10 Best Cooking Classes Around the World

These terrific cooking classes offer a uniquely delicious cultural experience–teaching you to prepare the local cuisine yourself.

By: Jennie Baird

Los Dos, Merida, Mexico

The most popular class in Chef David Sterling’s Merida, Mexico cooking school Los Dos is “Taste of Yucatán.” The class includes an overview of Maya techniques and ingredients, a market tour, culinary instruction, and a full afternoon meal.

School of Artisan Food, North Nottinghamshire, England

Located in Sherwood Forest (yes, Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood fame), the Schoolof Artisan Food in North Nottinghamshire teaches all levels of students, including one-day classes in cheese making, bread baking and sausage making.

Giuliano Hazan’s Northern Italy Cooking School, Verona, Italy

In this one-week immersive food and wine course with Giuliano Hazan, chef, cookbook author and son of Marcella Hazan, the godmother of Italian cooking, guests learn to make homemade pasta, risotto, meatballs and more. The class takes place in a sixteenth century villa in the heart of northern Italy’s wine country, where guests stay in luxury accomodations.

James St. Cooking School, Brisbane, Australia

With a variety of hands-on classes ranging from Modern Australian Cooking to Dude Food (meat-heavy, single serving one pot wonders), Brisbane’s James St. Cooking School offers three-hour classes in which professional chefs demonstrate techniques followed by small group hands-on work, culminating in a shared meal as a class.

Tokyo Kitchen, Tokyo, Japan

Students in Tokyo Kitchen’s three-hour classes learn about Japanese seasonings and table manners before diving into hands-on lessons in Japanese home cooking techniques. The menu rotates daily between different varieties of sushi, tempura and other Japanese specialties such as okonomiyaki, ramen, katsu and more.

Cass Abrahams Capetown, Capetown, South Africa

Considered the doyenne of Cape Malay cuisine, South Africa’s oldest cuisine, local celebrity chef Cass Abraham teaches private cooking lessons in her home. These courses, organized by Cape Fusion Tours, have been described as a history lesson and a cooking class rolled into one.

Langlois Culinary Crossroads, New Orleans, Louisiana

Chef Amy Cyrex-Sins describes Langlois Culinary Crossroads as part dinner party, part interactive entertainment. While Langlois hosts private cooking classes by appointment, regular diners at Langlois can tour the kitchen, interact with the chefs and learn about traditional Cajun and Creole cooking.

Beijing Cooking School, Beijing, China

Offering one-day and 10-day classes in traditional Hutong cuisine, Beijing Cooking School trains students in both wok techniques and pastry, which includes dumplings, dim sum and noodles. Classes involve market tours and interactive demos as well as hands-on practice.

GalilEat, Galilee, Israel

GalilEat Culinary Adventures bring students into the homes of Druze, Muslim and Christian hosts to learn traditional Arab cooking. A typical day includes two hours of hands-on instruction followed by a shared meal.

Issaya Cooking Studio, Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand’s original celebrity chef Ian Kittichai and his team teach fun friendly workshops in a modern studio space. A favorite class features four recipes from his Issaya Siamese Club restaurant.

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Photo By: Photo Courtesy of James St. Cooking School

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10 Best Cooking Classes Around the World

Los Dos, Merida, Mexico

School of Artisan Food, North Nottinghamshire, England

Giuliano Hazan’s Northern Italy Cooking School, Verona, Italy

James St. Cooking School, Brisbane, Australia

Tokyo Kitchen, Tokyo, Japan

Cass Abrahams Capetown, Capetown, South Africa

Langlois Culinary Crossroads, New Orleans, Louisiana

Beijing Cooking School, Beijing, China

GalilEat, Galilee, Israel

Issaya Cooking Studio, Bangkok, Thailand

Shop This Look

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