Bali Tanjung Benoa Cooking Class: Spice Garden & Chef

Balinese cooking uses turmeric, galangal, and lemongrass you harvest yourself before you cook.

A hands-on cooking class in Tanjung Benoa where you walk through a tropical spice and herb garden, learn about fresh ingredients like turmeric and ginger, then prepare traditional Balinese dishes step-by-step with a local chef. The class runs two hours, includes a set lunch, recipe book, and certificate. Free pickup is available in Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa. Beginners and experienced cooks both work through the same menu.

The experience

The class starts in the spice and herb garden, where a local chef guides you through rows of turmeric, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, pandan leaves, kaffir lime leaves, and chilies. You learn not just what each ingredient tastes like, but what it means in Balinese cooking, medicine, and daily life. This garden walk is where the cooking actually begins. You're identifying the flavors you'll build with your own hands in the next hour.

After the garden, you move to an open-air cooking pavilion and start preparing dishes from scratch. The chef walks you through each step, whether you're making sate lilit (grilled minced meat or fish wrapped in lemongrass), serosob ayam (a chicken dish), or dadar gulung (a sweet rolled pancake). The menu comes in two versions: regular or vegetarian, and you choose at checkout. Traditional tools and techniques are used throughout, so you're learning how Balinese cooks actually work, not a simplified version. The pace is built for both beginners and people who already know their way around a kitchen.

You finish with a set lunch featuring the dishes you made, a recipe book to take home, and a certificate. Free pickup is included if you're staying in Nusa Dua or Tanjung Benoa, so you don't need to arrange transport to the pavilion.

What’s included

• Two-hour hands-on cooking class with a local chef.
• guided walk through the spice and herb garden.
• set lunch featuring the dishes you prepared.
• recipe book and certificate of completion.
• free pickup in Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa.

Options for this experience

2 options

Vegetarian MenuGuide in English · 14:00 and 17:00Includes pickup in the Nusa Dua area. Duration: 2 hours. Four-dish menu: Vegetarian Sate Lilit, Perkedel Kentang, Vegetable Curry, and Dadar Gulung. Pickup is included.

Regular MenuGuide in English · 14:00 and 17:00Includes pickup in the Nusa Dua area. Duration: 2 hours. Four-dish menu: Sate Lilit Ayam, Sate Lilit Ikan, Serosob Ayam, and Dadar Gulung. Pickup is included.

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 14:00 and 17:00

Book up to8h before

AgesAdult (5 to 70 years) · Under 5: can't be booked

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.You can choose from 3 pickup points.

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

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Not recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problems

Operated by Orenda Bali

Is this one for you?Choose the regular menu if you cook with meat and fish, or the vegetarian menu if you prefer plant-based dishes: both teach the same techniques and run the same length. The garden walk at the start is what makes the cooking part click: you're handling the actual ingredients before you cook with them, so the flavors make sense as you work.

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Top questions

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What dishes do I actually cook in the two-hour class?

You prepare a mix of savory and sweet dishes depending on which menu you choose at checkout. The regular menu includes sate lilit ayam (chicken), sate lilit ikan (fish), serosob ayam, and dadar gulung. The vegetarian menu swaps the meat dishes for sate lilit vegetarian, perkedel kentang (potato croquettes), vegetable curry, and dadar gulung. The chef guides you through each one step-by-step.

Do I need cooking experience to join this class?

No. The class is designed for both beginners and experienced cooks. The chef teaches traditional techniques from the start, so you learn as you go, and the pace works whether this is your first time cooking or you already know the basics.

What happens in the spice garden walk before cooking?

A local chef guides you through the tropical garden and shows you fresh turmeric, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, pandan leaves, kaffir lime leaves, and chilies growing there. You learn what each ingredient is used for in Balinese cooking and its role in Balinese culture and medicine, so you understand the flavors before you start cooking with them.

Is pickup from my hotel included?

Free pickup is included if you're staying in Nusa Dua or Tanjung Benoa. If your accommodation is outside these areas, you'll need to arrange your own transport to the cooking pavilion.

What do I get to take home after the class?

You receive a recipe book with the dishes you prepared, a certificate of completion, and you eat the lunch you cooked during the class itself.