The Best Cooking Classes In Shanghai

One of the fastest ways to learn about a new city and culture is through its food, and what better way to dive into the local cuisine than by getting hands-on? Here are the best cooking classes you’ll find in Shanghai, whether you want to up your wok skills or your dumpling wrapping prowess.

Chinese Cooking Workshop

Headed up by Chef Mike and his team of Chinese cooks, this small school is a great spot to learn cooking classics in a laid-back environment. Whether you’re interested in learning how to make authentic, beautifully formed dumplings, figuring out how to get that “fire” flavor into your wok, or you want to take a tour of the wet markets and learn how to best have them work for you. To learn about more specific provincial cuisines, get together a group of friends and book a private class.

To book a class, visit the Chinese Cooking Workshop website.

Cook in Shanghai

This intimate cooking class offers an in-depth introduction to Chinese cooking for those with little or no background. The four- to five-hour-long classes involve a trip to the wet market, where you’ll get both an introduction to Chinese ingredients and seasonal vegetables, and you’ll have a chance to pick up ingredients for the dishes you will cook later. The cooking class generally involves two to three dishes, ranging from perfect noodles to the intricate art of cutting decorative vegetables.

To book a class, visit the Cook in Shanghai website.

The Kitchen At

Here you’ll find a stable of talented Chinese and international chefs who cater to both the local and international market – so in addition to Chinese cooking classes, there are also Western cooking and baking classes for young Chinese people eager to expand their cooking repertoire. There are weekly classes that focus on Chinese breakfast foods, as well as dim sum dishes from around China and more classic Chinese dishes. Their website is mostly in Chinese, but you can email the team directly with questions as per which classes are in English at cookit@thekitchenat.com.

To book a class, visit The Kitchen At website.

Shanghai Young Bakers

Shanghai Young Bakers (SYB) is a charity program providing free training in French baking to marginalized Chinese youth aged 17 to 23, enabling them to find qualified jobs and lead independent lives after graduation. It’s a great program that provides real training and real change in the lives of young adults. To get involved and give back to the program, you can take a baking class yourself, upping your own skills in the process. Ranging from country bread to a variety of sweets, get involved in a class of your own.

To book a class, visit the Shanghai Young Bakers website.