The Cooking Classes

This in-depth 6 day advanced cooking course covers a wide variety of Chinese cooking methods such as stir frying, steaming and braising.  You will be taught to slice and chop in the Chinese way and how to present a meal with emphasis on colour, texture, taste balance and harmony.

Different regional cuisines will be explored and we will include favourites such as:

• Sichuan dishes Dragon Eggplant and mapo tofu.  
• Delicious dumplings from the north including making the pastry for the dumplings and several different fillings
• Festival and peasant dishes of Guangxi Province such as Duck with pickle ginger ang chili and the famous beer fish. 
• Our March and November class will include making Chinese sausages and curing pork for the wonderful local dish of twice cooked pork. Our September class will include pickling vegetables such as chilies and beans which are used in the local dishes.

All classes will be hands-on and will be in a relaxed atmosphere in our specially designed kitchen in our mud brick courtyard house and our beautiful river school.

Most classes will be held in the morning with the results being enjoyed for lunch.  One class will be held in the evening so that we can enjoy a day's bike riding.  Other specially designed activities will be held after the morning classes.

The Markets

You will explore the local 2 markets with our fantastic local guides who are knowledgeable about the produce and goods on sale and have a friendly relationship with the famers and vendors to allow a deeper interaction for our participants..

The Yangshuo Fresh Food Market is a busy and bustling market; where local farmers come to hawk their own produce and the stalls are piled with the freshest of ingredients… literally the only way to eat fresher produce would be to eat it straight out of the field. You will be introduced to the spices, meats, vegetables and other ingredients that you will be using during your cooking course and engage in friendly banter with the producers.

We will visit either the Fuli or Baisha L ocal Food and Produce M arkets which attract a wide variety of local villagers buying and selling produce, hardware, farming equipment and even services. You may see dentists pulling teeth in the middle of the street, ethnic minority people selling herbs and mushrooms collected from the mountains and the local geomancer telling fortunes.

The Produce

Walking through the area surrounding the cooking school village location you can see the rice growing in the paddies or, indeed, being harvested.   The vegetable gardens surrounding the cooking school are a picture of organisation and industry.  At different times of the year you can see sesame, peanuts, beans, eggplant and of course many varieties of green vegetable.  While visiting the village of Yima we can see tofu made by hand in the old way using a stone grinder.

 
The Meals

One meal every day will be the result of your cooking class  allowing time for deeper reflection and discussion as to the origins of the techniques and the stories behind each dish.

Breakfast is included and is a choice of western dishes but you will be encouraged to join with the locals and eat the famous rice noodles at the stall that specialises in this one dish. Take your pick of slivers of pork, beef, pickled radish, marinated green beans topped with some fried soy beans and spring onion in a clear soup broth … delicious.

In the evenings we encourage our participants to explore the rich range of restaurants available with our recommendations including the option of dining with a wonderful local cook in his home.  On your last night all the instructors will accompany you to a dinner at our favourite restaurant in Yangshuo.

The Area

Yangshuo is situated in Guanxi Province and is an hour and a half drive from Guilin Airport.  There are domestic flights from most Chinese cities into Guilin Airport.  International flights are available from Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur.

Afternoon Activities

The stunning scenery makes for a wonderful backdrop to activities such as bike riding, rock climbing, caving, hiking and a journey on the river by boat, raft or kayak. There are also classes available in Qi Gong, tai chi and martial arts. Reflexology and massages are available.

Our experienced staff will customize activities to suit your interests and abilities while ensuring you enjoy experiences not normally available to visitors to Yangshuo

Included in our one week course is one Chinese therapeutic massage, two Tai Chi classes, a boat journey on the Li River and a bicycle tour.

We are offering 4 Week-long Advanced Cooking Course dates during 2014. These courses are limited to only 10 participants – so book now to secure a place for you and your friends and family.

6th July 2014
7th September 2014
9th November 2014

If you have a group of people then we are happy to discuss other dates.

For reservations check the 'Contact Us Page'. We take bookings up until 6pm on the evening before classes