Our Experiences
Learn the secrets of Swahili and coastal Kenyan cuisine — from spice blending to cooking over charcoal — with a local chef in a real family kitchen.
Book This Class See All ToursWhat to Expect
Swahili coastal cuisine is one of the most distinctive and underappreciated food cultures in the world — a blend of African, Arab, Indian and Portuguese influences that has evolved over centuries of trade along this coast. Our cooking class takes you into a real family kitchen to learn it properly.
You'll start with a walk to the local market to select fresh ingredients with your chef, then spend 3–4 hours cooking together — biryani, pilau, coconut fish curry, kachumbari, mandazi, and more depending on the day. You eat everything you cook, together, at the family table.
Every participant leaves with a handwritten recipe card for everything cooked and the confidence to recreate the dishes at home.
What's Included
Start with your chef at the local market, selecting fresh spices, coconut, vegetables, and fish. You'll learn what to look for and how to bargain.
Learn the Swahili spice blends — pilau masala, biryani spice, and the coastal curry base — from someone who grew up making them.
You do the cooking — your chef guides, shows, and encourages. No passive watching. Charcoal jiko, clay pots, and traditional utensils.
Learn to crack, grate and press fresh coconut milk — the base of almost every coastal Kenyan dish and a skill most visitors never learn.
Everything you cook becomes lunch or dinner, eaten together at the family table. The best meals are the ones you made yourself.
A handwritten recipe card for every dish cooked — proper measurements, local ingredient names, and substitution tips for cooking at home.
Session Flow
Classes run mornings (9 AM) and afternoons (3 PM). Morning classes include a market visit; afternoon classes use pre-selected ingredients.
We collect you and drive to the neighbourhood. On the way, your chef tells you about Swahili food history and what you'll be cooking today.
A short walk through the local market to select ingredients with your chef. You'll learn the names of spices, pick the freshest fish, and carry the groceries back — just like a local.
Back in the kitchen, you start with the foundations — grinding spice blends in a stone mortar and pressing fresh coconut milk by hand. Your arms will remember this one.
Depending on the session: coconut fish curry, pilau rice, kachumbari salad, chapati or mandazi. Everything cooked over charcoal or on the family stove. Your chef cooks with you, not for you.
Sit down to eat what you cooked, together. Recipe cards handed out. Tea and mandazi to finish. You'll leave full, happy, and ready to cook for everyone you know.
We return you to your accommodation. Most guests immediately start WhatsApping their families about what they're going to cook when they get home.
Pricing
Vegetarian & dietary options available on request
Reserve Your Spot
Let us know your group size, any dietary restrictions, and whether you prefer morning or afternoon. We'll confirm availability and menu within 24 hours.