceremony with the presence of Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and his delegation from Thailand as guests of honour.  Thereafter, the students prepared and served Thai foods to the guests, most of whom were Thai. The students did fabulously. 

Also, on 5 - 14 April 2013, the Consulate-General and the Courtyard by Marriott in Ahmedabad organised Thai Food Festival at Momo Café in the hotel to celebrate Songkran Festival or Thai New Year Festival. The Consulate-General invited two Thai culinary experts: Mr. Phonganan Sirisaengphaiwan and Mr. At Khunsee to train and supervise the cooking of Thai foods for the festival.  Mr. Nat Pinyowattanacheep, Consul-General, and Mr. Prashanth Kumar, GM of the Courtyard by Marriott inaugurated the festival on 5 April 2013 with special Thai cultural performances. The ten-day event attracted numbers of local media and Gujaratis who wished to experience new gastronomic adventure.  The hotel also arranged Thai cooking demonstration for local media on 12 April 2013. 

Both events were a great success as a means to promote better cultural understanding between peoples of India and Thailand.