Paon Bali Cooking Class

Ubud, Balinese cooking. Puspa runs this class in her family home in Laplapan village, and the morning session earns its early start with a traditional market visit and a walk through the rice fields to see how the Subak water system feeds them. The key lesson is base gede, the spice paste behind a great many Balinese dishes. Learn it properly and satay, curries and vegetable dishes become possible at home with one jar in the fridge. Be honest about the format: reviewers describe some steps prepared in advance and some dishes cooked in pairs and then combined, and one found the menu repetitive because so much shares that base. As a relaxed, sociable introduction rather than a technical workshop, it is hard to beat. Vegan menus exist.