“Here’s a tip for you Xavier told us in a cooking class in Spain. “The right way to crack an egg is to hit two eggs together and then pour the yolk and egg into a bowl.”
Learning tips like these is one of the many reasons we take a cooking class on our travels.
Taking a cooking class is one of our favorite activities on our trips. Each time we visit a new country, we take a cooking class to learn more about the local specialties.
In these cooking classes, we learn about the local ingredients, emblematic dishes as well as pick up new cooking skills.
If you haven’t taken a cooking class on your travels, you want to consider taking one.
Here are 10 fabulous reasons to take a cooking class on your next trip.
What to Consider When You Take A Cooking Class on Your Travels
Cooking Class Structure
While all cooking classes will teach you about the local food, the experiences offered vary greatly.
Some cooking classes take place in a cooking school and everything is methodical and structured.
Other cooking classes are in small cooking studios or even in the instructor’s home. In these smaller settings, the structure is much more fluid.
Depending on the experience you want, you may be more comfortable with something more or less structured.
Cooking Class with Optional Market Visits
Some cooking classes will offer a market visit before the class to pick up and learn about the local ingredients.
In these cases, the cooking classes take more time because they include an extra hour or so for the market visit.
Cooking classes that do not offer market visits will have the ingredients chopped up and ready for the cooking experience.
Not surprisingly, these classes are shorter than the ones that include a market visit.
In some cases, you might not see the raw ingredients in their natural state.
If you have the possibility, we recommend to take cooking classes with market visits.
We love visiting the markets, meeting the vendors and then learning to cook the local ingredients.
Market visit during our Chiang Mai cooking classCooking Classes Can be Tailored To Meet Your Needs
If you have any special requests, most cooking classes can accommodate your needs with advance notice.
Vegan and Vegetarian Options
If you have any dietary considerations you can still enjoy taking a cooking class.
Some cooking classes offer special menus for vegetarians or vegans. If not, most are willing to adapt the local recipes to meet your needs.
Please let the cooking school know in advance so they can prepare ahead of time and ensure a great cooking experience.
Couples Cooking Classes
For a unique experience rather than going to a restaurant, consider taking a cooking class instead.
Many cooking schools, particularly the smaller ones can create a private and romantic experience for your special occasion.
With advanced notice you may even be able to choose your menu as well.
Taking a couples cooking class is a fun alternative to a typical date night.
Taking a cooking class a couples in CambodiaWhy You Should Take A Cooking Class on Your Travels
There are many great reasons for taking a cooking class while traveling. Here are some of the main reasons why we believe taking a cooking class should be part of your travel adventures.
1 – Learn Tips to Improve Your Cooking Skills
In our cooking class in Hoi An, Vietnam, Claire got the best tips on how to use a knife and chop safely.
Chef Danny, a master with knives patiently taught Claire how to work with a large knife.
The trick is in correctly gripping the knife at the top and bottom and making small precision cuts.
In cooking classes, you learn simple techniques that can make cooking at home so much easier.
Our cooking class in Hoi An has made Claire much more confident when chopping vegetables.
If you want to have more confidence and fun in your kitchen at home, take a cooking class and you’ll be surprised at what new skills you’ll pick up.
READ MORE: about our Hoi An Cooking Class in Vietnam
2 – Immerse Yourself in the Local Culture
Peru, the “Gastronomy Capital of South America” is one of the most fascinating countries we’ve visited for food.
After exploring the authentic dishes of the country, we wrote our second book Authentic Food Quest Peru.
Immersing ourselves in the local culture through cooking remains a highlight of the trip.
Criollo dishes are the everyday foods locals in Peru eat at home. These are the comfort foods visitors to Peru should experience.
With a Peruvian chef in a cooking class, you get to make classic dishes like Causa, Ají de Gallina, Lomo Saltado and more.
Even more than the cooking, you’ll learn the stories about the dishes and the delightful fusion of flavors from Peru’s immigrant history.
Taking a cooking class on your travels is an immersive way to experience the local culture.
READ MORE: about the 6 Criollo Dishes You Should Eat in Peru
Delicious Lomo Saltado3- Learn about the Stories Behind the Food
In a cooking class in Chiang Mai, we were surprised to learn about the non-Thai origins of Pad Thai.
Considered Thailand’s national dish, Pad Thai is one of the local dishes we were excited to learn to make.
Cooking classes provide insights into food that visitors would often miss. At an Aroy Aroy cooking class in Chiang Mai, we learned that Pad Thai was created by the government.
Apparently, in the 1930s and 40s, when Thailand was going through political turmoil, the Prime Minister held a public competition to find a national noodle dish to build Thai nationalism.
Pad Thai emerged as the winner, even though the noodles are of Chinese origin. Today, Pad Thai the celebrated national dish of the country.
Food stories like this can be gained from cooking classes. Learning the stories behind the dishes and how to make them is another great reason to take a cooking class while traveling.
READ MORE: about our experience at Most Spectacular Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
Making Pad Thai like a chefAuthentic Food Quest Tip: Are you traveling to Chiang Mai, Thailand? If so, book an immersive cooking class at Aroy Aroy cooking school. Begin with a tour of the famous Warorot farmers market and learn about unique Thai ingredients. Then head back for a cooking class in Chiang Mai where you will make the emblematic dishes of Thailand. Vegetarian options available.
4 – Connect With Other Food Travelers
One of the exciting aspects of travel is meeting other travelers. When you take a cooking class, the people you’ll meet are open and friendly.
With a shared passion for cooking, the conversation flows naturally around food and local food related activities.
We’ve met fascinating travelers in Laos and Cambodia and some we are still in touch with.
While taking a cooking class in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, we met Sheila, a passionate foodie from India.
Sheila had not planned on taking a cooking class in Vietnam, but after her schedule opened up, she joined our class at the last minute.
Listening to Sheila was interesting because she gave us a new perspective about the food in India.
As we were learning how to make Cơm Tấm, a popular Vietnamese dish made from broken rice, Sheila talked about the similarities with Indian cuisine.
The discussions with Sheila and the other travelers as we enjoyed our meal was stimulating.
While we haven’t been to India yet, we appreciated the local insights into the similarities between the two cuisines.
You never know who you’ll meet in a cooking class, but you can be assured of interesting conversations centered around food
READ MORE: about our Vietnamese cooking class in Ho Chi Minh City
Enjoying meeting other travelers in Ho Chi Minh City5 – Connect With Locals and Get the Inside Scoop
Taking a cooking class is a great way to meet locals and get to know their culinary traditions at home.
Some of the best experiences we’ve had with our cooking instructors have been around the table, eating and building connections.
Passionate about food and cooking, the instructors are a wealth of information. You can pick their brains about their favorite local markets, restaurants and food stores.
Based on recommendations from cooking classes in Chiang Mai and Spain, we enjoyed delightful meals at local restaurants.
In a cooking class in Paris, we connected with our instructors in a personal manner. We learned about their daily activities and favorite things to do.
Connecting with local cooking instructors is a wonderful way to get honest answers to local food questions you may have.
Learning to make crème pâtissière in Paris6 – Get a Deeper Eating Experience
One of our key learnings from taking cooking classes, has been a deeper appreciation for the meals we’ve prepared.
In Thailand, we were amazed how heavy the cooking wok was. To make Pad Thai, we had to lift the wok and turn it around using only one hand.
The weight surprised us and put a different light on the women cooking with their woks everyday on the streets. We recognized the strength and labor needed to make one pad thai at a time.
In Hoi An, Vietnam, we had a taste of the labor needed to plant the delicious herbs we enjoyed everyday.
Most strikingly was our cooking class in Laos. To prepare every single ingredient of our meal required a lot of time and patience.
From making the flavorful sticky rice, to grinding the coconut, each step meant hours of effort dedicated to cooking.
We have a particular appreciation for Laotian women and our gracious cooking instructor Keo, who took on the time consuming work with a smile.
When it was time to eat our meal, we knew the effort that went into making each dish.
This strongly deepened our awareness and appreciation for our food.
READ MORE: about our Luang Prabang Cooking Class
Claire and Rosemary cooking at the Luang Prabang cooking class7 – Explore the Wonders at the Local Markets
Local markets are often the beating heart of the community. Rows of vegetables stands stacked high are next to seasonal fruits of all shapes and sizes. The bright colors immediately capture your attention.
Spice merchants tend to their mountains of spices like jewels. While displays of meats, poultry and fish are oozing in freshness.
Many cooking classes offer market visits with a guide. Visiting the local markets with a guide in Thailand and Vietnam introduced us to unique and unusual ingredients.
Bridging the language barrier with a local made the experience much richer.
In Portugal, bacalhau or codfish is a national treasure. Visiting local markets with the insights from our guide gave us a deeper appreciation for this national dish.
Dried codfish or BacalhauAuthentic Food Quest Tip: If your travels take you to Portugal, take a cooking class and learn to make bacalhau and other Portuguese specialties. In Lisbon, book this Portuguese cooking class with a Lisbon market tour. In Porto, take a local market tour and cooking class and have fun learning about Portuguese food.
8- Cooking Classes Support the Local Community and Culture
One of the benefits when you take a cooking class on your travels is supporting the local community.
Many of the classes we have taken are run by a family or local community. By taking a cooking class with them, it is the best way to support their work and their culture.
In Laos, the cooking class we took was run by the Heuan Chan Heritage House. Their goal with the cooking class is to preserve the culinary tradition and support the local community.
In Hoi An, we learned to make authentic Vietnamese dishes in the home of a family.
In Phnom Penh, we learned to make Fish Amok, one of the most iconic dishes of Cambodia, at a local restaurant.
Supporting the local community and culture might be the most underrated benefit of taking a cooking class abroad.
Cambodian cooking instructors 9- Eat a Delicious Meal
While eating at restaurants and local eateries is an experience, sometimes making your own food is even better. In a cooking class with a passionate chef you get to create meals you typically don’t make.
There is learning, laughter, sharing and always something new to try. You’ll be proud of what you made and surprised by how tasty it can be.
In a cooking class in Spain, we learned to make traditional Catalan dishes, which was a first for both Claire and I.
The atmosphere was convivial and the experience a lot of fun. As much as we enjoyed cooking, we couldn’t wait to eat and savor our meals.
In the Catalan cooking class, we were so proud of what we made. Our effort paid off in a delicious way. Accompanied by local Empordà wines and the fascinating stories of our instructor, this was an incredible feast.
Eating a delicious paella Authentic Food Quest Tip: Paella, one of Spain’s most famous dishes is loaded with flavor and history. If your travels take you to Barcelona, take a Paella hands-on cooking class and learn the foundations of Paella. Enjoy bottomless Spanish wine pairing as you discover the history of this dish.
10 – Relieve Your Travel Memories at Home
When we got back from exploring the local food in Argentina, we started making chimichurri, a condiment that accompanies meat dishes.
Also, from Argentina, faina, a gluten-free flatbread made from chickpeas became part of our regular staple.
From Vietnam, we discovered wide uses of Nước mắm, Vietnamese fermented fish sauce and started using it regularly at home.
Since our trip to Bulgaria, we now cook regularly with a local spice called tsubritsa or Summer Savory, similar to thyme.
Taking cooking classes is a great way to discover local recipes, new ingredients and then recreate them at home.
Every time we cook a meal with ingredients from our travels, we relieve our cooking class experiences and taste the country again.
Taking a cooking class may inspire you to learn more. In addition to the recipes you learned, you might even want to buy a cookbook or take another class back home.
Your travel experience doesn’t have to end when you get home. Sign up for a local cooking class at home and keep broadening your knowledge of the food in a particular country or region.
Argentinian Chimichurri sauceAUTHENTIC FOOD QUEST TIP: If you are looking for simple, delicious, and easy to make travel-inspired recipes check out the RECIPES section on the website. Find recipes from Argentina, Chile, Portugal, Vietnam, and many more. Recreate these recipes at home and taste your travels again.
See more cooking classes in your local area or on the Cookly platform.
Have you taken a cooking class on your travels? Tell us in the comments below the favorite thing you learned to make?
Savor The Adventure!
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Rosemary is the editor-in-chief and strategist at Authentic Food Quest.
Traveling slow since 2015 with her partner, Claire, she has explored the cuisine in 45 countries and more than 240+ culinary cities.
Her writing about local food specialties has been featured in Lonely Planet, Business Insider, Honest Cooking, Food Insider, and Huffington Post.
As a food and travel writer, Rosemary has co-authored three books, including one in collaboration with Costa Brava Tourism.
Rosemary is an avid runner when she’s not eating and exploring new destinations. She has run ten marathons and counting.
Before Authentic Food Quest, Rosemary held senior-level strategy positions in advertising.
Find out more about Authentic Food Quest
Cooking classes are a nice way to somehow get into the culture of a place and I’d love to do something like this once things get better
You are right, Jewel, cooking classes do provide a window into the local food culture in a special and tasty manner. Agreed, more cooking classes as things improve. Thanks for stopping by.
I had tried this once when I was in Phuket but I ended up spending about $200 for a week course and didn’t really learn anything due to the communication gap. Most of what she taught me got lost in translation. And then I could not even back out. It was supposed to be a learning. :/
So sorry to hear about your experience in Phuket. You really want to know the company you are working with and that’s why we recommend Cookly. The classes are authentic and in case of a language gap, there is a translator. Don’t give up on cooking classes, instead, book one with Cookly and you’ll be amazed at the difference in the experience. Appreciate your feedback, Jeff.
I always want to take a cooking class whenever I go! I did it in Barcelona, it was so much fun.
Oh I love this idea! Learning the culture and how they cook their dishes is awesome!
Our family travels quite a bit and I never thought of taking a cooking class. What an amazing idea! I’ll have to do that for our next trip.
Perfect, Lisa. You will love it. Do let us know what you end up learning to make. Cheers.
Cooking classes are always a great idea when you are traveling. It is an excellent way to learn the culture.
I always incude a cooking class on my vacations and have done so for 20+ years. I usually look for the ones the resort offers, but lately have branched out to a local venue. Great tip!
Great to hear Terri. There is something about helping the local community that adds a special touch to the cooking experience. Glad you enjoyed the article. Cheers.
I have always wanted to take a cooking class. I think it would be even more amazing during traveling too. You could learn about so many different types of food.
I love cooking and to enjoy it with a class makes it even more fun! Fresh produce in the market is my thing!
Awesome to hear Agnes. Do you have any local markets you particularly like? We love market visits as well. So much fun indeed. Thanks for stopping by.
I’ve taken local cooking classes but never while traveling. I love the idea though! Hoping to do it next summer in Paris…
Wonderful Alyssa, you will love the experience. Definitively go for the macarons and then make them back home for your friends/family. Cheers.
Local cuisines while traveling is one of the things I like about traveling to different parts of the country/world. I would love to take a cooking class while on a trip!
Why haven’t you taken a cooking class yet? Definitively make it a goal for the new decade. It really adds a deeper appreciation for the local cuisine. Thanks, Brianne.
I would do this for sure! I am all about learning about other cuisines. Plus I need all the help I can get with cooking. I’m a terrible cook.
Lol…plan for a cooking class in 2020 and you’ll be amazed at the experience as you discover the hidden, inner chef. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I have always wanted to take a cooking class. But to take one while traveling would be so fun!!!
What’s stopped you Tammy from taking a cooking class? Try one, you’ll love it. Thanks for stopping by.
My favorite part of traveling is trying authentic foods that are unique to the region. It would be fun to learn how to make them as well.
Could not agree more Marcie. Indeed trying the food is great and learning how to make it takes it a deeper level 🙂 Any favorite authentic foods?
I love exploring places by food. I would love to take a cooking class, it’s a great way to take the food home with you!
This is a great idea that I never thought of before. I love mingling with local people on vacation, cooking and going to the markets. This is a nice way to learn about food and the culture.
Good to hear Melissa and don’t hesitate to take a class on your next travels. Do let us know what you think 🙂