Host offerings
Zinnia lives with her husband and their 15 year old daughter in Kolkata. Zinnia teaches spoken English and communication skills in a cabin crew and hospitality training academy, but cooking and baking has always been her passion. For Zinnia being in the kitchen is truly a stress buster! She taught herself to cook after she got married from recipe books and long phone conversations with her mother! As a family they love traveling, meeting new people and getting to know different cultures and are really excited to share their culture with travelers now. <br><br>“I love to experiment with new dishes and feed my family and friends!”
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) Zinnia will welcome you to their apartment in New Town with a warm smile. While you sip on your welcome drink, Zinnia will share all about her love for cooking. She cooks not only traditional Bengali food but can also fix up a few delectable North Indian dishes. The menu is thoughtfully chosen to feature 3-4 Bengali specialties and the distinctive use of mustard oil and mustard seed paste which is unique to Bengali cuisine. You will join Zinnia and her family (when at home) at their dining table for a home cooked Bengali meal that might include a few dishes such as shorshe maach (fish cooked in mustard sauce) , chicken kosha (chicken curry), chorchori (mixed vegetables cooked in the authentic Bengali style), aaloo posto (potatoes with poppy seeds), begun bhaaja (eggplant/aubergine fry) and cholar dal (lentils) served with rice or lucchi (flat white bread deep fried) and tomato and dates chutney or raw mango chutney. Your meal will end with some paayesh(rice pudding) or if the season permits, maybe something sweet made with mangoes!
Cooking experience (1 - 4 guests) Join Zinnia in her kitchen for a one hour hands-on Bengali cooking class in Kolkata. The cooking class will begin with an introduction to Indian spices and she will show you the ingredients of panch phoran, a spice blend of cumin, brown mustard, fenugreek, nigella and fennel which is commonly used in Eastern India. She will also explain why mustard oil is used in Bengali cuisine and will show you how mustard seeds are ground into a paste. You will be cooking yourself with instructions from Zinnia. You will learn to roll out the dough and fry lucchis (a deep-fried flatbread), prepare the shorshe maach (fish in mustard gravy) or chicken kasha or vegetables of your choice and tomato and dates chutney or mango chutney from scratch in your Kolkata cooking class.
Notes: Zinnia can offer vegetarian meals on request. Any dietary preferences may be available.
Languages spoken: #<HostLanguage::ActiveRecord_Associations_CollectionProxy:0x00007f591c6a82a0>
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.
Zinnia has the gift of hospitality and she and her husband make a great team. They live in a very welcoming home that is clean comfortable and well kept. It is very hard to forget the wonderful surprise of being presented with a box of sandesh from the best sweet shop in town! - it really made us feel spoilt, like friends. Even the opportunity to cook the Shorshe chingri myself from scratch was equally special. My favorite dishes were the fish kaalia, the bhaja moong dal and the fresh mango pudding. It was like being invited by friends for lunch, having their undivided attention and being taught to cook one of the dishes for lunch. A real privilege! Everything was excellent and the experience was invaluable.
Michele and Darren, Traveling Spoon Ambassador
Pricing (per person)*
| 1 person | 4 people | 5+ people | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Home Meal | $1,500 | $1,200 | Not offered |
| Cooking Experience + Meal | $2,200 | $2,000 | Not offered |
| Alcohol | $300 per person | ||
| *Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout. | |||
| Lunch | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|
| In-Home Meal | 12:30pm - 02:30pm | 7:00pm - 09:00pm |
| Cooking Experience + Meal | 11:00am - 02:00pm | 5:30pm - 08:30pm |
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.
