Hostel kitchen raids vs. cooking classes, which one actually teaches you more?

I used to book a cooking class in every city like Bangkok or Lisbon, dropping $40 a pop, but now I just shadow whoever's making dinner in the hostel kitchen and pick up their tricks for free. The lady in Prague showed me how to stretch one pack of pasta into three meals, has anyone else ditched paid experiences for just watching locals cook?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer_owens5829d ago

Ha! Paid classes give you actual technique, not burnt leftovers from a random dude.

nancyn6929d ago

Feel you on this one. I did the whole cooking class circuit in Vietnam and Italy, spent way too much on stuff I could've learned from a YouTube video. Last month in Seville, this older guy in my hostel showed me how to make a proper tortilla española with just eggs, potatoes, and a broken spatula, and honestly that's stuck with me more than any chef demo I've paid for. Plus you get the stories and the inside jokes with people you're actually sharing a bunk with. Just saying, the free stuff sometimes hits different because there's no pressure to perform, it's just real life. Your mileage may vary, but I've been converted.