Addis Abeba Cooking Class: Honest Review and Helpful Insights

So, you’re thinking of taking a cooking class while visiting Addis Abeba? That’s pretty cool! Getting to grips with local food could be, just maybe, the richest way you get to know a place. When I looked into the ‘Addis Abeba Full Cooking Class’, I felt it offered something different: it went beyond just learning recipes. This promised to be a fully immersive adventure into Ethiopian food, its roots, plus all the traditions linked to it.

First Impressions: Is it Really Worth the Hype?

The initial vibe I got was very welcoming. The instructor had a great way about them. More or less, it wasn’t just a cooking demo. From what I read, there’d be market visits, explanations of key ingredients, and that thing where you all eat together in the end. That’s awesome. The testimonials sounded good, yet you always think: are those real?

What I Expected:

Learn to make injera (that spongy bread Ethiopia’s known for) from scratch
See local markets and learn where ingredients come from
Hear about food culture from someone who really knew their stuff

Reality Check: OK, here’s where things got interesting!

Getting Started: A Trip to the Local Market

First off, this wasn’t some super-touristy spot all done for travellers. It was real, and it was brimming. Our guide, whose name was Tigist, showed us around. By the way, she wasn’t just showing us where the spices are – Tigist told us how they’re grown, how people use them medicinally, as well as the significance behind certain ingredients in Ethiopian culture. We got to touch, sniff, taste. You know, there’s nothing quite like chewing on raw coffee beans!

It became clear pretty fast this wasn’t just about cooking. Tigist handed over a wider story about Ethiopian living. A trip to the market can show so much about real daily life. A person sees what folks eat, what matters to them, so, too, what their lives are like.

In the Kitchen: Time to Get Cooking!

The cooking setup was in Tigist’s house. It wasn’t some fancy cooking school, yet a homely kitchen where folks cooked every day. Very cool indeed.

So, we jumped straight in, making injera. It looks simpler than it really is! Mixing the teff flour, watching it bubble over a few days…It’s almost like a science project, really! Getting it just right on that big circular griddle required real skill. I burned my fingers a little. Hey, that’s part of the experience, no?

After this, there were spicy stews: doro wat (chicken stew) and shiro wat (chickpea stew). We went heavy on the berbere spice mix. Whoa, that’s amazing! Tigist demonstrated tips for layering flavors, getting the heat correct. And then she showed us how they served everything up traditionally in big sharing platters.

The Taste Test: Did It All Come Together?

This part? The best! When you eat something that you had a hand in creating, that’s really satisfying. The injera tasted fine, for the most part! The stews? Powerful, rich, wonderful. We sat together, ripped off bits of injera, scooped up the stews. So, too, we heard stories. It felt less like a lesson and really a celebration.

What Could’ve Been Better

Well, everything wasn’t utterly perfect. With many folks packed into the small cooking space, things felt really crowded sometimes. More or less, some individual attention might’ve helped folks who weren’t getting the method.

Then? Having recipe printouts is helpful. Jotting down notes while cooking’s tricky. In that case, Tigist did email us afterwards, anyway.

Final Thoughts: Is This Class For You?

Alright, so would I tell others to try this Addis Abeba cooking session? Yes, totally…if you’re up for something genuine. It is not just a gleaming show kitchen. It is a peek at the life of a local, a heritage being passed along.