Where to take a cooking class in Bali?
Ubud is the place: most of Bali's cooking classes are there, held in a Balinese family compound or out among the rice fields, often after a visit to the morning market. Allow half a day and US$20 to US$45 per person, meal included, since you eat what you've cooked.
How a class works
The morning class almost always follows the same pattern:
- Pick-up from your accommodation around 8am (within Ubud).
- A traditional market visit: your guide has you taste fruit you've never seen and introduces turmeric, galangal, kencur (aromatic ginger) and shallots. You'll also see where Balinese women buy their offerings.
- Often, a walk through a rice field or a vegetable garden.
- The class itself, each at your own station. You almost always start with base genep, the spice paste behind all Balinese cooking, ground in a stone mortar. Then come 5 to 9 dishes: sate lilit (minced fish skewers wrapped around lemongrass), lawar (vegetables, grated coconut and spices), slow-cooked chicken, pepes (fish steamed in banana leaf), and a dessert such as dadar gulung (green pancake rolled around coconut and palm sugar).
- Lunch, made up of your own dishes, plus a recipe booklet to take home.
The afternoon class (around 3:30pm) is the same, minus the market, which only runs in the morning.
Practical info
- Price: 300,000 to 500,000 IDR (about US$17 to US$28) for a group class in central Ubud, without the market. For a small group with the market, expect 650,000 to 1,000,000 IDR (about US$36 to US$55). Private classes or luxury hotels start above 1,200,000 IDR (about US$67).
- Length: 3 hours without the market, 5 to 6 hours with it.
- Transfers: usually free within Ubud; from the south, there's a surcharge (see the best activities in Bali). If you're staying in Seminyak, Sanur or Nusa Dua, there are classes there too, sometimes with a fish market visit.
- Dietary needs: vegetarian menus are almost always available. Mention any allergy when you book: peanuts and dried shrimp paste (terasi) are in everything.
Verdict: book the morning class with the market. The market is half the fun, and it's where you learn what you'll later be eating in warungs (see what to eat in a warung).
Tip: go easy on breakfast. Between the market tastings and 5 to 9 dishes, you'll be at the table well past midday, and you won't need dinner.
Information checked in October 2026; check again before you travel.
More landmarks in this section
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- Where to go white water rafting in Bali: Ayung or Telaga Waja?
- Where to do yoga, Pilates or a retreat in Bali?
- Balinese massage: where to go and how much does it cost?
- Where to do water sports in Bali (Tanjung Benoa)?
- Where to learn to make canang sari offerings in Bali?