Featured image background credit: Carried Away Chefs

Tip #10

Take a Cooking Class

I can’t stress enough how important I find this to be when traveling.[Tweet “Next to a language class, I can’t think of anything to immerse you deeper into local culture”]

That day at the museum is grand, but sharing the kitchen with a local will change your life forever.

Not only will you take home skills you couldn’t have gotten anywhere else, at least not this authentic, you’ll also spend time PARTAKING, in the culture,  not just observing, Cooking is a full body experience. You need to navigate the kitchen, the tools, the ingredients.

How to Find a Cooking Class

Now this is the hard part.

There isn’t a real “network” where you can search on the internet for all cooking classes worldwide. (at least not yet. Go ahead developers, take the ida and run with it, please)

I’ve compiled a list of 40 renown classes/market tours from various reputable sources, if you happen to be around any of these:

• National Geographic’s 10 Great Cooking Classes Around the World
• ABC’s Amazing Cooking Classes Around the World 
• CNN’s 10 Great International Cooking Classes
• Viator’s Cooking Classes Around the World

But unless you’re planning your itinerary specifically around cooking classes, this won’t do you much good.

The Reluctant Gourmet has a few good tips on where to get started, including local churches or other places of worship working with the local community.

You might get some good hits searching “cooking class” near your current location on FourSquare… another hack :)

You can also head to any hotel/hostel reception and ask if they know of anything (including your own, of course)

Local restaurants of supermarkets might offer them, check the newspaper if you speak the local language.

Really though, your best bet is just to ask around and look around!! It’s part of the fun!

Oh, you can also find a travel blog you like and search their website for the words “cooking class” see if anything’s in your area ;)

And that’s it!

I hope you got some good skills from our 10 hostel kitchen cooking tips!

If you missed any, check them out right here:

• Tip #1, kitchen hygiene
• Tip #2, look before you buy
• Tip #3, how to sharpen a knife
• Tip #4, turn down the gas
• Tip #5, shop like a local
• Tip #6, get a handle on local produce
• Tip #7, three ingredients, three tools
• Tip #8, sharing is caring
• Tip #9, spice it up

Do you have cooking class horror stories? Or tips I’ve forgotten? Did you find any of these tips particularly helpful?