Samarkand cooking class: Make plov and bread with a local family

Roll up your sleeves in a Samarkand kitchen and cook the meals you'll eat

A five-hour cooking class in a local family's Samarkand home where you prepare plov and one additional traditional Uzbek dish, then share the meal together. The day includes a visit to Siyob Bazaar market and the bread bakery, with pickup from your hotel and a guide who speaks English or Russian. Dietary restrictions can be accommodated if you mention them when booking.

The experience

You start at Siyob Bazaar, the central market in Samarkand (closed Mondays), where you walk through stalls with the family and pick ingredients together. This is where locals shop, not a tourist version of a market: vendors are selling to people who cook at home. From there you head to the family's kitchen, where you learn to make plov with beef, carrots, rice and oil, rolling up your sleeves to do the actual cooking rather than watching a demonstration. The second dish comes from a menu of about fifteen traditional options, and you choose it before the day starts.

While you're cooking, you hear stories about daily life, customs and how these recipes have been passed down. The family shares their routines and you get a sense of what living in Samarkand actually looks like beyond the tourist sites. You also visit the bread bakery to see how Samarkand's unique bread is made. An air-conditioned vehicle picks you up from your hotel and brings you back, and a guide in English or Russian is with you throughout the day.

The meals you've cooked (plov, the second dish, homemade compote, salads and dried fruits) become lunch or dinner depending on when you start. You eat together at a table the family has set, not as a guest watching but as someone who made the food. Two full meals are included, plus bottled water. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions, let the operator know when you book and they'll adjust what you prepare.

What’s included

• Pickup from your Samarkand hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• visit to Siyob Bazaar market with the family.
• cooking instruction for plov and one additional traditional Uzbek dish in the family's home.
• two full meals (the dishes you've cooked, plus homemade compote, salads and dried fruits).
• visit to the bread bakery.
• guide in English or Russian.
• bottled water.

Options for this experience

4 options

Two meals in total = set menuGuide in English or Russian · 09:00 and 16:00Two meals: Plov and samsa. This option has a set menu of Plov and Samsa. Pickup is included.

Three meals in total (one plus the set menu)Guide in English or Russian · 09:00 and 16:00Three meals in total: Plov, samsa, plus one. You can select one extra meal from the list of 17 meals that I can send via WhatsApp. One is added to the set menu of Plov and samsa. Pickup is included.

Four meals in total (two plus the set menu)Guide in English or Russian · 09:00 and 16:00Four meals in total: Plov, samsa, plus two. Add two more meals to the set menu by choosing from the list of 17 meals that I will send to you. The set menu is Plov and samsa. Pickup is included.

A city tour that includes a cooking classGuide in English · 09:00Samarkand city tour plus cooking: Explore Samarkand city (five highlights) and visit a local house in the village for the cooking class. Choose two meals from 17 meals. Pickup is included.

You pick the guide language when booking.

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 09:00 and 16:00

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (18 to 69 years) · Senior (70 and older) · Youth (7 to 17 years) · Child (2 to 6 years) · Infant (under 2): free

GroupUp to 150

Live guideEnglish and Russian

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Wheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Samarkand Life Experience

Is this one for you?You do the cooking yourself in the family's kitchen, not watch a chef demonstrate. This suits anyone who wants to learn by doing and take the techniques home. The day is shared with one local family rather than a group of tourists, so the pace and the conversation stay personal and unhurried.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Russian.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (7 to 17 years); Child (2 to 6 years); Infant (under 2): free.

What's included in the two meals I'll cook and eat?

You make plov with beef, carrots, yellow and orange varieties, rice and flaxseed or sunflower oil, plus one additional dish from a menu of about fifteen traditional Uzbek options. The family sets a table with the meals you've cooked, homemade fruit compote, salads and dried fruits. Bottled water is included.

Can I visit the bread bakery and the silk carpet factory on the same day?

The bread bakery visit is part of the standard itinerary. The Samarkand Bukhara Silk Carpets factory is listed as optional, so you can arrange it separately or ask the operator about adding it when you book.

How does the market visit work? Is it a shopping trip or part of the cooking class?

Siyob Bazaar is where you go with the family to select ingredients for the meals you'll cook. You walk through the stalls together, chat with vendors and see how locals actually shop, then bring what you've chosen back to the kitchen. It's part of learning how the food comes together, not a separate tour.

What time of day do I eat the meals I've cooked?

The two meals you prepare become lunch or dinner depending on what time you start the class. Let the operator know your preference when you book and they'll schedule the day accordingly.