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Kasma Loha-unchit

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Kasma Loha-unchit (born 1950 in Thailand) is a Thai-American cooking teacher, author, and tour guide.

Biography

Loha-unchit grew up in Thailand,[1] outside of Bangkok in the countryside.[2] Her parents were Chinese.[2] In 1968, she moved to the United States to attend college. She settled in the San Francisco area in 1972.[3] Loha-unchit earned her master's degree in business from the University of California, Berkeley.[3] She had attended Arizona State for her undergraduate degree.[2] After school, she married her first husband, who committed suicide when she was twenty-nine.[2]

For some time, she worked as a marketing analyst, but started cooking, teaching and giving tours in 1985.[3] She began offering cooking classes to earn extra income, drawing on what she had learned from her mother and grandmother. Eventually she shifted to teaching full-time, wrote two books on Thai cuisine, and started offering "food tours" to different regions of Thailand. She is currently married to her second husband, Michael Babcock.[4] Professionally, she has kept the name Loha-unchit, as is shown clearly in the cited biography.[5]

In April 2015 she indicated that she will be retiring from teaching and tour-leading within the next several years.[6]

Work

Loha-unchit teaches hands on cooking classes in a private kitchen. Loha-unchit has been teaching out of her own cooking school in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1985.[7] Her teaching method involves introducing students to Thai culture as well as Thai cuisine.[8] She takes students to Asian markets and teaches them about the ingredients they use.[9] The name of her company is Thai Food and Travel.[10]

Loha-unchit writes entirely on Thai cooking. Her first book, It Rains Fishes: Legends, Traditions and the Joys of Thai Cooking, won the 1996 Julia Child award as Best International Cookbook for 1995.[11][12][13] The Chicago Tribune called It Rains Fishes "a real charmer" and described how the book introduces readers to both Thai cooking and Thai culture.[14] Her second book, Dancing Shrimp, was published in 2000 and was described by Restaurant Hospitality as helping Western chefs easily learn Thai cooking.[7] The Chicago Tribune described Dancing Shrimp as an exploration of "the cuisine of her homeland through a variety of the seafood so plentiful in Thailand." The title of Dancing Shrimp comes from a type of Thai dish made of tiny, translucent freshwater shrimp.[3]

Loha-unchit offers guided culinary tours to Thailand.[15]

References

  1. ^ Harris, Phyllis Louise (14 July 1996). "Flavors of Asia: Asian Cookbooks Capture Top International Awards". Asian Pages. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Walden, GraceAnn (11 September 2005). "Cook's Night Out: Kasma Loha-Unc". SF Gate. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "Try Kasma Loha-Unchit's Dancing Shrimp and Website for Thai Food". Asian Pages. 14 October 2000. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. ^ Wu, Olivia (12 March 2003). "For Thais, Palm Oil Always Has Been a Good Thing". SF Gate. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Kasma Loha-unchit Biography".
  6. ^ http://thaifoodandtravel.com/blog/kasma-30-year-message/ Kasma's 30-year Anniversary Message
  7. ^ a b "Kasma Loha-unchi". Baker & Taylor Author Biographies. 3 January 2000. Retrieved 26 June 2016 – via EBSCO.
  8. ^ Yee, Donna (20 December 2009). "Kasma Loha-Unchit". Saveur. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  9. ^ Chun, Kimberly (November 2007). "Thai Chef Brings the Spirit of Her Homeland to the East Bay". Oakland Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Kasma Loha-unchit, MBA 75". Berkeley Haas. 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  11. ^ "International Association of Culinary Professionals". iacp.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  12. ^ Krummert, Bob (March 2001). "The Final Word on Food". Restaurant Hospitality. 85 (3): 32. Retrieved 26 June 2016 – via EBSCO.
  13. ^ "Best of the Books". Los Angeles Times. 2 May 1996. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  14. ^ Rice, William (13 December 1995). "10 Books to Savor". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  15. ^ Fletcher, Janet (27 April 2005). "Secret Ingredient / Fish Sauce Adds Distinction to Cuisines Far Beyond Southeast Asia". SF Gate. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
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