Several times a year, the Balinese spend days, sometimes weeks, preparing meats, rice, cakes and sweets for their temple offerings for large ceremonies. As you spend a bit of time around the Balinese, you quickly begin to see that life is largely centered around a constant nourishing of the mind, body and soul - and food is the main component.  

If you’re looking to truly get a glimpse into authentic Balinese life, then a cooking class in Bali is where you need to find yourself. A great activity for all the family, cooking classes take you on an incredible journey driven by your taste buds. A typical cooking class in Bali teaches you not just about local foods and how to prepare them, but walks you through a typical Balinese day and introduces you to the various traditions and beliefs they hold about food and how it plays into their everyday life.

Taking part in a Balinese cooking course, you will get to experience:

  • Local markets
  • Balinese homes
  • Local farms & how to harvest your own food
  • Learning about different spices and herbs used for spice and healing
  • Discovering how the Balinese use food as an offering to the Gods

Bali cooking classes generally start with an adventure early in the morning with your host to the local produce market. While there, you get to see and experience the tight knit community, playful bartering and you will learn about the various foods the Balinese use. The Balinese love to explain and include people in their traditions, so you will walk away feeling like you just made a new friend for life and like you could go back tomorrow on your own.

At any cooking lesson, you can expect to learn how to cook:

  • Soups
  • Rice
  • Curries
  • Bali crepes
  • Corn fritters
  • Sambal
  • Peanut sauce
  • Noodle dishes

Our top 5 cooking classes in Bali are:

  1. “Green Kitchen” Balinese Cooking Class & Organic Farm - Sidemen, East Bali

Experience real Balinese dishes in the sacred village of sidemen, Green Kitchen over you their traditional way of cooking with a fire wood stove, in a beautiful open air kitchen is surrounding by organic farm and breathtaking rice field views. Green Kitchen in the sacred village of Sidemen, Bali. It is unique as it is an organic Farm as well as a Balinese compound. In line with traditional Balinese cooking, Green Kitchen abstains from using MSG, white sugars and chemical products. You will be taken out to the farm to explore and to pick your vegetables from their gardens, and then you will go back to learn to prepare your food! Green Kitchen can cater to any of the dietary needs of you and your family.

Pricing:

  • Vegetarian course IDR 300,000/person
  • Non vegetarian course IDR 350,000/ person
  • Free transportation in the Ubud area
  • Green Kitchen offers a family discount (minimum 4 people required)
  • You can enjoy an optional swim in the Tragawaja river

Green Kitchen also sells local and Pupuan pure organic Raw/Roasted cacao and Bali Coffee

For bookings:

For more information visit greenkitchenbali.com

Phone or WhatsApp: +62 (0)821 4606 0236

Or email: malalibali@yahoo.com

Google maps: greenkitchenbali

become a certified nlp somatic coach
Become a Certified NLP Somatic Coach
Ongoing

2. Bumbu Bali - Nusa Dua, Bali

Discover the spiced flavors of Bali’s virtually unknown cuisine at Bumbu Bali. Classes offer a fascinating introduction in to the exotic ingredients and unique culinary heritage of Bali. They provide a valuable insight into the various techniques, traditional and modern, of food preparation and the cooking style used in homes across the island.

Most lessons are hosted by Heinz von Holzen, author of six highly acclaimed cookbooks, (The Food of Bali, Bali Unveiled – The Secrets of Balinese Cuisine, Feast of Flavors from the Balinese Kitchen, Feast of Flavors from the Indonesian Kitchen, Street Food in Bali, A modern Approach to Indonesian Cuisine and The Little Indonesian Cook book ) Assist by Ibu Putu and Ibu Budi two Mama Bali that know every twist and secret in a Balinese kitchen.

Address:

Jalan Pratama, Tanjung Benoa

PO Box 132

Nusa Dua 80363, Bali, Indonesia

Phone: +62 361 774 502 or +62 361 771 256

Email: info@balifoods.com

 

3. Fivelements - Badung, Bali

Join Fivelements' Cuisine for Life™, half-day private culinary training with Fivelements' award-winning culinary team in an inspiring gastronomical journey. Fivelements culinary pros will guide you through key techniques including juicing, sprouting, smoothies, sweet and savory blending, and fermenting, low temperature baking and dehydrating. Learn numerous recipes and experience dynamic hands-on preparation, including blending flavors and textures of key seasonal ingredients and creating outstanding food presentations.

In this exciting programme, Fivelements unveil the secrets of why this cuisine is among the fastest growing in the world and  you will learn vital information on:

  • What are raw vegan “living foods” and why should we eat them?
  • How can they boost our daily energy, immunity and overall happiness?
  • How to prepare great tasting, mouth-watering meals at home
  • How this cuisine can be the ultimate support for anti-aging, improved sleep and greater focus, gluten-free and allergy issues, weight-loss, diabetes, cancer remission, heart, depression and many more conditions.

Contact Details:

Email: contact@fivelements.org

Website: www.fivelements.org/en/ 

Phone: +62 361 469 206

 

4. BALI ASLI - Karangasem, North East Bali

BALI ASLI is located in Gelumpang village, near the town of Amlapura, Karangasem regency, in the north east of Bali. It is about 2 hours drive from the airport, and 30 minutes from both Candidasa village and Amed village. BALI ASLI is nestled in the foot hills of Mount Agung, Bali’s most sacred mountain, surrounded by rice fields, there is not a building to be seen.

The cooking school at BALI ASLI runs unique classes themed on “a day in the life of...” every class includes an adventure into local areas off the beaten track. Whether it is learning how to plant rice or plough with a cow, fishing in a jukung canoe and cooking on an open fire, or wandering through the local villages and country side, cooking students at BALI ASLI always leave with fond memories and new skills to experiment with when they get home.

ADDRESS : Jalan Raya Gelumpang, Gelumpang village Amlapura Karangasem

PHONE:

Restaurant: +62 8223 6909215

Penelope: +62 8123 816051

Email : enquiries@baliasli.com.au

become a certified nlp somatic coach
Become a Certified NLP Somatic Coach
Ongoing

5. Casa Luna Cooking School - Ubud, Bali

Named among the world's top cooking schools, the Casa Luna Cooking School offers a fascinating insight into Balinese life, beliefs and culture through learning about its food, cooking and culinary myths.

Class discussions are relaxed and friendly and are held in the elegant grounds of the Second Honeymoon Guesthouse of the Casa Luna grounds. They include explanations on the role of food in Balinese society, its ceremonial use and also its religious importance.

When you take a cooking class at Casa Luna, you will learn about the exotic herbs and spices used in ceremonial cooking and everyday Balinese dishes. You are encouraged to actively help prepare the lavish Balinese feast, and after all preparations are made, you will enjoy the fruits of your labor with a glass or two of the local rice wine or homemade hibiscus tea. Casa Luna Cooking School can be found on Jl. Bisma Ubud (in Honeymoon Guesthouse 2)


Many schools will then take you to see the rice paddies - often where most of the family’s food is grown, and you will get to pick a bit more of the produce to use in your meal preparations. You then will get to step into a Balinese home compound and experience what it is like to cook with traditional firewood kitchens. We recommend finding a school that will include all of the above. These are the schools where you’ll most likely get to hear about the myths and traditions the Balinese hold around their food, and get the richest experience of the community dynamic that food creates in Bali.

Learning to make food in Bali is about more than simply learning to prepare dishes, it is learning how to incorporate mindfulness into your meal preparation and building a community. There are so many hands that go into each plate and it is truly life changing to see and experience the joy that weaves its way through each step of the preparation of traditional Balinese cuisine.