Hoi An: Cooking Class with Local Chef & 4 Vietnamese Dishes

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

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Duration2h 30m

GroupUp to 10

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Cook Four Vietnamese Dishes in a Home Kitchen in Hoi An

You arrive at Jolie's home kitchen in Hoi An and cook four traditional Vietnamese dishes—papaya salad, pho, rice pancake, and eggplant in claypot—under guidance from a professional chef who sources organic ingredients from local vendors. Groups stay under ten people, vegetarian options are available for all dishes, and you eat what you've made with juice and water included. The class takes a few hours and ends with you sitting down to your own meal.

2h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Cooking class with Jolie in Hoi An

Meet native host in Hoi An
Learn to prepare papaya salad
Cook pho with Jolie's recipe
Make Vietnamese rice pancake
Prepare eggplant in claypot
Enjoy seasonal fruits dessert
Play piano or guitar

The Experience

"You know, most people come to Vietnam and eat the food, but they never understand why it tastes like this," Jolie says, standing in her kitchen in the old quarter of Hoi An. She's talking about the papaya salad you're about to make—not the ingredients themselves, but the way she sources them, the time of day she buys them, the hands that grew them. That's the difference between a cooking class in Hoi An and this one. You're not in a restaurant kitchen or a tourist studio. You're in her home, with no more than ten people, learning to make four dishes the way they're actually cooked here: papaya salad, pho, Vietnamese rice pancake with peanut sauce, and eggplant in claypot. Each one takes maybe thirty or forty minutes, and you make it yourself while Jolie guides you through the steps—not hovering, just there when you need her.

The morning starts with sourcing. Jolie has spent years finding the right vendors for organic vegetables and the best cuts of meat, and she takes that seriously. You'll work with what she's chosen that day—seasonal fruit, herbs that smell different from what you buy at home, fish sauce that's been aged properly. The rice pancake is the one that surprised me most; it's thinner than I expected, and the peanut sauce is the thing that makes it work. The pho comes next, and there's a recipe Jolie's known for—it's the broth that takes time, but by the class you're working with what's already been built. Vegetarian options run through all four dishes, so if you don't eat meat, you're not doing a modified version; you're cooking the real thing with different protein.

Between cooking stations, there's juice and water, and the rhythm is relaxed enough that you're not stressed about timing. Jolie mentioned the piano and guitar in the kitchen—you can play if you want, which sounds odd until you're there and it makes sense. It's her home, and the class is built around that. You eat what you've made at the end, sitting down with the other people in the group, tasting your own work. That's the part that lands different from a restaurant meal. You know exactly what went into it because your hands did.

What’s included

Your class includes all ingredients for four traditional Vietnamese dishes (papaya salad, pho, Vietnamese rice pancake with peanut sauce, and eggplant in claypot), instruction from a professional chef in her home kitchen, juice and bottled water throughout, and the meal you prepare and eat together at the end. Vegetarian versions of all dishes are available on request.

Good to know

Wheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by HPT TRAVEL COMPANY LIMITED

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to learn how Vietnamese home cooking actually works, not just taste it in a restaurant—Jolie's sourcing and her kitchen are what make the difference, and the small group size means you're cooking, not watching.