On a short break in Ubud we stumbled across Cobek. Lead by Wayan, we're collected from our resort. Welcoming and, in very good English, Wayan answered all our questions about Bali, Hinduism, everything. Stopping at local markets there's no foreigner in sight! Dogs wandered narrow aisles of heavily laden stalls. Ancient women with broken teeth and huge smiles, sell everything from goldfish and lady fingers to mango-steins and temple offerings. Simply wonderful. Then through Ubud's busy streets . Past scurrying scooters with horns blowing and out into peaceful rice paddies. At Cobek, we find an immaculate kitchen, open to the rice paddies, and edged by a lovely vegetable garden. Wayan's sister Lilly and her husband welcome us into their home. We learn to make ornamental offerings which we present at the family temple and make a simple prayer. In the kitchen, garden-fresh ingredients (incl. homegrown rice) is beautifully presented and full of colour and mouthwatering aromas. An active and informative few hours of chopping, pounding, stirring, and tasting follows. All served with lashings of warmth, a jar of laughter and a dash of humour. When the food is served I find myself doing a double take. Did we cook this? It looks stunning and tastes even better. Over steaming ginger tea, we enjoy the best meal we will experience in Bali as we look out to distant jungles and misty mountains. Reluctantly we say goodbye to Wayan and her family after what was a memorable and fun experience.

Indra and her husband Wayan made today wonderfully special for my husband and I. We were picked up at our hotel, given a lovely commentary about what was happening locally this weekend (as there is a festival), taken to the local market and shown the wonders of Indonesian fruits, spices and everything delicious! We then travelled through Indra's home village to her gorgeous cooking class, set amongst rice fields and surrounded by her lovely garden. Before starting the cooking, Indra helped us to make a traditional offering, which we then offered at her family temple (each home in Bali has its own temple within their home/grounds,). The open room is beautifully set up with areas for prep, cooking and eating. It is spotlessly clean with good handwashing facilities. She showed us how to make 8 dishes and 2 delicious sauces/pastes - each one amazing, fresh and delicious! We would highly recommend this class to anyone who wants to learn how to make amazing Indonesian food, with a kind teacher who explains everything, and in a kitchen super clean! Fabulous day and we'll be back for another class next time we are in Bali.

What a fantastic experience this was! The value for money is unbelievable, when you consider the free round trip transport within central Ubud, all the preparation necessary to run a class smoothly, the variety of ingredients and the professional delivery of the class itself. I attended the afternoon class today, which I had booked very last minute yesterday evening. As it turned out, I was the only participant, so I got a private one-on-one class! I was impressed that they would run a class with just one person and I’m sure glad it was me. I didn’t mind missing the market visit since I had plans in the morning and I’ve been to many markets in Bali already having lived on the island for a couple of years but somehow never got around to taking a cooking class. The class was fun, informative and included plenty of hands-on participation. During the cooking process, level of spiciness can be customized to your liking, if that’s a concern or desire. There’s always chopped chiles you can add to kick it up a notch! The setting is a lovely and peaceful residential compound in a small village just outside central Ubud. The workspace was simple but well equipped for what was needed to produce these dishes. And you do make a lot of food! Since I was on my own, I got everything presented on a single beautiful platter, with soup and dessert on the side. I wasn’t even that hungry but I finished nearly everything, it was so delicious! Thank you so much for a wonderful afternoon!