Dezerter Bazaar market tour and cooking class in Tbilisi

Cook Georgian food in a local's kitchen after shopping the market together

A market tour and hands-on cooking class in Tbilisi where you walk Dezerter Bazaar with your host Tina, select fresh regional ingredients, then prepare 2–3 traditional Georgian dishes in her family home and share the meal. The experience lasts about four hours total and includes local wine or beer with lunch or dinner; you choose the meal time at checkout.

Step-by-step itinerary

Market tour and cooking class

• Meet Tina at Dezerter Bazaar entrance
• Tour the indoor marketplace
• Discover and buy fresh ingredients
• Go to Tina's family home
• Learn to cook 2-3 Georgian dishes
• Share the meal with Tina's family

The Experience

Tina meets you at the main entrance of Dezerter Bazaar, a lively indoor marketplace packed with fruit and vegetable stalls, piles of spices, and handmade candles. She guides you through the lanes, pointing out regional produce and explaining how Georgians use these ingredients in their cooking. You'll have the chance to buy a few items fresh from the market—the ones you'll actually cook with later in her kitchen.

Back at her modest family home, you move into the hands-on part: preparing 2–3 traditional Georgian dishes from scratch. Tina shares recipes and walks you through each step, so bring something to take notes on. The cooking takes about an hour and a half. You're not watching a demonstration; you're doing the work—kneading dough, chopping vegetables, building flavors. Her family may be around, and the whole thing stays intimate and personal.

Once the food is ready, you sit down at the dining table and eat the meal you helped prepare. Local wine or beer comes with it—one or two glasses depending on what you want. The whole experience, from market entrance to finishing lunch or dinner, runs about four hours. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions, let Tina know when you book so she can adjust the menu.

What’s included

• Private market tour through Dezerter Bazaar with your host Tina.
• hands-on cooking class where you prepare 2–3 traditional Georgian dishes.
• the homecooked meal you help make.
• local wine or beer with lunch or dinner.

Good to know

Stroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Traveling Spoon

Is this one for you?Choose the lunch option if you want to start early and spend the afternoon exploring Tbilisi afterward; pick dinner if you prefer a later start or want to end the day at the table. Either way, you're cooking the food yourself, not watching someone else do it—so come ready to work in the kitchen.

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Top questions

What kinds of dishes will I learn to cook?

You'll prepare 2–3 traditional Georgian dishes, though the exact recipes vary by season and what's fresh at the market that day. Tina shares the preparation method for each one as you work through them together.

Can I buy ingredients at Dezerter Bazaar to use in the cooking class?

Yes—after the market tour, you may purchase fresh regional produce from the stalls that you'll then use in your cooking class at Tina's home.

Do I choose lunch or dinner when I book?

You select your meal time at checkout: either the market, cooking and lunch option or the market, cooking and dinner option. Both include the same tour and cooking class; the difference is when you eat.

Is this a private experience or will there be other people?

This is a private, personalized experience with Tina and her family—just you and anyone in your party, no other groups joining.

What's included in the price?

The private market tour with Tina, the hands-on cooking class, the homecooked meal you prepare, and 1–2 glasses of local wine or beer are all included. You'll need to arrange your own transport to and from Dezerter Bazaar.