Kasma Babcock

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

Biography

Loha-unchit grew up in Thailand, outside of Bangkok in the countryside. Her parents were Chinese. Loha-unchit earned her master's degree in business from the University of California, Berkeley. Professionally, she has kept the name Loha-unchit, as is shown clearly in the cited biography.

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

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. Her teaching method involves introducing students to Thai culture as well as Thai cuisine. She takes students to Asian markets and teaches them about the ingredients they use. The name of her company is Thai Food and Travel.

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. The Chicago Tribune called It Rains Fishes "a real charmer" and described how the book introduces readers to both Thai cooking and Thai culture. Her second book, Dancing Shrimp, was published in 2000 and was described by Restaurant Hospitality as helping Western chefs easily learn Thai cooking.