Host offerings
Lasha hosts this experience with his mother, Elene. Lasha quit his corporate job five years ago to live a more active and fulfilling life. Today, he runs a guest house, is a tour guide and offers cooking classes along with his mother. Elene is a great cook and has served as a chef for hundreds of events and banquets, cooking traditional Georgian cuisine. She learned to cook from her mother, mother-in-law and late husband. Lasha fondly remembers helping his mother in the kitchen as a child, and so he saw fit that they host together, doing something they are both so passionate about. Lasha and Elene are excited to cook, eat and share stories of Georgian customs and traditions with guests at their dining table!
Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.
In-home meal (1 - 4 guests) Elene will welcome you into her newly built apartment building. While sparsely decorated, her apartment is cozy and welcoming with lots of natural light and a view. You will be entertained by Lasha’s anecdotes about living in Georgia, while you share a traditional Georgian meal prepared by Elene at their dining table. Your menu might include dishes such as eggplant, dolma (stuffed grape leaves), khinkali (Georgian dumpling) and imeruli khachapuri (cheese bread), which will be served with homemade wine from the Kakheti region. Your meal concludes with a dessert such as pelamushi (a Georgian dessert porridge made with flour and pressed, condensed grape juice) that you will enjoy while listening to Lasha’s favorite Georgian music.
Cooking experience (1 - 4 guests) During your 2-hour, hands-on Georgian cooking class, you will learn to make three dishes from scratch. The living/dining area and kitchen are separated by a counter which is where you will prepare most of your meal. Learn to make authentic Georgian dishes such as dolma (stuffed grape leaves), khinkali (Georgian dumplings) and imeruli khachapuri (cheese bread) during your Tbilisi cooking class.
Market visit (1 - 4 guests) Depending on the weather, you will either visit the Dezerter Bazaar (when the weather is pleasant) or Agrohub (when its not!) for your market tour. The Dezerter Bazaar is Tbilisi’s biggest food market and covers more than 2,000 square meters! Discover a variety of stalls selling local spices, cheese, fruits, vegetables and traditional Georgians sweets such as churchkhela. You might even purchase locally made fresh, organic and healthy agricultural products for your cooking class before driving together 30 minutes to Lasha's home to begin your cooking experience.
Notes: Lasha and Elene can offer vegetarian meals on request. Their apartment is on the 4th floor, so until they get a lift installed (one is being built into the building), it might not be great for guests with limited mobility. Please note that while there is currently no air conditioning (they will have it installed in the summer of 2020) the temperature in the apartment is pleasant.
Languages spoken: #<HostLanguage::ActiveRecord_Associations_CollectionProxy:0x00007ffa4024bfe8>
This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.
I spent an amazing day with Lasha and his mother Elene in her newly-built apartment building in a suburban, local area. Both are very warm, hospitable people who already have plenty of experience dealing with tourists since they have previously offered these cooking classes to some of Lasha’s AirBnB guests. Both speak great English and were very happy to answer all my questions about the food and cooking, and in addition talking more about Georgian history, tourism and more. My glass was never empty; in a true Georgian fashion, Lasha kept making toasts for everything from future and dreams to parents and Finnish-Georgian friendships (we even toasted for Traveling Spoon at one point!). Both Lasha and Elene made me feel very welcome, and their talkativeness and humour made the time pass very quickly. I thought I’d spent maybe two or three hours with them – turned out to be closer to five hours. At the end of the meal and the actual dessert (pelamushi pudding), they still brought figs and plums to the table - everything was delicious! I greatly enjoyed the experience and the best part was that Lasha and Elene went out of their way to introduce me to some other Georgian foods – even ones that we weren’t cooking. One of my favorite was a delicious tkhemali plum sauce that I got to try.
Elina, Traveling Spoon Ambassador
Pricing (per person)*
| 1 person | 4 people | 5+ people | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking Experience + Meal | $80 | $70 | Not offered |
| Market Tour + Cooking Experience + Meal | $90 | $80 | Not offered |
| Alcohol | $10 per person | ||
| Transportation | Not offered | ||
| *Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout. | |||
| Lunch | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|
| Cooking Experience + Meal | 12:00pm - 03:00pm | 5:00pm - 08:00pm |
| Market Tour + Cooking Experience + Meal | 11:00am - 02:00pm | 4:00pm - 07:00pm |
Traveling Spoon connects you with meaningful culinary experiences, from private cooking lessons to homecooked meals in people's homes. Enjoy an immersive cultural experience that gives you a glimpse into the local way of life.
