Chengdu Spice Market & Sichuan Cuisine Cooking Experience

If you're looking for an authentic Sichuan cooking experience in Chengdu, look no further. A huge thanks to our guide, Jerry! His friendly and clear explanations at the market brought local culture to life. In the kitchen, his helpful guidance on how to properly cut and cook each component made the complex flavors of Sichuan cuisine accessible and fun to master. This is a perfect experience for food lovers—you'll gain knowledge, skills, and delicious memories to share back home. Highly recommend doing this if you have the opportunity too!

We had a great afternoon with Jerry! First he showed us all around the local market explaining a lot and arranging for us to taste here and there. The people in the market were all very nice. Off the beaten path also saw a lot of pensioners playing cards or mahjong. At the cooking class we made 3 stir fry dishes; mine were vegan. All with the enthusiastic help of Jerry and professional help of ‘auntie’. Of course you come to China for seeing many great sites, but this glimpse of the real life was very interesting. We loved the team in general, Jerry specially and can advice the experience to everyone!

Great experience, excellent guide

We had a wonderful time at the Chengdu Spice Market and Sichuan Cuisine Cooking Experience! Our guide, Lance, was fantastic—he spoke excellent English, was very knowledgeable, and brought great energy throughout the activity. He guided us through the preparation of authentic Sichuan dishes, including Twice-Cooked Pork, Mapo Tofu, and Shousi Baocai, making the experience both enjoyable and easy to follow. A highly recommended experience for anyone visiting Chengdu and wanting to learn more about Sichuan cuisine and culture!

This is an experience definitely worth trying! I'm a woman in my 40s. I've always been very interested in Chinese food, so when I found this, I booked it right away. 1) It's perfectly fine to go alone. You won't feel awkward at all. 2) You get to explore a Chinese traditional market, neither too big nor too small, and see all the ingredients. I used to confuse cumin and fennel, but now I definitely know the difference. 3) We took a short break to drink jasmine tea from a gaiwan. 4) Even someone with 'bear hands' (meaning not good at cooking) can do it. You cook together with the kind Teacher Li and the other instructors. You don't just watch; you actually get to cook over the fire. The wok is really heavy! But I had so much fun making Twice-Cooked Pork, Mapo Tofu, and stir-fried cabbage. After cooking, we all ate together. It was so kind and warm. I even received a certificate at the end. If you have an open mind and curiosity, it will be a thoroughly enjoyable experience! I feel like cheering them on. Jia you!

The whole trip was very pleasant. Jerry was a very professional host. He led us to the street market, introduced various Chengdu foods, and then went back to cook Sichuan dishes. I would recommend it to my friends.

Our tour guide was so dedicated and welcoming! They even gave the tour in Mandarin. It was an amazing experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to participate and get a deeper understanding of Chengdu's culture. 👏