Traditional Vegetarian Cooking Class in Chennai with Gayathri
Description
Gayathri was raised by her grandma, who was an expert cook - she hailed from Thanjavur, which boasts of a rich and unique food culture that Thanjavureans are very proud of! It is from her grandmother that Gayathri learned to cook. Gayathri and her family are travel enthusiasts and have enjoyed hosting friends from different parts of the world. And now she is excited to meet travelers and introduce them to South Indian cuisine and culture. Learn to cook one main dish and one side dish in your 1.5-hour, hands-on cooking class in Chennai. For a meal at Gayathri’s home, you can except to try a traditional, vegetarian meal while seated on the floor, eating with your hands from banana leaves. She hails from a Tamil brahmin family and they only cook vegetarian food at home. • Traditional South Indian vegetarian cooking lesson in a local home • Introduction to South Indian cuisine and culture • Learn about medicinal herbs used in a traditional Tamil brahmin kitchen • 100% private activity
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- If any travelers in your party have any allergies, dietary restrictions or cooking preferences please advise at time of booking
- Menu may vary depending on the season
- Private, personalized experience
- Gayathri only offers a vegetarian meal. Instead of the traditional meal, if you'd like to try South Indian breakfast foods, Gayathri can offer dosa (a thin pancake in South Indian cuisine made from a fermented batter of ground black gram and rice), sambhar (a tangy lentil soup with vegetables), medu vada (traditional South Indian fritters made with black lentils) served with coconut chutney and filter coffee. So please let her know your preference when booking your Chennai cooking experience online
Reviews(14)
What a wonderful experience! Our family of 5 all agreed this was one of our favorite experiences while in Chennai. Gayathri was so lovely and we enjoyed the time in her home kitchen with she and her husband. She answered all of our questions and showed how to make 4 dishes that we ate! So happy we were able to do this.
This class was a wonderful dive into traditional South Indian home cooking. The step-by-step guidance for preparing kootu, sambar, and poriyal was incredibly helpful, and the emphasis on using simple ingredients to build deep, comforting flavors was truly appreciated. It felt just like learning from an elder at home—thank you for such an authentic experience!
Dear Guest, Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that your cooking class with our host Gayathri in Chennai felt like learning from a family elder and that you enjoyed the step-by-step guidance in preparing traditional South Indian dishes like kootu, sambar, and poriyal. Gayathri takes great pride in sharing the heart of home cooking through simple, flavorful ingredients, and it’s so rewarding to know you had an authentic and comforting experience. Thank you for choosing Traveling Spoon - we hope to welcome you back for more culinary adventures soon! Warm regards, The Traveling Spoon Team
She is very friendly and helpful. Her family also welcomed me warmly. It was a very valuable experience for me to learn South Indian home cooking. And her food was very delicious. I highly recommend her class.
I would highly recommend taking this private cooking class! Gayathri and her family are super welcoming. Arriving I felt like family straight away. We made typical south Indian dishes witch where super tasty and witch I can't wait to try at home. This cooking class will give you a look in south India's friendliness and there way of life!
This is a wonderful way to spend an evening in Chennai. Gayathry is a delightful host (as is her husband whose name we unfortunately cannot remember) and an extraordinary cook. We spent quite a while after we arrived chatting and sipping lemonade in their comfortable home. The topics varied and e felt as if we had sat down with new friends. The actual class is really more of a demonstration than a hands-on class, but Gayathry explained everything she was doing and provided answers to the many questions we asked. We were amazed at her ability to balance talking and cook so many different things at the same time. Everything was delicious. Her dal was some of the best we’ve ever eaten and her chutney unusual, complex, and a wonderful condiment. More importantly, we felt that she had explained everything thoroughly enough that we will be able to cook the same foods when we get back to the US. She promised to send us the recipes and we look forward to trying them in the future.
I was very happy to sit down with Gayathri and her husband in Chennai to learn the intricacies of Tamil cooking. I had specific requests that she met. They are both very gracious hosts. I would recommend this class wholeheartedly.
I participated in her cooking class last time and it was a great experience, so I participated again this time. This time I requested to cook with millet. I was very satisfied with the lesson because I learned various knowledge about millet and interesting ways to eat it. Everytime the food she makes is very delicious. And her family is also very warm and always touches my heart. If you travel to Chennai, you should definitely take her class.
I was welcomed by the Gaslya family, who were friendly and kind in a cozy atmosphere and had a wonderful time I'm very happy to learn about home cooking in South India using fresh ingredients.
I had a great experience of preparing traditional dishes and learning about plants used for their therapeutic effects.
This was delightful! Gayathri and her husband welcomed us warmly into their home. The experience was fun and we learnt a lot. The food was delicious! The hosts are fluent in English, the kitchen is clean and they used filtered water for all the cooking, so we felt very comfortable.
