The Culinary Experience: Cooking Classes in Tirana, Elbasan or elsewhere in Albania

If there is one thing past guests to Albania have raved about, it’s the excellent food here! A worthwhile endeavor for even the mildest of “foodies,” this fun day is designed to let you roll up your sleeves and cook our country’s delicious and nutritious cuisine, with the help of our moms, grandmas or local chefs of both national and international fame! It is a totally unique experience!

If you are a glutton through-and-through, you have come to the right page – a Canadian restaurant owner who visited the country on a two week tour said it was some of the best food she’s had anywhere in the world – and she ate so much that she rolled back to her hotel room “in blissful agony” every single night. There are so many surprises in this country that even the most discerning gourmand will fall in love!

Just let us know when you are coming and give us a few hints of your dining preferences: from there we’ll do our best to impress your palate and come up with cooking classes just for you. Helpful information would include:

any dietary restrictions: gluten intolerant, vegetarian, halal, etc.
specific cooking you might be interested in: scrumptious grilled meats, fresh coastal seafood, delicious salads, cheeses and olives, savoury homemade pastries (byrek, etc.), desserts, unique-to-Albania foods like qifqi and fergese, etc.
if you’d be interested in visiting local markets to shop for the ingredients beforehand
if you’d like some wine or raki while we cook

Albanian cuisine suffered from isolation and rationing for many decades, but as a country we are now indulging in the fruits of the land! Everything is fresh and delicious and we know where to get the best ingredients on offer. We have a small, cozy kitchen in our Villa with a Star and a garden, too! This will make a perfect base for chopping onions and sampling delicacies – we can also visit our Memorabilia Collection on site and chat with our parents (they’ve plenty of tragicomic stories from the communist period when they were students, workers or professionals in Albania, the former European equivalent of North Korea.)

We are also arranging cooking classes with some of the best chefs in the country including a couple in the region of Elbasan that gives birth to some very local dishes that are high as delights from Albania in the Ottoman cuisine of Istanbul restaurants. None can do those better than our friends of Central Albania anyway.

Ju befte mire! (Local version of Bon Appetit!)

Price and Information:

This tour is offered as a private or small group tour.

Please use this contact form to sign up – it will provide us with all the information we need from you including your pick-up address, number of people, date and any special requirements. Once we receive your information, we will quote you the price based on your individual booking.

Private tours are slightly more expensive and can be done any day of the year according to your needs. For private tours we can offer pick-ups in Tirana or from another spot like Durres (the price will change if the pick-up is outside of Tirana.)

Payment Options: We accept bank transfers, PayPal and we have a debit terminal/POS available at our Castle Kiosk Tourist Office in order to accept Debit, VISA and Mastercard payments (please keep in mind that 5% of the total will be added for the latter option.) We can also accept cash payments where applicable.

The price will include: