Wood-fired Balinese cooking class in Ubud with Wayan

Meet Wayan Manis

Wayan Manis, affectionately known as "Sweet Wayan," is a compassionate and generous soul who carries the rich culinary heritage of Bali in every dish she prepares. Growing up in a traditional Balinese family where all meals were made from scratch using locally sourced ingredients, Wayan learned the art of Balinese cooking from a young age. She specializes in authentic dishes, using traditional cooking methods such as steaming, grilling, and braising over a wood-fired stove to create flavors that are both deep and complex despite the simplicity of the ingredients. Living just ten minutes from Ubud with her husband, parents-in-law, two grown children and rescued dogs, Wayan shares her passion for food and culture with others, inviting guests into her home to experience real Balinese cooking at its best.

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

Cooking experience (1 - 4 guests) Join Wayan for a 1-hour hands-on Balinese cooking class in Ubud, where you'll learn to prepare 2-3 traditional dishes from scratch. Grind fresh spices and aromatics to create flavorful pastes, wrap ingredients in banana leaves, and master the art of steaming rice in a woven basket over a fire. Cooking over Wayan's wood stove, you'll experience authentic cooking methods while learning about the health benefits of the herbs, roots, and spices used in Balinese cuisine.

After cooking, enjoy the meal you've prepared, featuring seasonal produce and fragrant spice pastes. Dishes include satay ayam or ikan (grilled chicken or fish skewers) or ayam betutu (spiced chicken slow-cooked over a coconut husk fire) or pepes tofu (tofu wrapped in banana leaves and grilled), urab (vegetables with fresh coconut), tempeh manis (fermented soybeans with palm sugar and cashews), and red heritage rice. For dessert, indulge in traditional Balinese sweets made with palm sugar, rice flour, and coconut. This immersive cooking class in Ubud offers a true taste of Bali’s culinary heritage!

PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW

A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.

Wayan and her family warmly welcomed me into their traditional home. After having lived in Indonesia for 16 years and eating a multitude of different regional cuisines, I found Wayan’s dishes to be distinct, simple and delicious. It was a wonderful way to have more of local experience in Bali, spending the afternoon learning how to cook and indulging in traditional Balinese food. Very few homes in Bali still cook food the traditional way, using an open flame wood-burning oven. It was fascinating to watch her cook all the dishes over the open hot flame, which then added so much extra flavor to each dish! Every bite was incredible, and I love how all the ingredients she used were so simple yet combined created such powerful flavors. After the meal, Wayan gave me a mini tour of her property and showed me where they raise their own pigs, so I got to see two large pigs and several piglets. Since Bali is a Hindu province in Indonesia, the roasted suckling pig (Babi Guling) is an extremely popular and enjoyable dish in the region.

Christa, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

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