Traveling Spoon Travel Agents & Deals
Traveling Spoon is a San Francisco, California-based food tourism company that connects travelers with local hosts in 180 cities across 65 countries to share authentic food experiences, from homecooked meals to cooking classes and market visits (online cooking classes are also now offered)
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Traveling Spoon Deals
Garden Tour and Traditional Balinese Feast in a Family Compound in North Ubud, Bali - Day Trip
Dewa lives with his wife, Jero, and their children and extended family in the artist village of Keliki, located in the elegant terraced foothills 20 minutes north of Ubud. Dewa is a wealth of knowledge about local customs, cuisine and agriculture and loves to share his culture and Balinese philosophy with guests. Enjoy an authentic Balinese feast including dishes such as pepes ikan (grilled tuna in banana leaves), a delicate and deeply satisfying dish, bumbu kuning (chicken in a fresh turmeric and coconut milk sauce), or bregedel (freshly-ground corn fritters). This is a chance for your travelers to experience authentic Balinese life with a wonderful local who is sure to leave a lasting impression on any visitor. If you book a cooking experience, travelers will also be able to enjoy a hands-on, communal cooking experience, learning to grind fresh herbs on their enormous family cobek (traditional mortar and pestle) and cook in their traditional wood-fired oven. Please note, in traditional Balinese style, guests will not eat their meal with Dewa and his family, although they will be present throughout the experience. In keeping with their Balinese family tradition and sense of spirituality, Dewa and his family prefer to eat on their own and focus on personal meditation to achieve a positive state of mind during meals.
$20
Length: 0
Ubud, Bali
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Traditional Balinese Cooking in a Multi-Generational Family Compound in North Ubud, Bali - Day Trip
Putu lives in her ancestral village in a traditional Balinese family compound. When travelers arrive they will meet her grandparents, her husband, Pasta, as well as their three children. Putu learned to cook as a child, helping her grandmother prepare the daily meals. Her cooking skills have grown into a career and personal passion. Putu works as a cook at two private villas, creating fresh and creative Balinese dishes to delight her guests. She takes pride in her presentation and artfully decorates the dishes with delicately carved fruit and vegetables. At home, she is responsible for making the temple offerings, from small offerings to large fruit towers that she carries on her head during temple ceremonies. Putu also makes homemade jamu, traditional health tonics made from turmeric. Putu’s grandparents are rice farmers and travelers will be served their homegrown rice with their meal. Putu and her family will take travelers on a tour of their compound and show you their family temple and explain about the objects in the temple. They have a lovely orchard where they grow jackfruit, cacao, durian, coffee and bananas. They also keep pigs, ducks, chickens and a cow. Travelers can enjoy an authentic Balinese feast, or can opt for a hands-on cooking class where they wil learnl to prepare 2-3 authentic Balinese dishes in Putu's modest kitchen with a two-burner cooktop. Putu also offers an optional market tour where travelers can visit the Pejeng market and be introduced to a variety of seasonal fruits, vegetables and spices before returning to Putu's home for their cooking lesson.
$36
Length: 0
Ubud, Bali
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Traditional Vietnamese Cuisine with Maia - Day Trip
Friendly, curious, exuberant Maia, a Vietnamese native, welcomes travelers to her urban home in a residential neighborhood in Hanoi. In her house, she will introduce travelers to her style of Vietnamese home cooking. Maia is a social butterfly who loves to share her culture and cuisine with visitors. She runs a travel agency and can offer great recommendations for places to explore - and eat! - in Hanoi. Travelers can join Maia for a casual, fun meal of some of her favorite Vietnamese dishes, la lot leaves stuffed with seasoned pork, bun cha nem (grilled pork and fried spring rolls on fresh vermicelli), and banana flower salad. Travelers will finish their meals with Maia's egg coffee (a Hanoi specialty) and seasonal fruit. If you book a cooking lesson, Maia will teach travelers to prepare 2-3 authentic Vietnamese dishes from scratch in a hands-on cooking lesson that will last about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Maia also offers an optional market tour add-on of the Xuan La market, a short taxi ride from her home.
$28
Length: 0
Hanoi
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Learn to Cook Authentic Vietnamese with Grandmother in Hanoi - Day Trip
Hong is a lovely Hanoian, full of warmth, kindness, and an incredible talent for cooking. Travelers should not leave Hanoi without trying her delicious, crispy spring rolls or delightful salads, whether papaya, banana blossom, or green mango, that spring to life with an array of fresh, aromatic, verdant Vietnamese herbs. Hong does not speak English so she hosts with her daughter Hang, who works at an NGO. The mother-daughter duo goes out of their way to make your guests feel comfortable and welcomed in Vietnam. Travelers can enjoy a traditional Hanoian meal at Hong's table that includes dishes like banana blossom salad and cha ca, a Hanoian specialty of grilled, marinated fish stir-fried with dill and spring onions and eaten with vermicelli, or Hong's excellent crispy Vietnamese spring rolls with fresh herbs and homemade nuoc nam dipping sauce. If you book a cooking class, travelers can learn to prepare either cha ca or crispy spring rolls from scratch. On weekends, Hong also offers an optional market tour add-on.
$28
Length: 0
Hanoi
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Traditional Vietnamese Food in a Local Home - Day Trip
Lan Anh ia a friendly, warm, passionate home cook who delights in sharing her family recipes with guests. Lan Anh lives with her two children and mother in a typical, modest family home in Ho Chi Minh City. She comes from a long line of excellent cooks and is dedicated to exclusively using all natural ingredients. You can expect a lovingly cooked meal prepared from scratch from family recipes. Originally from Northern Vietnam, Lan Anh will teach travelers the simplicity and beauty of her favorite northern and central-Vietnamese dishes. The meal might include a variety of typical street food dishes such as pho ga (aromatic chicken noodle soup with fresh herbs), bun ca (turmeric-seasoned fish served in broth with fresh vermicelli noodles and herbs), and fresh seasonal salads with mango, pomelo, or avocado. For dessert Lan Anh typically serves her delightful nep cam (purple sticky rice with yogurt). Please note that, as this is an experience in a family home, Lan Anh's teenage children might join at the dining table depending on the time of day (they can't resist their mother's cooking!). If you book a cooking experience, travelers can expect to learn two to three traditional Vietnamese dishes in Lan Anh's modest home kitchen. Lan Anh also offers a market tour of Tan Son Nhat market, a true local's wet market that sells everything from fresh seafood (which you can buy live and have filleted in front of your eyes) to a variety of Vietnamese kitchen tools and utensils. Travelers will meet at Lan Anh's home before heading to the market.
$22
Length: 0
Ho Chi Minh City
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Authentic Moroccan Home-Cooking in an Elegant Casablanca Home - Day Trip
Chamsi says that coming to Morocco can be overwhelming – in a good way! The sounds, the smells, and the local culture can be a mystery to visitors and meeting Chamsi is the perfect way to dig beneath the surface and connect with local life in a more personal and meaningful way. Chamsi is an Algerian-Canadian married to a Moroccan. She and her husband have lived in Casablanca for three years and in that time have come to love the local way of life, food being a central part of her experience. Chamsi learned the ins and outs of Moroccan cooking from the best home-cook she knows, her mother in law, Lala Naima. They believe that true, authentic Moroccan food is best when prepared at home and Chamsi is excited to share her recipes with travelers. In addition to being a talented cook, Chamsi is a professional photographer and has a great sense of color and texture, which means her food is both delicious and visually pleasing. She lives in a beautiful, newly-built home with a large kitchen perfect for entertaining. Chamsi has a young son who might be present during the experience, depending on the time of day. Enjoy a meal featuring seasonal, home-style dishes that often feature Casablanca’s local seafood. Travelers might try lamb tagine with seasonal vegetables, marinated grilled fresh fish, Moroccan lemon chicken with olives and couscous, tchackchouka (roasted bell pepper salad), and homemade bread. If a cooking class is booked, travelers can expect to have a cooking lesson with Chamsi and her mother-in-law Lala Naima; the class will last about an hour before guests will sit down to enjoy their meal (additional dishes will have been prepared in advance). Chamsi also offers an optional market tour add-on where she will take guests through a local Casablanca market - often challenging for travelers to navigate through on their own! Additional Notes: Market tour is not available on Fridays.
$74
Length: 0
Casablanca
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Moroccan Family Recipes with a Marrakech Native - Day Trip
A warm and friendly Marrakech native, Hind grew up in a riad in Marrakech’s Medina (old quarter). Because her mother worked night shifts, Hind and her sister would cook her mother’s recipes for their family. Through trial and error, she perfected her mother’s recipes and now loves to cook for friends and family. When she tries food at restaurants that she thinks could use improvement, Hind loves recreating those dishes at home the way she thinks they ought to be. With Hing, travelers can enjoy an immersive Moroccan culinary experience with a local. If you book a meal experience, travelers will be welcomed into Hind's home with a traditional date milk or mint tea before enjoying a traditional homemade Moroccan meal. If a cooking class is booked, travelers will learn to create a traditional Moroccan meal from scratch in a hands-on cooking lesson that will last about 2 1/2 hours. Travelers will learn to make a Moroccan tajine as well as sides like eggplant salad or taktouka (a zesty dip of cooked tomatoes and roasted peppers) in Hind's small but modern kitchen. Hind also offers an optional market tour add-on of the Gueliz market, where Hind will introduce travelers to local and regional produce and spices and teach travelers about the ingredients involved in Moroccan cuisine. The market tour will last about 45 minutes before guests will walk back 10 minutes to Hind’s apartment for their cooking lesson.
$38
Length: 0
Marrakesh
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Moroccan Fusion Food Served in a 500-Year-Old Riad - Day Trip
Chef Edwina left her native Australia for Spain in 2000 and began cooking Moroccan dishes soon after that, after a trip to a Moroccan wedding where she was introduced to the country's cuisine. She returned home from that trip with bag fulls of tajines and spices, and over the next two years became so passionate about the flavors of Moroccan cuisine that in 2002 she relocated to Marrakech. Edwina bought a traditional 500-year old riad surrounding an open-air courtyard and over the next four years completed the riad's renovation, turning her home into a culinary destination. Edwina started her cooking school in celebration of her son, the acclaimed Melbourne chef Ed Golombek, who passed away after battling cancer. Edwina cooks together with her dada Hasna to teach traditional Moroccan cuisine as well as Moroccan-fusion dishes. For dinner, travelers can expect a seasonal tasting menu inspired by the morning’s market. In the warmer months, dinner is served on the terrace top, and during cooler months it is served around the courtyard fire. The menu might include dishes like beetroot and orange soup, lemon chicken tagine, slow seared calamari, tanjia of beef cooked in hammam coals, honey and salted aubergines, tempura zucchini, butterflied sardines, twice rolled couscous, or spiced, oven-roasted vegetables. The meal will end with Edwina's signature dish of almond-filled, rosewater meringues served over a chocolate ganache. If you book the cooking experience you can work with Edwina to select a menu which will include eight dishes based on your traveler's dietary preferences. During the fully hands-on experience travelers will learn the Moroccan art of tea making and then begin preparation of their eight selected dishes. Spices used in all the prepared dishes are for sale in the riad after the class. Should guests wish to purchase saffron, Edwina is happy to take them to the spice trader, a 5-minute walk away from her home. Edwina also offers an optional market tour add-on. Special notes: Please note that this experience is not suitable for children under the age of 12. Cooking classes are unavailable on Fridays (meals, however, are available 7 days a week). Also please note that since the riad is also used for cooking vacations with stay, travelers might see other guests while you are there. However the cooking lesson and market tour experiences are all private.
$80
Length: 0
Marrakesh
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Kaiseki Cooking Class with a Chef in Tokyo - Day Trip
Kiwa grew up in the Kochi prefecture on Shikoku island in southeastern Japan, known for its unique seasonal vegetables and ingredients. Keeping with the Washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) tradition that respects the natural beauty by using seasonal and wild ingredients, Kiwa uses fresh, seasonal ingredients as much as possible in her cooking. She also enjoys using ingredients locally sourced from Kochi and other rural areas. Inspired by a gastronomic family that owned and ran a Ryokan (traditional Japanese style inn) for many years, that served authentic kaiseki (individual small dishes used to serve a variety of Japanese foods), she has been professionally trained to be a chef in the US, France and Japan. Now Kiwa is a culinary innovator whose passion is to teach Japanese cooking without ever compromising on the use of fresh and seasonal ingredients. She is excited to share with you the story behind Japanese cultural food and its spiritual nature.
$50
Length: 0
Tokyo
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Learn to Cook a Traditional Japanese Meal or Washoku in Shibuya - Day Trip
Emi is passionate about cooking traditional Japanese home-style dishes. After years of learning from three renowned chefs, she became a culinary expert who can prepare almost any authentic Japanese or washoku dish. She recently decided to pursue her passion for cooking by opening her own cooking studio to share her passion for food and Tokyo life with others. A Tokyo native, Emi enjoys meeting travelers and learning about other cultures. She adores food from every corner of the globe but is also passionate about Japanese cuisine and teas, in addition to cats, photography and hiking! She has a deep interest in nutrition science and values using the freshest, top quality ingredients. Travelers will join Emi in her cooking studio for a cooking lesson during which they will learn to prepare 3-5 authentic Japanese dishes in the Teishoku style, characterized by the use of several vegetables as side dishes and a meat or fish as the main. Dishes might include ginger pork, chicken teriyaki, chicken karaage or slow cooked grilled fish served with a side of miso soup, nimono (slow cooked vegetables and meat with soy sauce), or stir fried egg and vegetables. The meal will end with dessert and traditional Japanese green tea. Please note that Emi's kitchen studio is not suitable for children 9 and under.
$50
Length: 0
Tokyo
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