Gjirokastra Cooking Class: Learn Albanian Dishes

Cook handmade pasta, rice balls and traditional desserts in a Gjirokastra kitchen, then sit down to eat them.

A hands-on cooking class in Gjirokastra's Old Bazaar where you prepare traditional Albanian dishes under the guidance of a local chef, then taste everything you've cooked. The class runs two hours and includes a full meal of the dishes you make, plus seasonal salad, spiced yogurt sauce, traditional dessert, bread and water. Children are welcome from age three. A guide speaks English throughout.

The experience

The class starts in the Old Bazaar kitchen where a local chef walks you through the recipes, some passed down for centuries, and you cook alongside them. You'll handle the handmade pasta and rice balls yourself, learning the techniques that make these dishes taste different from anywhere else. The chef guides each step, so no prior cooking experience is needed.

After cooking, you move to the tasting session. Everything you've prepared comes to the table: the pasta and rice balls you shaped with your own hands, seasonal salad, spiced yogurt sauce, traditional gliko dessert, bread and water. This is the meal, not a sample. You eat what the class produced. The flavors are rooted in Gjirokastra's culinary heritage, and tasting them right after making them anchors the connection to the place and its food culture.

The class runs two hours total. Public transportation options are available nearby if you need them to reach the Old Bazaar. You can choose between a full meal or snacks at checkout, though the full meal option lets you experience the complete spread of dishes the cooking produces.

What’s included

• Preparation of traditional Albanian dishes with a local chef.
• a two-hour hands-on cooking class.
• a full meal or snacks (your choice at checkout) featuring the dishes you cooked, plus seasonal salad, spiced yogurt sauce, traditional dessert, bread and water.
• an English-speaking guide alongside the chef.

Options for this experience

2 options

SnacksGuide in English · 11:30 and 17:00We prepare qifqi

Full mealGuide in English · 11:30 and 16:30

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 11:30, 16:30 and 17:00

Book up to2d before

AgesAdult (13 to 80 years) · Child (3 to 12 years) · Under 3: can't be booked

GroupUp to 10

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 7 days ago

Good to know

Public transport nearby

Operated by InAlb

Is this one for you?Choose this class if you want to learn how to make the food rather than just taste it, and if sitting down to eat what you've cooked matters more than a quick sample. The two-hour format fits a morning or afternoon in Gjirokastra without consuming a full day.

Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 12 years). Children under 3 can't be included in the booking.

What traditional Albanian dishes do you actually cook in this class?

You prepare handmade pasta, rice balls, and traditional desserts under the chef's guidance. The exact seasonal dishes vary, but the class focuses on recipes that have been made in Gjirokastra for centuries.

Do you eat the food you cook, or is it just a demonstration?

You eat everything you've made. After cooking, the tasting session includes all the dishes you prepared (pasta, rice balls, dessert), plus seasonal salad, spiced yogurt sauce, bread and water, so the meal is built from your own work in the kitchen.

What language does the guide speak?

The guide speaks English throughout the class, so language is not a barrier to learning the recipes and techniques.

How do you get to the Old Bazaar kitchen for the class?

Public transportation options are available nearby. You'll need to arrange your own transport to the Old Bazaar, where the class takes place.