Smith Mountain Lake chef Mantana Heim was not permitted in the kitchen of her childhood in Phuket, Thailand and did not learn to cook until she became an adult and married in the U.S. Today, though, after her passion for travel took her all over the world and back to her home country for a stint in a Chiang Mai culinary college, she presides over Smith Mountain Lake International Cooking School, where she teaches others visiting her home kitchen how to prepare and enjoy authentic Thai cuisine and artisan breads she learned to make in France and Italy.
“My father was a police chief and I had 10 siblings,” recalled Heim of her youth. “I was not allowed in the kitchen, because education came first. Our duty was to excel in school.”
She did so, graduating as a linguist from Thammasat University and becoming a language instructor and later a child support enforcement officer in Tampa, Florida, her first job in the U.S. Heim retired at 55, relocating with husband, Gus, to a country home in Bedford County, where she opened the cooking school.
“I like good food,” said Heim, whose daughter, Becky, works in media. Heim’s grandson, Niles, 18, recently graduated from Staunton River High School. “Tampa had a lot of nice restaurants, but I couldn’t find any good Thai food here. Friends said they loved my food. So one winter, I studied culinary arts and traditional Thai cooking in Thailand. Cooking is a way to share and learn while eating, and cooking for others became my way to making friends.”
So eight years ago, she launched her cooking school in a kitchen with tropical, kaleidoscopic hues decorated with wood carvings acquired on trips to Heim’s home country. This past February, Heim, ever the creative and industrious sort, also started offering Thai-style meal kits (similar to Blue Apron and others) for customers to purchase and take home. She grows many of the ingredients in her home garden, so they are at the peak of freshness.
Classes at her school in the preparation of homemade spring rolls, a favorite, Pad Thai, a melange of fresh vegetables, noodles and herbs, and Larb Gai, a salad of herbs, ground chicken breasts and vegetables, will be offered in September. Hands-on classes are limited to five to six students and fill up quickly. For more information on the classes, cost and the school, find Smith Mountain International Cooking School on Facebook, or email Heim at SMLThaiChef@aol.com.
About the Writer:
Rebecca Jackson is a veteran newspaper person/journalist based in Bedford County, VA. A native of California and an M.A. graduate of Arizona State University, she has a passion for pets (animals), good food/cooking, music, wine, horticulture, photography and travel.
