Authentic Bengali Cooking Class in a Local Kolkata Home

5.0

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Recommended by 100% travellers

100% of guests rated this experience 4 stars or higher

5.0 (12)

Recommended by 100% travellers

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5.0

Reviews

Recommended by 100% travellers

100% of guests rated this experience 4 stars or higher

5.0 (12)

Recommended by 100% travellers

Earliest Date Available: November 18, 2026This experience is in high demand. Book now to lock in the next available date.

Free CancellationCancel for free up to 1 day before your experience

Food for HappinessFor every guest in your booking, we donate 10 meals to children around the world

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Location

Kolkata

Duration

2 hours

Group size

Max 4 guests

Language

English

Location

Kolkata

Duration

2 hours

Group size

Max 4 guests

Language

English

Why travelers loved this

5.0

•12 reviews

US$60.29 per guest

Instant Confirmation

Guest

Adult x1

Date

Add dates

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Earliest Date Available: November 18, 2026This experience is in high demand. Book now to lock in the next available date.

Free CancellationCancel for free up to 1 day before your experience

Food for HappinessFor every guest in your booking, we donate 10 meals to children around the world

Why book with byFood?

Japan's #1 food travel platform

Trusted by 50,000+ travelers worldwideCurated by food lovers, for food loversFeatured in CNN, Forbes & NYT

Description

Good to Know

Zinnia lives with her husband and their 14 year old daughter in Kolkata. For Zinnia being in the kitchen is truly a stress buster! Zinnia taught herself to cook after she got married from recipe books and long phone conversations with her mother! Zinnia will welcome you to their apartment in New Town with a warm smile. While you sip on your welcome drink, Zinnia will share all about her love for cooking. She cooks not only traditional Bengali food but can also fix up a few delectable North Indian dishes. The menu is thoughtfully chosen to feature 3-4 Bengali specialties and the distinctive use of mustard oil and mustard seed paste which is unique to Bengali cuisine. Join Zinnia in her small kitchen for a one hour hands-on cooking class and then sit down at the dinning table to enjoy the meal you helped prepare. Zinnia can offer vegetarian meals on request. Any dietary preferences may be available.

All taxes, fees and handling charges

Private cooking class with your host Zinnia

Local alcohol (1-2 glasses of local beer)

Home cooked meal (lunch or dinner)

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Join Zinnia in her small kitchen for a one hour hands-on cooking class. The cooking class will begin with an introduction to Indian spices and Zinnia will show you the ingredients of panch phoran, a spice blend of cumin, brown mustard, fenugreek, nigella and fennel which is commonly used in Eastern India. She will also explain why mustard oil is used in Bengali cuisine and will show you how mustard seeds are ground into a paste. After which you will learn to roll out the dough and fry luchis (a deep-fried flatbread), prepare the shorshe chingri (prawns in mustard gravy) and tomato and dates chutney from scratch. You will then join Zinnia and her family (when at home) at their dining table for a home cooked Bengali meal that might include a few dishes such as shorshe maach (fish cooked in mustard sauce) or kosha maangsho (mutton curry), aaloo posto (potatoes with poppy seeds) or begun bhaaja (eggplant/aubergine fry) and cholar dal (lentils) served with rice or flat bread and a tomato and dates chutney. Your meal will end with some paayesh (rice pudding), the most favored dessert in Bengali homes for any occasion.

Meeting Point

Kolkata

Free cancellation

Cancel up to 1 day before for a full refund.

No refund within 1 day of the experience or no-shows.

5.0

12 reviews

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12 reviews

andreapH1449PDMay 2026 • TripAdvisor

Amazing Food, Better Company

I cannot recommend this cooking experience highly enough. Zinnia was incredibly organized, explained each step of preparing several dishes in a simple and approachable way, and provided detailed recipes to take home. I not only feel confident that I can recreate the meals myself, but I also genuinely enjoyed spending the evening with Zinnia and her family. They are some of the kindest and most welcoming people you could meet. It was a delightful experience on every level: learning new skills, en...read more

I_LordJanuary 2026 • TripAdvisor

What a lovely evening!

Zinnia is a fantastic cook, and she, her husband and their daughter are all warm, smart and highly educated. They welcomed me so kindly and open-heartedly, and Zinnia went to the trouble of giving a cooking class just for me personally. It is well organized, everything was perfectly prepared. In advance, she asked my wishes and preferences and then tailored everything to me. Not only did I have a very nice evening and a very delicious menu, but I also learned a lot. In the end, Zinnia and her hu...read more

Reisender02January 2026 • TripAdvisor

Outstanding Experience for Mind, Soul and last but not least Stomage

First of all it was fun from start to end. We met an outstanding family with great hospitality and openess. With the cooking the underlying concepts were explained so that we believe we understood all dimensions of the relevant dish. The self performance helped to get a feel - to be proofen in the "homework " though ;-) but we will get online support if needed. As a special treasure we will take the mustard twist of our favorite dish home with us and close with a big thanks!

randyr176December 2025 • TripAdvisor

Wonderful cooking class for authentic Bengali food

My wife and I spent an afternoon and evening with Zinnia and her family learning to cook Bengali food! It was a wonderful experience, both in the cooking and the personal attention. We learned to cook four different dishes (and had a number more in the dinner). It was a wonderful experience and I recommend her to anyone!! https://www.flickr.com/photos/randyandellen/albums/72177720331169070/

sabinasE5914OQDecember 2025 • TripAdvisor

Great experience

I had a great experience at Zinnia cooking class. We prepared together a indian/bengali menu based on my food preferences and I got to learn tricks and secrets of this delicious cuisine. Then we had a lovely dinner with her sweet family in their beautiful home. I totally recommend this experience for whoever wants to enjoy not only food but also some great human interaction with Zinnia and her family. Looking forward to come back and thank you for havingme!