The best souvenir from Turkey is one you can make at home. Our cooking classes put you in a real kitchen with a local cook, often after a morning in the market buying the ingredients together. You learn to roll dough for manti, stuff vine leaves, mix meze and bake a tray of something sweet, and then you sit down and eat what you made. Classes are private, so they suit couples, families and groups of friends alike.
What you learn in cooking classes
Turkish cuisine is huge, so we choose the menu with you. For example, a classic class might include a lentil soup, stuffed vine leaves or peppers, a few meze such as haydari and ezme, and a main course like manti or a kebab.
To finish, you might take a sweet-making class and bake baklava or make Turkish coffee the traditional way.
Vegetarian and vegan menus are easy, because Turkish cooking has a long tradition of olive oil dishes made only with vegetables. Tell us about allergies or dietary needs, and the cook adapts the recipes.
Cooking classes with a market visit
Often, classes start in a market. In Istanbul, that could be the Spice Bazaar or the food streets of Kadıköy. Your cook or guide shows you how to choose spices, cheese, olives and vegetables, and explains what each region of Turkey is famous for.
Where we arrange classes
- Istanbul: classes in home kitchens and cooking studios on both sides of the city.
- Cappadocia: village kitchens, where you also learn about local bread and wine.
- The Aegean: olive oil dishes and herbs in villages near Ephesus and Bodrum.
- Gaziantep and the southeast: kebabs, pistachio sweets and spices, on request.
In our kitchens
- OklavaTurkish cooks roll dough paper-thin with the oklava, a long thin rolling pin. Try it: it is harder than it looks.
- SarmaRolling stuffed vine leaves tightly takes practice. Grandmothers judge them by how thin they are.
- MantıFolding the tiny dumplings of Kayseri is a classic class. The smaller, the better.
- Village kitchensIn Cappadocia and on the Aegean, some classes take place in family homes, around a wood oven.
Our suggestion Start the class at the market. Choosing the vegetables and spices with the cook is half the lesson.
Book cooking classes
Send us your dates, group size and favorite dishes. Then we suggest a class and a menu, with a quote. Cooking classes combine well with our food tours, and they also make a great team event for corporate groups. To read more about Turkish dishes, start with our guide to Turkish breakfast, and browse protected regional foods on the official Turkish Patent geographical indications portal.
Who it is for
Food lovers, couples, families with children and groups of friends or colleagues who want a hands-on taste of Turkish cooking.
Step by step
- Tell us your dates, group size and favorite dishes
- We suggest a class, a kitchen and a menu
- You shop in the market with your cook or guide
- You cook together, then sit down to eat
What is included
- A private class with a local cook
- A menu chosen with you
- A market visit on request
- All ingredients and the meal you cook
- Recipes to take home
- Vegetarian, vegan or allergy-friendly menus
Where we arrange it
Istanbul, Cappadocia, the Aegean coast and Gaziantep, with other regions on request.
Frequently asked questions
What do we cook in a cooking class?
Often a lentil soup, stuffed vine leaves or peppers, meze such as haydari and ezme, and manti or a kebab, with baklava or Turkish coffee to finish.
Are vegetarian menus possible?
Yes. Turkish cooking has a long tradition of olive oil dishes made only with vegetables.
Does the class include a market visit?
Often, in the Spice Bazaar or the food streets of Kadıköy.