Welcome to my review of airKitchen.
As regular readers will know, Mark and I love taking cooking classes when we visit a new destination. We often book through Cookly, as we did for this market to table class in Barcelona and this one in Marrakech. Recently, however, I compiled a post about the best cooking classes throughout the world and was introduced to airKitchen, a platform which promotes authentic Japanese cooking classes given by hosts in their own homes. Now, airKitchen have diversified and offer online classes too.
In this article
How Do airKitchen Japanese Cooking Classes Work?
This video from airKitchen explains about the classes:
airKitchen connects travellers visiting Japan from all over the world with English-speaking Japanese hosts who teach them how to cook authentic Japanese dishes in their own kitchens.
When you book through airKitchen, many hosts give you the option of shopping for ingredients with them before you cook. This is a great way to discover what’s what – especially if your Japanese is not up to understanding the labels! When the shopping is done, it’s back to the host’s home for your class.
Once the food is made, you sit down with your hosts to enjoy the fruits of your labours. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn about Japanese culture and what daily life is like for ordinary people living in Japan. You can also pick up some fabulous insider tips on the best things to do and places to go in the local area.
The whole experience lasts around three hours. It will be a memorable experience to take away from your time in Japan.
Watch this video featuring two Greek tourists learning how to make gyoza:
Where Does airKitchen Have Hosts?
airKitchen offers cooking classes in Japan’s major cities – Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Okinawa, and Hokkaido – as well as smaller towns all over the country. Check the site for the full list.
The platform also provides links to recommended cooking classes all over the world, too.
What Might You Cook in an airKitchen Class?
As you might imagine, the most popular classes include learning how to make sushi, ramen, or soba noodles. It’s a real skill making these dishes from scratch. With Japanese grocery stores in most major cities worldwide, you can impress your friends back home with what you’ve learned.
If you’re already familiar with these staples of Japanese cuisine, you might want to discover how to make gyoza (pan-fried dumplings) or dashi (a flavourful broth). You could opt for a class where you make vegetable tempura using organic vegetables grown in the host’s garden. Or how about learning how to make wagashi (traditional Japanese desserts)? Another choice is matcha sweet making which you could pair with a Japanese tea ceremony. You could even take a class in artistic sushi! Learn how to create dogs, pandas, penguins, pigs, and other animals in sushi. Great fun – especially if you’re travelling with children.
As well as learning how to make ramen, you might also learn how to eat it correctly!
There are plenty of options to suit everyone – meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans are all catered for.
How Do You Book a Class?
The airKitchen website is very well laid out and easy to use, both on a computer and a mobile device.
There are over 2000 classes to choose from. You can make your choice by putting in the dish you want to cook, or by using the map function to find a class nearby. You can also read reviews left by previous customers.
Once you’ve selected your class, it’s simple to set up an account by entering your email address and creating a password. You then use the calendar to check the availability of the class you want. Confirm all the details and pay by card. airKitchen then sends a booking request to your host. Your card is not debited until your host confirms your booking which they must do within 24 hours.
When your booking is approved, you get an email confirmation and instructions about how to contact your host to make arrangements to get to their home, or to meet somewhere to go shopping.
airKitchen LIVE: Online Cooking Classes
You don’t have to be in Japan to use airKitchen. They have recently added over 100 online cooking classes to their platform which can be enjoyed wherever you are in the world.
These are private classes conducted through apps like Zoom and Skype. You can learn how to cook traditional dishes and share an intimate cultural exchange experience from the safety of your home. Whether you are unable to travel, or whether you want to learn about a cuisine before visiting a country, these classes are for you.
This video shows a mum and daughter in Hawaii being taught by a host in Japan:
Why You Should Join an Online Class
- Interact with your host, ask questions, and end your class by sharing the meal you’ve made together.
- Share an intimate cooking experience and conversation with someone living on the other side of the globe.
- Make friends with people you would otherwise never have ‘met’.
- Negotiate a start time with your host that suits you both.
- LIVE hosts can advise you on what local ingredients you can substitute if you have trouble finding needed ingredients for their class.
- It’s a bespoke experience. After sending a booking request, you can message and consult with your host to ensure you’re on the same page regarding start times across time zone differences and required ingredients.
- If you’re English isn’t strong, it’s not a problem. Your host will be able to teach you at your pace and show you the necessary steps via video.
What Kind of Classes are Available Through airKitchen LIVE?
Unsurprisingly, there is a large number of Japanese cooking classes available on the airKitchen platform. As well as the dishes described in the face-to-face classes above, you can also learn how to make okonomiyaki (Japanese savoury pancakes) or katsu curry.
The joy of the online offering from airKitchen, though, is the variety of classes you can choose from. Hosts from all over the world will teach you how to prepare their authentic dishes. You could learn Italian favourites like how to make pasta from scratch, or how to prepare a deliciously creamy tiramisu. Why not discover how to cook Polish dumplings, Mexican tortillas and salsas, Portuguese pastel de nata (moreish custard tarts), Thai dishes, French pastries, or Peruvian favourites? Join a Moroccan family in their home kitchen or learn how to make Andalusian gazpacho. You could even join a five-day online Indian cookery class where you’ll learn how to make two or three different dishes each day.
There are so many choices. And this is all to be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. Increase your repertoire and impress your friends and family with your new-found culinary expertise.
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