In Toi Woosley’s native Thailand, food is a constant aspect of life — in the home, on the street and in the business world.
Since 1985, the Edmonds resident and world traveler, who started out as a sports journalist in Bangkok, has taught Thai cooking classes in the Seattle area, most recently at the Dale Turner YMCA through Shoreline Community College. She also moonlights at Cooks World and PCC.
“Teaching is always my sideline job,” said Woosley, whose first name rhymes with “soy.”
Woosley supplies the ingredients and students in her class learn by doing. Her hope is that students learn to make such Thai dishes as chicken curry well enough to repeat the process at home.
An entrepreneur, she’s developed a line of sauces she uses in her cooking, called Toi Sauce, that she offers to her students and sells online. The sauces, which she calls “like salt and pepper, the main ingredient for Thai food,” include all-purpose sauces for dishes like Pad Thai, as well as finishing sauces like red curry (“panang”) and peanut (“satay”). Customers can enjoy fish sauces and vegetarian sauces. She also sells gift packs.
A factory in Sultan makes the sauce based on her recipe. A writer as well, she put together a cookbook, “Healthy and Easy Thai Cooking,” which was published in Thailand and also sells on her Web site. The sauces have no preservatives, gum or thickening agents, Woosley said.
The irony of being in the food business is that Woosley didn’t like cooking when she started to cook at home at age 14.
“I hated the duties,” she said.
The second of four children, Woosley is a self-confessed fast learner who would become a bit restless after learning something. She earned a journalism degree at Thammasat University, a top university in Thailand. She covered such sports as soccer and rugby, as well as the Asian Games.
She later worked as a member of the editorial board of Journal of the American Medical Association in Bangkok.
But soon, Woosley changed careers and worked in the hotel business, food service and marketing in Bangkok for Sheraton and Hyatt International. She also went to the Busit Thani culinary school.
In 1982, Woosley married an American and came to Seattle. She worked for Thai Airways based in Los Angeles in reservations and sales, and took that opportunity to travel around the world. In 1992, she returned to Thailand to work in hotel management and returned again to Seattle in 1999.
Today, Woosley works as a library page at the Woodinville Library part time in addition to teaching the art of healthy Thai food.
Getting her product noticed and distributed hasn’t been easy the last several years, and she’s also been helping care for her partner who has been sick. But she’s still at it.
“When people truly appreciate your effort and things you do, that’s the reward,” she said. “I never give up,” she added. “You face the problem and you just have to solve it.”
Woosley will appear at the Northwest Artists’ Holiday Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 7 and 8 at Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Church, 8109 224th St. SW. Her Web site is www.toisauce.com.
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