About this experience
Enjoy a private and authentic cooking class in a local LA home with your host Jacqueline. This is a perfect experience for anyone looking to connect with local culture over food. In her home kitchen Jacqueline will teach you traditional Middle-eastern dishes from family recipes. After cooking, you will enjoy your meal together. Jacqueline grew up in the Middle East watching her grandmother cook every meal for the family from scratch. She has fond memories of helping her grandmother knead dough as a child. Jacqueline is of Lebanese origin, was born in Jordan, and lived in Palestine where food has important cultural and symbolic meanings that goes beyond what's on the plate. She now lives with her husband and son in America where she enjoys hosting friends and family for Middle-eastern themed dinners. Jacqueline welcomes you with “ahlan wa sahlan” which means welcome. Hospitality and generosity are ingrained in Jacqueline's culture and she truly makes you feel like part of the family.
At a glance
- Duration: 3 hr 30 min
- Private experience
Plan your experience
Set aside 3 hr 30 min for the experience itself, with additional time to reach your meeting or pickup point.
Local guides to help you plan
How to Plan Los Angeles by Region, Light, and Distance
Build a Los Angeles day around one region, honest travel time, changing light, and enough room to understand the place between stops.
Los Angeles Without One Center
A practical way to use regions and neighborhood names without flattening Los Angeles into one downtown or one story.
Reading the Los Angeles River
Choose a named river reach, check current conditions, and understand the corridor as infrastructure, habitat, and community space.
What is included
- Homecooked Middle-eastern meal
- Wine and arak
- Private cooking class with your host Jacqueline
Itinerary and highlights
This is a unique opportunity to visit the home of a local and explore traditional culture and cuisine. Meet your host Jacqueline at her California ranch-style house in the San Fernando Valley in the greater Los Angeles metro area. Her Canoga Park home has a garden with colorful flowers, citrus trees and a hammock. Join your host in her kitchen and learn to transform Californian produce into an authentic Middle-eastern meal with spices that Jacqueline brings back from her travels. Your hands-on cooking class (or cooking demo if you prefer to just watch) will last about 2 hours. Learn to cook a four-course meal that includes two appetizers, one main, and a dessert (baklava or hareesah) from scratch. The choices for appetizers include hummus, baba ghannouj and fattoush. For the main, you will cook either shawarma, kabob or shish tawook if you're a meat lover or falafel or manakeesh (savory pastries) if you are vegetarian. Enjoy your meal over wine, arak and coffee. Jacqueline shares her best-kept secrets on how to prepare some of the most notable Middle Eastern foods. You will laugh, learn and maybe even belly dance during this fun cooking class in LA with a warm and wonderful host!
See the overview, available options and booking details for the experience schedule.
Meeting and pickup information
- Meet your host Jacqueline at her home in Canoga Park. Exact address can be found in your ticket upon booking confirmation.
Languages and tickets
- Arabic — Guide
- English — Guide
- Mobile Only
Tour operator
- Traveling Spoon
Accessibility and practical details
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Cancellation policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Questions about this experience
How long is this experience?
Which guide languages are listed?
What ticket format is listed?
What ticket age bands are listed?
What accessibility information is provided?
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
What is the cancellation policy?
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