These four cooking classes in Kathmandu teach you to cook and give you the chance to give back to community.
Nepali food is diverse. It’s tasty, light and made with ingredients that embrace Nepal’s geographical advantage to grow an abundance of vegetables like spinach, tomato and potato. The one thing that I’ll say about Nepali food is that it’s made with love. Cooking and feeding others is one of the main pillars of the Nepalese community, no matter which of the 126 castes and ethnic groups one may belong to.
I’ve been served dishes in remote regions of Nepal that have been prepared using merely a knife and chopping board, some oil and spices, and a pan over a burning fire on the ground. When love is involved, you don’t need much to prepare a dish that will fill the tummies and the hearts of your guests.
With the ability to create good food running through the veins of almost any Nepali you encounter, some have chosen to pass on these skills to visitors looking to take a piece of Nepal to their kitchens back home. And why not throw in a little community development and social impact while we’re at it?
2Sisters Nepal Cooking School
2Sisters Cooking School is run by young female entrepreneurs who comes from different walks of life. The women aim to share their passion for cooking traditional Nepali cuisine to people from all over the world, with a percentage of the profits going to support education projects in rural regions of Eastern Nepal. Located in Patan, 2Sisters offers cooking classes for up to 12 people from Monday through to Sunday.
Cost: $35.00 for a 3.5 hour class
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/ggNfyGkpnr13d6Xp6
Book: https://2sistersnepalcookingschool.com/booking.html
Backstreet Academy
Backstreet Academy is a peer to peer travel platform that connects locals directly with travellers that offer unique experiences in their respective towns. Browse Kathmandu and you’ll see a range of cooking classes available where you can directly support the livelihood of a local member of the community. Be invited into a traditional home and learn to cook Nepali food such as Yamari, Thenduk and Chatamari.
Cost: Range from $15 to $40
Location: Varies
Book: Here
Related Reading: Ethical Eateries in Kathmandu Nepal
Seven Women
Seven Women is an organisation that supports disadvantaged and differently-abled women by providing education, skills training and income generation. Their cooking classes are held at the Seven Women centre in Kathmandu. Guests are invited on a tour of the community greenhouse to discover how the local produce is grown, and learn the names of vegetables in Nepali, before commencing the tour. All net proceeds from the tour go directly to support the work of Seven Women.
Cost: $35.00 for a 3 hour class
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/UkJErafadKpb1weH8
Book: https://sevenwomen.org/experience-nepal-classes
Social Tours
Learn to cook like a local on this cooking class with a twist at Kathmandu’s infamous sustainable coworking hub. The cooking class is run by responsible tourism company, Social Tours, an enterprise whose aim is to support social development through tourism. What’s unique about this tour is that it runs on a pay-what-you-feel-it’s-worth model, so guests can decide what they wish to pay for the course. The idea behind the model is to create a Karmic mentality that is evolved from the idea of monetary exchange. So no matter what you feel to pay, let chefs Sakuntala and Asmita teach you how to cook some Nepali favourites like momo, dal bhat, aloo paratha and more.
Cost: Pay what you feel (per person) for a 3 hour class
Location: https://g.page/karmacoffee-hub?share
Book: http://www.socialtours.com/trip/nepali-cooking-course
Related Reading: Ethical Places to Shop in Kathmandu Nepal
Have you had any other experiences with social impact cooking classes in Nepal? Let us know in the comments below.