Balinese Cooking Class: Make Authentic Dishes

Cook eight dishes in an open kitchen inside a Balinese family home.

A five-hour cooking class in a traditional Balinese house where you shop at the local market for ingredients, then prepare authentic Balinese dishes with a chef who speaks English and teaches you the foundations of the cuisine. You make the recipes yourself, eat what you've cooked for lunch in the garden, and can learn traditional activities like coconut oil processing and how to make a household offering. Children from age one are welcome.

The Experience

Your day starts early at the traditional market, where you pick fresh herbs, spices, meat and vegetables for the dishes you'll cook. You'll see rice farmers at work in the fields on the way, then arrive at the Balinese house—a traditional home with an open kitchen and a garden where you'll eat later. A Balinese chef who speaks English leads the class and teaches you the techniques behind the cuisine. You make eight recipes yourself: vegetable soup with mushrooms, chicken curry built on the authentic yellow sauce that defines Balinese cooking, sate lilit (minced meat wrapped around lemongrass and grilled), gado gado with peanut sauce, lawar with fresh grated coconut, fermented soy bean, chicken steamed and grilled in banana leaves, and a banana or sweet potato caramel.

After cooking, you sit in the garden and eat the lunch you've made. The class also includes time for traditional Balinese activities at the home: you can watch and learn how coconut oil is processed by hand, make a simple household offering, and play the rindik, a musical instrument made from bamboo. The whole experience runs about five hours and is set up to feel like you're cooking with family rather than in a formal class.

What’s included

• Market visit to choose fresh herbs, spices, meat and vegetables.
• instruction from a Balinese chef in English.
• all eight recipes made by you.
• lunch in the garden.
• traditional activities including coconut oil processing, making a household offering, and playing the rindik bamboo instrument.

Good to know

Wheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Jambangan Bali Cooking Class with market tour

Is this one for you?Book this class if you want to learn how Balinese food actually tastes and how it's built—the market visit and the time spent on technique with a chef who knows the cuisine means you leave with real skills, not just a recipe card. The five-hour format gives you time to cook without rushing and to experience the home and the family approach that defines the class.

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Top questions

What dishes do I actually cook in this class?

You prepare eight recipes: a clear mushroom and vegetable soup, chicken curry with the yellow sauce base of Balinese cooking, sate lilit (minced meat satay grilled on lemongrass), gado gado with peanut sauce, lawar with coconut and yellow sauce, fermented soy bean with sweet soy sauce, chicken wrapped and steamed in banana leaves, and a banana or sweet potato caramel dessert.

Do I shop for ingredients myself, or are they already there?

You go to the traditional market early in the morning and pick the fresh herbs, spices, meat and vegetables yourself—that's part of the class, so you see what goes into Balinese cooking from the start.

Is lunch included, and do I eat what I cooked?

Yes, lunch is included and you eat the dishes you've prepared, sitting in the garden of the house where you cooked them.

Can I bring my children to this class?

Children are welcome from age one, and the class is set up as a family experience rather than a formal cooking school, so younger kids can be part of the day.

What other activities happen during the class besides cooking?

You can learn how to make a traditional Balinese household offering, watch coconut oil being processed by hand, and play the rindik, a bamboo musical instrument used in Balinese music.

What language is the class taught in?

The Balinese chef conducts the entire class in English and teaches you about Balinese cuisine and culture throughout the day.