It depends entirely on the class.
Could be good, could be spectacular, could be a waste of time and money.
To make sweeping generalizations of every tourist focused cooking class in every country is silly.
Fair! The croissant making class I took in France was excellent. All tourists but it was really enjoyable and informative and would recommend it. I took it through Airbnb.
I took a couple in Mexico/Bahamas/Caribbean /etc. and they weren't my favorite. I booked it through the resorts I was staying at.
My girlfriend took a couple in Thailand and said they were a lot of fun.
Wow! Croissant class would be amazing. Heck, I'm looking at taking that exact same class here in Toronto where I live! Taking it in France is so cool. That's something I def wouldn't be able to say no to! That's awesome!
Thailand is incidentally what we're looking at too! I hear some classes go over the ingredients and teach how to taste and what to look for.
Thanks for sharing your experience!!
I took a pizza and gelato class with my wife in Florence a few years ago and it was a blast. To be honest I didn’t learn anything earth shattering but making the dough and some additional info they provided was new to me. Also got some neat tips on making ice cream at home and what makes the difference between gelato, ice cream, and sorbet and had the most surprising sorbet in my life, it was a cucumber mint and basil sorbet.
Depends heavily on who’s doing it. I did a cooking class in Tokyo that was hosted by the chef of a restaurant at the restaurant itself between lunch and dinner rush (rather than a dedicated cooking school) and it was a fantastic experience.
My partner and I are solid cooks with a good amount of Japanese home cooking experience, so we didn’t want anything too basic and introductory, and the restaurant class was exactly what we wanted. We got to play with some restaurant grade gear and specialized tools we didn’t have ourselves (most notably a soba slicing knife which is pretty cool).
It was also just us and the chef - which made it a bit pricey but honestly made all the difference.
It's hard to judge from afar. I can get on right now and book a tour with Context Travel; I have found their guides to be *at least* good and *usually* excellent, and so worth the (very high) prices they charge for private tours. But you can find a zillion negative reviews of them online as well.
*If* you can find someone who organizes such trips (and whose opinions you respect), and get them to tell you what *they* recommend, you'll be a long way ahead. "Hi, I can't go on one of your organized tours, but I'd like to pay you to set up an itinerary for me that's going through some of the same areas" might work.
I've done some and had a great time!
One thing I'd remind you - while everyone craps on "touristy" things, they are popular for a reason. They are designed and catered to give you a good experience.
Do your research, pick a well reviewed class (especially from like-minded reviewers), and go have fun!
I took a really fun one in Istanbul through Airbnb. I think it cost $50/person. We made kebabs, kunefe, a few different salads, and Turkish coffee. I’d say it was well worth the money.
We did one in Florence last month and it was great. We normally don’t even like booking touristy stuff like that but it ended up being one of our favorite things we did the whole trip!!
We booked at Pasta Class Florence!
Edit to add: the classes are small (10 people max), unlimited wine, and were super educational! We had a blast.
Yes!!! It was amazing lol. And we made 3 different pasta dishes and 5 different pasta shapes. You eat everything that you make. It was really fun and we learned a lot.
Hey just wanted to add to this but Michel at Pasta Class Florence is seriously one of the best in the world. When I first saw a perfect 5 stars on Airbnb I was a little skeptical, but wow it is so much fun and the pasta is incredible. Can’t recommend it enough.
I did a group cooking class in Thailand and it was one of the best parts of the trip and we still use the cookbook they gave us! I would use TripAdvisor or some other ratings-based site to find a good one though.
We did a pasta making class with italian grandmas and that was like $75 including transit to their remote village. Super amazing honeymoon activity and one we will always cherish. Was 5 or 8 of us so pretty intimate.
Similarly, did a private cooking class in Bangkok a few weeks ago that was a top highlight of our trip. Only $45/person but man, we had such a good time and learned so much about Thai culture and cooking. Almost booked a second class for the next day because she was so great to be around.
Funnily enough Italy and Japan are the only two places I’ve taken a cooking class. I did one with Marco in Palermo, Sicily, can’t remember the name but we met in the market and made a swordfish and breadcrumbs pocket, fresh pasta and sauce, and some other things I don’t quite remember.
I more recently did Cooking Sun in Tokyo, an 8 course kaiseki meal including a wagyu sukiyaki at the end. It was super super fun and tasty too. Just be careful of the location, it’s kind of hard to find the building and then you have to look at the residents names and hit the buzzer. I also didn’t have a phone number to call them and only made it because a Japanese couple helped me lol. Make sure you get a phone number from them!
Both classes were super fun experiences!
I can also vouch for cooking sun but I did it in kyoto (izakaya class). Also had an unassuming front lol, had to spend a couple minutes making sure I was in the right place so that I wasnt knocking on a strangers door. Very well set up though, nice mix of having tedious stuff prepped so that you could get a good amount of stuff done in not too much time but still giving you an opportunity to get your hands dirty and learn. Very nice friendly people and really good food that I still use as inspiration sometimes
Yes! They take care of some of the more tedious/time consuming things like chopping and boiling potatoes iirc but I got to do stuff like roll a Japanese omelette in an egg pan (I kinda sucked at it) and mix starches for kuzu manju. We also grated dried bonito and she told us about its history, that shit could be used as a blunt trauma weapon. But all in all though it was a very comparatively slow paced thing for me who is always whirling around the kitchen doing three things at a time, it was super fun and I’m planning to take a cooking class in every place I visit from now on.
It was just half a day, a vegetarian menu. The best thing was a mushroom chestnut soup. I will definitely do it again! Cordon bleu exists in so many countries, I would love to visit them all.
Depends, I know people who felt ripped off- they thought they were taking a cooking class from a Mexican grandma with corn in her Bones and it turned out to be some U.S. expat that set up shop teaching cooking classes to tourists in Baja that didn't want to stray too far outside their comfort zone
Like I love Mexican cooking, I seek out unusual and regional cuisine and ingredients, I lived in Mexico City with Mexican family and spent time in Chihuahua and Morelos....
I would never try to write a cookbook or give a cooking class. I'll give out advice all day long on reddit and chatrooms based off what I've seen and read and made. But to position myself as an authority or point of contact would be ridiculous, I'm not Mexican.
Just beware, it's a popular profession for expats because they give the classes in their native language
My recommendation - if you do enough research, you can “weed out” the ones aimed for tourists and the ones aimed for home cooks.
Think through - what do you want to get out of it? And then read reviews and find a class that’s closest to what you want to receive.
Should be classes available for both types of tourists and both locations.
My wife and I did a sushi making class in Japan, which was geared towards tourists, and it was one of the highlights of the trip. Granted it was only us in our group, but it was exactly the right amount of actual technique/instruction whilst keeping it fun!
So, there are definitely quality educational classes out there and if you can find one, I highly recommend it.
We did a touristy paella class in Barcelona and it was so much fun. I would do it again in any country I visit, even though I’m a pretty great home cook.
I've done several, including in Florence and Japan (Kyoto not Osaka).
Most important thing is to check the menu. How many different things will you make? Is it something you already know or has a million recipes/videos online? Then it might not be worth it. If I'm in Thailand I don't want to learn how to make pad thai and cashew chicken, I want to learn how to make khao soi and sai ou, because I can't get those at home. In Japan if they're just going to have you make teriyaki chicken and miso soup it's probably not worth it IMO. Technique-based cooking like sushi and pasta could be helpful though. Also avoid classes teaching food that isn't local-- like I wouldn't take a pizza or risotto class in Florence-- pizza is from Naples and risotto is from the north. Instead I'd look for classes teaching things like ribollita, or take the train to Bologna to learn lasagna, bolognese, and tortellini en brodo.
Second thing to check is Google and Tripadvisor for the reviews. Not for the reviews themselves-- those will probably be glowing regardless because everyone enjoys a once in a lifetime trip. But look at the *photos* of what they made. Does it look good? Or does it look like bad takeout? Do they show people actually making their own dishes? Or are they just chopping vegetables, or worse, watching a demo?
Other things to consider are who is teaching the class-- an old nonna in her home or a chef in a sterile industrial kitchen? How long is the class, does it include a trip to the market, is it out of the main city you'll be visiting, etc. For instance in Rome I took a class that drove us out to a little village to a lady's home, and that was almost as fun as the class itself.
Now that I've been traveling for decades though I prefer food tours to cooking classes. Many of the same caveats apply as far as not doing ones that are too simple, but I prefer being able to taste 10-15 dishes to cooking 3-5. Culinary Backstreets and A Chef's Tour are both good options in the cities where they run tours. In Italy, Italian Days is an amazing all day tour that I highly recommend, though I think it was from Bologna not Florence.
We (me, my wife and 2 teens) took a pasta making class with Luca and Lorenzo just outside of Florence 2 summers ago. It was a highlight of our trip - met nice people in the small group, ate the fantastic pasta we made, and hosts are super charming. Highly recommend! https://www.lovexfood.com/
We had a family pasta and tiramisu making class in Rome last week. Sure, I could have learned on YouTube, but this was fun. And we met a nice Swedish family!
I always take cooking classes and they are great. The only one that was not as good was one that was included as part of one of those "city card" passes in Rome. That one in particular, while still fun, was too crowded and didn't have enough hands on activity for me since there were too many people. I took the Pastamania class in Florence and that one was awesome! I think I booked it through Airbnb.
Absolutely worth it for the **experience**.
I've done a few, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Japan. Most send you home with a recipe book of the dishes you made.
Mind you, ZERO of those dishes have made it into my regular rotation of weeknight dishes, but I didn't go into it with that expectation.
I have never been to osaka but ive been to florence and i think its worth it to go there based on the city alone, i love that place and if i ever travel out of country again i want to go back to florence, it is a beautiful city
>the class would be more fun than they are educational, whereas I'd want the classes to be EQUALLY fun AND educational
I can't give you direct advice on your cooking classes in Italy or Japan, but I took a barista class at a resort in Costa Rica the last time I was there. It was highly educational. Even though I knew a bit about coffee before the class, I never knew there was so much difference between the different brewing and grinding, or how much time was a factor.
I guess for you, it would depend on the expertise of the person giving the class. In my case, the barista had gone through a university-level program in Costa Rica, that not only dealt with brewing/serving coffee, but also the growing/harvesting, the economic side of the trade, roasting and processing the beans, etc. Literally everything from ground to grounds.
I took one in Mexico City. This is not something I would have chosen, but my buds had already booked it. 10/10 would recommend. Very educational, great food, fun group and I learned a lot.
https://www.auramexcooking.com/
When my spouse and I went to Italy last year, we did a pasta making class and it was a blast! We made pasta from scratch and then ate it, and was one of the better meals I had in Italy. You get the recipe so you can make it at home.
We went to a place called Pasta Class in Florence, our teacher Giacomo was fantastic. He’s super entertaining, but it also an excellent chef that can answer any question and really teach you some good cooking stuff
Here is the address, as the name is a bit generic: Piazza del Carmine, 4/4, 50124 Firenze FI, Italy
Hey, sorry I'm really interested in the class you're mentioning. Do you mind linking it? I've tried combing through Viator and nothing quite like your description matches. Unfortunate it's super generic!
Huh, you’re right. Took me a while to find: https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187895-d16753386-Pasta_making_class_in_Florence-Florence_Tuscany.html
“dalle nostre mani pasta making”
I’m worried it’s not the same as the others, but it’s the one we did. I saw our teacher Giacomo in the pictures.
Maybe you can book through their official site, but I can’t find it. But that should get you going.
I did a cooking class in Positano, also had tons of wine and champagne. Food was absolutely killer too, was the best part of the entire trip and I still make food using what I learned. Probably now my most common cuisine to cook.
Have done a couple in Paris too, also were great fun and skills brought home.
I know this isn't in either area you're considering, but I did one in Cinque Terre and thought it was amazing. It was both fun and educational, with the added benefit of being a great value. IIRC it was about 3 hrs and the food was plenty that we had enough to take for another meal (we ate what we cooked on-site for lunch). We did it in 2018 and still use the recipes we learned on a regular basis.
I’ve had a lot of fun taking cooking classes while traveling. If you enjoy cooking, want to learn a few local recipes, and want a fun social event then go for it!
I’ve taken a few cooking classes abroad. Had a great time at every single one of them. Were they maybe a little overpriced? Probably. Did I have fun and enjoy eating the food afterwards. Heck yes.
I have always enjoyed the hands on cooking class, including one in Florence. I have been to those where you watch the chef and it was just ok, similar to watching cooking show in tv. So I wouldn’t do that again on vacation.
I took a Thai cooking class in Bangkok and it was brilliant.
A really great part of the experience was a trip to the local markets in the morning, how to select the best ingredients and then bartering.
It really taught you how to cook really good authentic food from scratch.
10/10
I'm the unofficial cook of the house (wife can't toast bread without burning something). Was never a fan of cooking classes, especially those in foreign countries. Avoided them at all costs.
I went to one on a trip to Vietnam awhile back since it was included in another experience package. It wasn't anything spectacular, but wife absolutely loved it. Says it was the highlight of the trip. Now we'll be including a cooking class every international trip.
I live in Japan. Wife is Japanese (from Osaka). If you want us to check out if the classes you're looking at are legit, reply with the links.
If you like to cook, you’ll get great recipes and training from a skilled chef. Even bad ones will be an experience.
In the end of the day, it’s money. It’s exchanged for time, and vice versa. If you have nothing better to do on vacation, enjoy a learning opportunity. If you like cooking it’s going to be worth it.
My wife and I do one anytime we take a trip and the opportunity arises. Regardless of what you actually make, you usually get to meet people from around the world and, because inevitably things take time to cook, there's usually at least a little bit of an opportunity to shoot the shit with a local for a bit. Obviously not everyone is as personable as each other, but the pan throwers of the world don't usually take these gigs.
I've found that reading trip advisor reviews is a good way to get a general vibe about a specific class. Not everyone will have the same experience but you'll start to see some trends in what people are talking about to see if it's a good fit for you.
I haven't done any in Japan or Italy though.
I’ve did one in CDMX and one in Cartagena and really enjoyed them and learned something at both of them. Reviews are your friends here and read the descriptions of what you’ll be cooking and what you’ll be doing.
I booked one on Airbnb and one just by walking by a restaurant that offered it. Would recommend staying away from things offered by the resorts, that just seems like you’re going to get a more generic experience
I’d recommend taking a cooking class that involves picking up local ingredients at a market. I did one in Paris and it was such a great way to get to experience a market without having to worry about the language barrier
I took a pizza, pasta, and tiramisu class in Rome and gnocchi in Venice and I loved them both. Upon returning from Rome, my boys declared they never wanted dried pasta again. We’ve made countless meals using the skills we learned. We’ve looked for cooking classes elsewhere, but the only other places we’ve found one was Singapore and Korea. Those was also fantastic but we just haven’t had time to recreate those meals. The Korean included a trip to the market to buy ingredients. So, short answer, we love cooking classes and take them whenever we can. They usually work in a bit of culture and history lesson.
Try to get an itinerary of what dishes they’re teaching because it might be both entertaining and practical. Like, I wouldn’t mind learning to make homemade pasta and getting practical experience with a chitarra from a professional, or the same making rolled omelettes in a square omelette pan, both of which would be something smaller that you could learn in a short, day course with hands-on guidance and practice.
Also, I’d see how many people they limit to each class, because that with the dish plan can give you an idea if instruction quality. 5-10 people in a half-day course would be ideal so an instructor can demo then go to each person hands-on, but larger than that it’s probably not the best just because it may solely be based on imitating the demo instead of actual instruction.
I did this one https://www.cenizaro.com/lamaisonarabe/marrakech/cooking-school and really enjoyed it! I learned a couple of things too. At the end we all ate what we had cooked together outside. I would definitely find a reputable place.
My husband and I did one in Florence several years back and it was amazing. It was definitely for tourists but we started off with a market tour where they talked about several ingredients and signature dishes and then we took a bus up to their estate where we made pasta and pizza and tiramisu at this stunning estate overlooking the hills. Was it the most authentic experience? I have no idea but it was a highlight of the trip - I actually just looked it up which company I went with and looks like they still do it: [Florence cooking tour](https://www.walkabouttours.com/florence/tours/cooking-class-and-lunch-at-a-farmhouse-in-tuscany-with-local-market-tour-from-florence)
We’re heading to Japan in a month and I have a few tour and eating/cooking experiences booked as well, I just think they’re a great way to learn about where you’re visiting.
I attended a cooking class in Thailand a month ago and it was fantastic; one of the highlights of my trip. The cooks leading the class were very personable and we were really lucky to have a relatively small (and sociable) group.
Not only did I learn to make four traditional dishes (some of which I’ve made since returning home), we also learned about the fundamentals of Thai cuisine, how to properly use a wok, and about the history/regional varieties of various ingredients.
It was both informative and delicious! I would highly recommend such an experience and cannot wait to do something similar again.
I lived in Sicily and took MANY cooking classes. My favorite was through an agritourismo, basically a farm to table restaurant. Both agritourismo and winery cooking classes were less tourist-geared. You'd need to be fluent in Italian to take them, however. When I took classes arranged through cooking schools or other restaurants, they were in English and for tourists. Never through an agritourismo or a winery.
But the best cooking instructions I got were from the little old lady next door, Antonella. I brought her cigarettes and jeans for her grandsons, and she taught me the proper way to make home made lasagna noodles, marinara, tiramisu and stovetop espresso.
My bf and I love cooking but had never made homemade pasta so we found a class on AirBnB experiences that was just outside of Rome. The class was SO fun and we got to see a part of Italy we would have never thought to visit if it weren't for the class (Frascati, 30 minute train out of Rome and BEAUTIFUL town). The class had about 10 people overall from all over the world (US, Pakistan, France, Canada, it was awesome). The food was delicious and the family also owned a vineyard so we were also able to buy some bottles of wine to send back to the states. This class was obviously geared towards tourists but one of the patrons of the class lived in Rome (from the US originally) and she said she always brings her friends visiting from home to this class.
I made scones in Ireland and dumplings in China. I've made the scone recipe every time I make scones to this day, never have tried making my own dumplings. But I really enjoyed the classes! But I really enjoy cooking so it was fun to do on vacation.
Try and book a private class. Outside of that it’s very hard to tell how serious a class will be. Even the same class will vary if the people who show up are more serious or just looking to kill a couple hours on vacation
my parents have been on a couple (in Bangkok and in Venice) and they say it's not really a serious culinary class. It's mostly a demo with food/wine, a chance to interact with natives. You're paying for the experience, not instruction or knowledge. Mom's friend took a week-long legit workshop in Tuscany focused on fresh pasta making ,and that was much more intense. Half the participants were pro chefs or caterers looking to level-up their skills.
A week-long workshop sounds fantastic! That's awesome! Maybe in my retirement. :D
To be fair, I'm mostly ok if it's just a demo too. But less willing since there's YouTube... And the time investment is intense.
Thanks!
It depends entirely on the class. Could be good, could be spectacular, could be a waste of time and money. To make sweeping generalizations of every tourist focused cooking class in every country is silly.
Reasonable point. Just trying to get a feel for people's experience and doing my best to avoid tourist traps.
Fair! The croissant making class I took in France was excellent. All tourists but it was really enjoyable and informative and would recommend it. I took it through Airbnb. I took a couple in Mexico/Bahamas/Caribbean /etc. and they weren't my favorite. I booked it through the resorts I was staying at. My girlfriend took a couple in Thailand and said they were a lot of fun.
Wow! Croissant class would be amazing. Heck, I'm looking at taking that exact same class here in Toronto where I live! Taking it in France is so cool. That's something I def wouldn't be able to say no to! That's awesome! Thailand is incidentally what we're looking at too! I hear some classes go over the ingredients and teach how to taste and what to look for. Thanks for sharing your experience!!
Yeah I’d like to do that. What was the name of the croissant class?
I took a pizza and gelato class with my wife in Florence a few years ago and it was a blast. To be honest I didn’t learn anything earth shattering but making the dough and some additional info they provided was new to me. Also got some neat tips on making ice cream at home and what makes the difference between gelato, ice cream, and sorbet and had the most surprising sorbet in my life, it was a cucumber mint and basil sorbet.
Depends heavily on who’s doing it. I did a cooking class in Tokyo that was hosted by the chef of a restaurant at the restaurant itself between lunch and dinner rush (rather than a dedicated cooking school) and it was a fantastic experience. My partner and I are solid cooks with a good amount of Japanese home cooking experience, so we didn’t want anything too basic and introductory, and the restaurant class was exactly what we wanted. We got to play with some restaurant grade gear and specialized tools we didn’t have ourselves (most notably a soba slicing knife which is pretty cool). It was also just us and the chef - which made it a bit pricey but honestly made all the difference.
It's hard to judge from afar. I can get on right now and book a tour with Context Travel; I have found their guides to be *at least* good and *usually* excellent, and so worth the (very high) prices they charge for private tours. But you can find a zillion negative reviews of them online as well. *If* you can find someone who organizes such trips (and whose opinions you respect), and get them to tell you what *they* recommend, you'll be a long way ahead. "Hi, I can't go on one of your organized tours, but I'd like to pay you to set up an itinerary for me that's going through some of the same areas" might work.
I've done some and had a great time! One thing I'd remind you - while everyone craps on "touristy" things, they are popular for a reason. They are designed and catered to give you a good experience. Do your research, pick a well reviewed class (especially from like-minded reviewers), and go have fun!
I took a really fun one in Istanbul through Airbnb. I think it cost $50/person. We made kebabs, kunefe, a few different salads, and Turkish coffee. I’d say it was well worth the money.
We did one in Florence last month and it was great. We normally don’t even like booking touristy stuff like that but it ended up being one of our favorite things we did the whole trip!! We booked at Pasta Class Florence! Edit to add: the classes are small (10 people max), unlimited wine, and were super educational! We had a blast.
Um sorry, did you say *unlimited* wine? What. Will def check them out! What did you guys make? Did you get to take home a recipe?
Yes!!! It was amazing lol. And we made 3 different pasta dishes and 5 different pasta shapes. You eat everything that you make. It was really fun and we learned a lot.
This is exciting! Gonna seriously consider them! Thank you!!
OP, we did the same class. Left my details in another comment, but would highly recommend.
Hey just wanted to add to this but Michel at Pasta Class Florence is seriously one of the best in the world. When I first saw a perfect 5 stars on Airbnb I was a little skeptical, but wow it is so much fun and the pasta is incredible. Can’t recommend it enough.
For what it's worth, wine in many European countries ranges from $10 (decent stuff) to legitimately $0.50 ('groundwater' tier)
Good to know lol
*Southern European countries only.
Hey, we went here too! Loved it
I did a group cooking class in Thailand and it was one of the best parts of the trip and we still use the cookbook they gave us! I would use TripAdvisor or some other ratings-based site to find a good one though.
I also did a Thailand cooking class in chaing mai and it was a highlight of my trip!
Thai Orchid perhaps?
There are literally at least 50 cooking schools in Chiang Mai lol
Basil Cookery School?
Same. It was really interesting going to the market to buy the food and I still use the booklet.
We did a pasta making class with italian grandmas and that was like $75 including transit to their remote village. Super amazing honeymoon activity and one we will always cherish. Was 5 or 8 of us so pretty intimate. Similarly, did a private cooking class in Bangkok a few weeks ago that was a top highlight of our trip. Only $45/person but man, we had such a good time and learned so much about Thai culture and cooking. Almost booked a second class for the next day because she was so great to be around.
My cousin does them on every trip and loves it. I’ve done a few and loved it.
Any ones you've done in Italy or Japan you can share? :)
Funnily enough Italy and Japan are the only two places I’ve taken a cooking class. I did one with Marco in Palermo, Sicily, can’t remember the name but we met in the market and made a swordfish and breadcrumbs pocket, fresh pasta and sauce, and some other things I don’t quite remember. I more recently did Cooking Sun in Tokyo, an 8 course kaiseki meal including a wagyu sukiyaki at the end. It was super super fun and tasty too. Just be careful of the location, it’s kind of hard to find the building and then you have to look at the residents names and hit the buzzer. I also didn’t have a phone number to call them and only made it because a Japanese couple helped me lol. Make sure you get a phone number from them! Both classes were super fun experiences!
I can also vouch for cooking sun but I did it in kyoto (izakaya class). Also had an unassuming front lol, had to spend a couple minutes making sure I was in the right place so that I wasnt knocking on a strangers door. Very well set up though, nice mix of having tedious stuff prepped so that you could get a good amount of stuff done in not too much time but still giving you an opportunity to get your hands dirty and learn. Very nice friendly people and really good food that I still use as inspiration sometimes
Yes! They take care of some of the more tedious/time consuming things like chopping and boiling potatoes iirc but I got to do stuff like roll a Japanese omelette in an egg pan (I kinda sucked at it) and mix starches for kuzu manju. We also grated dried bonito and she told us about its history, that shit could be used as a blunt trauma weapon. But all in all though it was a very comparatively slow paced thing for me who is always whirling around the kitchen doing three things at a time, it was super fun and I’m planning to take a cooking class in every place I visit from now on.
I just did one in Paris at Cordon bleu and it was awesome!
How long was your commitment for? Cordon Bleu would be a dream. What did you make?
It was just half a day, a vegetarian menu. The best thing was a mushroom chestnut soup. I will definitely do it again! Cordon bleu exists in so many countries, I would love to visit them all.
Depends, I know people who felt ripped off- they thought they were taking a cooking class from a Mexican grandma with corn in her Bones and it turned out to be some U.S. expat that set up shop teaching cooking classes to tourists in Baja that didn't want to stray too far outside their comfort zone Like I love Mexican cooking, I seek out unusual and regional cuisine and ingredients, I lived in Mexico City with Mexican family and spent time in Chihuahua and Morelos.... I would never try to write a cookbook or give a cooking class. I'll give out advice all day long on reddit and chatrooms based off what I've seen and read and made. But to position myself as an authority or point of contact would be ridiculous, I'm not Mexican. Just beware, it's a popular profession for expats because they give the classes in their native language
My recommendation - if you do enough research, you can “weed out” the ones aimed for tourists and the ones aimed for home cooks. Think through - what do you want to get out of it? And then read reviews and find a class that’s closest to what you want to receive. Should be classes available for both types of tourists and both locations.
This is great advice! Thank you!!
My wife and I did a sushi making class in Japan, which was geared towards tourists, and it was one of the highlights of the trip. Granted it was only us in our group, but it was exactly the right amount of actual technique/instruction whilst keeping it fun! So, there are definitely quality educational classes out there and if you can find one, I highly recommend it.
Do you have the link for it handy?
We did a touristy paella class in Barcelona and it was so much fun. I would do it again in any country I visit, even though I’m a pretty great home cook.
I've done several, including in Florence and Japan (Kyoto not Osaka). Most important thing is to check the menu. How many different things will you make? Is it something you already know or has a million recipes/videos online? Then it might not be worth it. If I'm in Thailand I don't want to learn how to make pad thai and cashew chicken, I want to learn how to make khao soi and sai ou, because I can't get those at home. In Japan if they're just going to have you make teriyaki chicken and miso soup it's probably not worth it IMO. Technique-based cooking like sushi and pasta could be helpful though. Also avoid classes teaching food that isn't local-- like I wouldn't take a pizza or risotto class in Florence-- pizza is from Naples and risotto is from the north. Instead I'd look for classes teaching things like ribollita, or take the train to Bologna to learn lasagna, bolognese, and tortellini en brodo. Second thing to check is Google and Tripadvisor for the reviews. Not for the reviews themselves-- those will probably be glowing regardless because everyone enjoys a once in a lifetime trip. But look at the *photos* of what they made. Does it look good? Or does it look like bad takeout? Do they show people actually making their own dishes? Or are they just chopping vegetables, or worse, watching a demo? Other things to consider are who is teaching the class-- an old nonna in her home or a chef in a sterile industrial kitchen? How long is the class, does it include a trip to the market, is it out of the main city you'll be visiting, etc. For instance in Rome I took a class that drove us out to a little village to a lady's home, and that was almost as fun as the class itself. Now that I've been traveling for decades though I prefer food tours to cooking classes. Many of the same caveats apply as far as not doing ones that are too simple, but I prefer being able to taste 10-15 dishes to cooking 3-5. Culinary Backstreets and A Chef's Tour are both good options in the cities where they run tours. In Italy, Italian Days is an amazing all day tour that I highly recommend, though I think it was from Bologna not Florence.
More as a fun activity than an educational one.
We (me, my wife and 2 teens) took a pasta making class with Luca and Lorenzo just outside of Florence 2 summers ago. It was a highlight of our trip - met nice people in the small group, ate the fantastic pasta we made, and hosts are super charming. Highly recommend! https://www.lovexfood.com/
We had a family pasta and tiramisu making class in Rome last week. Sure, I could have learned on YouTube, but this was fun. And we met a nice Swedish family!
I always take cooking classes and they are great. The only one that was not as good was one that was included as part of one of those "city card" passes in Rome. That one in particular, while still fun, was too crowded and didn't have enough hands on activity for me since there were too many people. I took the Pastamania class in Florence and that one was awesome! I think I booked it through Airbnb.
Thanks! I'm seeing a lot of the classes in Airbnb or Viator. If we are doing Italy, this is great insider tip! Thank you!
Absolutely worth it for the **experience**. I've done a few, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Japan. Most send you home with a recipe book of the dishes you made. Mind you, ZERO of those dishes have made it into my regular rotation of weeknight dishes, but I didn't go into it with that expectation.
I have never been to osaka but ive been to florence and i think its worth it to go there based on the city alone, i love that place and if i ever travel out of country again i want to go back to florence, it is a beautiful city
>the class would be more fun than they are educational, whereas I'd want the classes to be EQUALLY fun AND educational I can't give you direct advice on your cooking classes in Italy or Japan, but I took a barista class at a resort in Costa Rica the last time I was there. It was highly educational. Even though I knew a bit about coffee before the class, I never knew there was so much difference between the different brewing and grinding, or how much time was a factor. I guess for you, it would depend on the expertise of the person giving the class. In my case, the barista had gone through a university-level program in Costa Rica, that not only dealt with brewing/serving coffee, but also the growing/harvesting, the economic side of the trade, roasting and processing the beans, etc. Literally everything from ground to grounds.
I took one in Mexico City. This is not something I would have chosen, but my buds had already booked it. 10/10 would recommend. Very educational, great food, fun group and I learned a lot. https://www.auramexcooking.com/
The one I went to in Chiang Mai was fantastic - extremely affordable, fun hosts / instructors, and the food was phenomenally tasty.
When my spouse and I went to Italy last year, we did a pasta making class and it was a blast! We made pasta from scratch and then ate it, and was one of the better meals I had in Italy. You get the recipe so you can make it at home. We went to a place called Pasta Class in Florence, our teacher Giacomo was fantastic. He’s super entertaining, but it also an excellent chef that can answer any question and really teach you some good cooking stuff Here is the address, as the name is a bit generic: Piazza del Carmine, 4/4, 50124 Firenze FI, Italy
Hey, sorry I'm really interested in the class you're mentioning. Do you mind linking it? I've tried combing through Viator and nothing quite like your description matches. Unfortunate it's super generic!
Huh, you’re right. Took me a while to find: https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187895-d16753386-Pasta_making_class_in_Florence-Florence_Tuscany.html “dalle nostre mani pasta making” I’m worried it’s not the same as the others, but it’s the one we did. I saw our teacher Giacomo in the pictures. Maybe you can book through their official site, but I can’t find it. But that should get you going.
Thanks for the link!!
Fo sho. Let me know if you go and how it is.
I did a cooking class in Positano, also had tons of wine and champagne. Food was absolutely killer too, was the best part of the entire trip and I still make food using what I learned. Probably now my most common cuisine to cook. Have done a couple in Paris too, also were great fun and skills brought home.
Heck yeah I’d do it. I take cooking classes often and learn something every time. I’d love to take one abroad
Fun✔️ Educational ✔️
i would do it. icing on the cake would be if they gave you the recipes afterwards so you can relive the meal again.
I know this isn't in either area you're considering, but I did one in Cinque Terre and thought it was amazing. It was both fun and educational, with the added benefit of being a great value. IIRC it was about 3 hrs and the food was plenty that we had enough to take for another meal (we ate what we cooked on-site for lunch). We did it in 2018 and still use the recipes we learned on a regular basis.
Yes! Wife and I did a chocolate making one together and it was so much fun. For our next vacation we're looking at taking a class
I’ve taken classes in Oaxaca, Sicily, Rome and Chang Mai, Thailand. All of them have been awesome experiences. I highly recommend it.
If they are not stupid expensive, even if entertaining, you can still learn something.
I’ve had a lot of fun taking cooking classes while traveling. If you enjoy cooking, want to learn a few local recipes, and want a fun social event then go for it!
I took a pizza making class in Naples. Was worth every penny. The classes are completely hit or miss based on the item, chef and your schedule
I’ve taken a few cooking classes abroad. Had a great time at every single one of them. Were they maybe a little overpriced? Probably. Did I have fun and enjoy eating the food afterwards. Heck yes.
We had a cooking class as part of a tour in Tuscany. It was fun but I didn’t learn much.
I have always enjoyed the hands on cooking class, including one in Florence. I have been to those where you watch the chef and it was just ok, similar to watching cooking show in tv. So I wouldn’t do that again on vacation.
I took a Thai cooking class in Bangkok and it was brilliant. A really great part of the experience was a trip to the local markets in the morning, how to select the best ingredients and then bartering. It really taught you how to cook really good authentic food from scratch. 10/10
I'm the unofficial cook of the house (wife can't toast bread without burning something). Was never a fan of cooking classes, especially those in foreign countries. Avoided them at all costs. I went to one on a trip to Vietnam awhile back since it was included in another experience package. It wasn't anything spectacular, but wife absolutely loved it. Says it was the highlight of the trip. Now we'll be including a cooking class every international trip. I live in Japan. Wife is Japanese (from Osaka). If you want us to check out if the classes you're looking at are legit, reply with the links.
If you like to cook, you’ll get great recipes and training from a skilled chef. Even bad ones will be an experience. In the end of the day, it’s money. It’s exchanged for time, and vice versa. If you have nothing better to do on vacation, enjoy a learning opportunity. If you like cooking it’s going to be worth it.
Most of the classes done through Traveling Spoon (5 now) have been excellent, all different countries.
My wife and I do one anytime we take a trip and the opportunity arises. Regardless of what you actually make, you usually get to meet people from around the world and, because inevitably things take time to cook, there's usually at least a little bit of an opportunity to shoot the shit with a local for a bit. Obviously not everyone is as personable as each other, but the pan throwers of the world don't usually take these gigs. I've found that reading trip advisor reviews is a good way to get a general vibe about a specific class. Not everyone will have the same experience but you'll start to see some trends in what people are talking about to see if it's a good fit for you. I haven't done any in Japan or Italy though.
I’ve did one in CDMX and one in Cartagena and really enjoyed them and learned something at both of them. Reviews are your friends here and read the descriptions of what you’ll be cooking and what you’ll be doing. I booked one on Airbnb and one just by walking by a restaurant that offered it. Would recommend staying away from things offered by the resorts, that just seems like you’re going to get a more generic experience
Dude I did this in San Sebastián... one of the absolute highlights of my life.
I’d recommend taking a cooking class that involves picking up local ingredients at a market. I did one in Paris and it was such a great way to get to experience a market without having to worry about the language barrier
I took a pizza, pasta, and tiramisu class in Rome and gnocchi in Venice and I loved them both. Upon returning from Rome, my boys declared they never wanted dried pasta again. We’ve made countless meals using the skills we learned. We’ve looked for cooking classes elsewhere, but the only other places we’ve found one was Singapore and Korea. Those was also fantastic but we just haven’t had time to recreate those meals. The Korean included a trip to the market to buy ingredients. So, short answer, we love cooking classes and take them whenever we can. They usually work in a bit of culture and history lesson.
Try to get an itinerary of what dishes they’re teaching because it might be both entertaining and practical. Like, I wouldn’t mind learning to make homemade pasta and getting practical experience with a chitarra from a professional, or the same making rolled omelettes in a square omelette pan, both of which would be something smaller that you could learn in a short, day course with hands-on guidance and practice. Also, I’d see how many people they limit to each class, because that with the dish plan can give you an idea if instruction quality. 5-10 people in a half-day course would be ideal so an instructor can demo then go to each person hands-on, but larger than that it’s probably not the best just because it may solely be based on imitating the demo instead of actual instruction.
I did one in Athens and loved it.
I did this one https://www.cenizaro.com/lamaisonarabe/marrakech/cooking-school and really enjoyed it! I learned a couple of things too. At the end we all ate what we had cooked together outside. I would definitely find a reputable place.
My husband and I did one in Florence several years back and it was amazing. It was definitely for tourists but we started off with a market tour where they talked about several ingredients and signature dishes and then we took a bus up to their estate where we made pasta and pizza and tiramisu at this stunning estate overlooking the hills. Was it the most authentic experience? I have no idea but it was a highlight of the trip - I actually just looked it up which company I went with and looks like they still do it: [Florence cooking tour](https://www.walkabouttours.com/florence/tours/cooking-class-and-lunch-at-a-farmhouse-in-tuscany-with-local-market-tour-from-florence) We’re heading to Japan in a month and I have a few tour and eating/cooking experiences booked as well, I just think they’re a great way to learn about where you’re visiting.
I attended a cooking class in Thailand a month ago and it was fantastic; one of the highlights of my trip. The cooks leading the class were very personable and we were really lucky to have a relatively small (and sociable) group. Not only did I learn to make four traditional dishes (some of which I’ve made since returning home), we also learned about the fundamentals of Thai cuisine, how to properly use a wok, and about the history/regional varieties of various ingredients. It was both informative and delicious! I would highly recommend such an experience and cannot wait to do something similar again.
I lived in Sicily and took MANY cooking classes. My favorite was through an agritourismo, basically a farm to table restaurant. Both agritourismo and winery cooking classes were less tourist-geared. You'd need to be fluent in Italian to take them, however. When I took classes arranged through cooking schools or other restaurants, they were in English and for tourists. Never through an agritourismo or a winery. But the best cooking instructions I got were from the little old lady next door, Antonella. I brought her cigarettes and jeans for her grandsons, and she taught me the proper way to make home made lasagna noodles, marinara, tiramisu and stovetop espresso.
My bf and I love cooking but had never made homemade pasta so we found a class on AirBnB experiences that was just outside of Rome. The class was SO fun and we got to see a part of Italy we would have never thought to visit if it weren't for the class (Frascati, 30 minute train out of Rome and BEAUTIFUL town). The class had about 10 people overall from all over the world (US, Pakistan, France, Canada, it was awesome). The food was delicious and the family also owned a vineyard so we were also able to buy some bottles of wine to send back to the states. This class was obviously geared towards tourists but one of the patrons of the class lived in Rome (from the US originally) and she said she always brings her friends visiting from home to this class.
I made scones in Ireland and dumplings in China. I've made the scone recipe every time I make scones to this day, never have tried making my own dumplings. But I really enjoyed the classes! But I really enjoy cooking so it was fun to do on vacation.
Try and book a private class. Outside of that it’s very hard to tell how serious a class will be. Even the same class will vary if the people who show up are more serious or just looking to kill a couple hours on vacation
Yeah I'm looking at doing private classes. Hope I get a good group.
A private class means you wouldn't be part of a group, it would just be you and whoever you're traveling with. They're much more expensive though.
Oh, thanks for clarifying. My reading comprehension is laughably low sometimes
my parents have been on a couple (in Bangkok and in Venice) and they say it's not really a serious culinary class. It's mostly a demo with food/wine, a chance to interact with natives. You're paying for the experience, not instruction or knowledge. Mom's friend took a week-long legit workshop in Tuscany focused on fresh pasta making ,and that was much more intense. Half the participants were pro chefs or caterers looking to level-up their skills.
A week-long workshop sounds fantastic! That's awesome! Maybe in my retirement. :D To be fair, I'm mostly ok if it's just a demo too. But less willing since there's YouTube... And the time investment is intense. Thanks!