Vietnamese Home Cooking Class with a Local Chef & Fresh Market Tour

Learning the little tricks that you can't learn from a book spending time eating with a lovely family

Going to the markets with chef Duyen was great. She has such great knowledge about produce and how all of the market stallholders operate. The cooking experience at her family home was really interesting and I will definitely be making these recipes at home in future

Great experience with nice and efficient Cheffe Duyen Did it with our 12 years old boy who appreciated too. And, last but not least it was delicious!

Friendly knowledgeable chef

We really enjoyed both the market tour and cooking class. This was one of the highlights of our trip. We'd recommend this class to anyone who want to a chance to experience life in Hanoi.

We chose to enjoy this experience just with the two of us. Chef picked us up at the hotel at 9am and we were off to the wholesale food market which was quite interesting. She had gone earlier to pick the items for our class so our walkabout was more educational and interactive versus purchasing the items. We ended up at her home kitchen and were put to work preparing the lunch. It was a set menu with 5 courses. Chef explained process, showed steps and was very good at sharing her preferences and the reasons for sauces, rice paper, etc. so it was quite educational. We enjoyed lunch with her husband and son who was home from school. A very enjoyable few hours and we liked it so much we have also signed up for a 4am pick up tomorrow to experience the market at its peak time and make a breakfast. Needless to say we would recommend for foodies and those that enjoy engaging with locals.

We loved our class with Chef Duyen! Not only was the food amazing but we also learned a lot about local ingredients and culture. Chef Duyen was an excellent teacher, providing clear instruction and also giving us alternatives for using fish and tofu in traditional recipes to make them appropriate for different diets! Eating the food we prepared with her family was definitely a highlight - highly recommend this class!

Chef Duyen loves Vietnamese cuisine and she is doing everything to share with us the best way she can in 4 hours. Be prepared to try many yummy dishes so you better go hungry! We did afternoon class, starting with a quick but informative market tour. When we arrived at the chef’s home, everything were washed and sorted - ready to be chopped, mixed or cooked. We had great time with the family! Highly recommended!

We enjoyed our class. My husband thought that we would make a dish from start to end, which didn't happen, however, it was a group class, so we were sharing tasks. We would love to get some photos that were taken of the class.

We really enjoyed this fabulous day. The market tour was very informative and interesting. We loved the family feel and meeting the family. The cooking experience was absolutely great-like working in a kitchen! We made so much delicious food. A fantastic experience.

This was a wonderful experience. Lots of fun, careful instruction and delicious meal which we throughly enjoyed. I highly recommend this.

Had a wonderful time learning from Chef Duyen. She was meticulous and very passionate about teaching and cooking. Learnt a lot about Vietnamese cooking and culture from that short session. Would recommend this to anyone looking for a local cooking experience in Hanoi. It was a whole “bun cha” fun and definitely the real “dill”

Everything was great. The little trip to the market and the class were wonderful. The chef is kind and explains things well. We had a great time, thank you!

Chef Duyen is very passionate and organised with the market tour and cooking class that we attended. Her personal connection with the vendors and the stories she had to tell us was so special. She made sure we understood what we were going to cook with and got us to taste some of it. The class per se was very interactive and fun. She taught us well and gave us alternate options as needed. Was lovely to meet her family over lunch, especially her little son who was our biggest cheerleader during the class and gave our dishes his seal of approval. Thank you Chef Duyen.

Duyen's market tour and cooking class were engaging and incredibly informative. My wife and I learned a lot about choosing the ingredients and the hands-on approach in her kitchen classroom drove the experience home. Duyen is skilled, funny and, best of all, patient with her students as she showed us the tricks of making great Vietnamese food. Highly recommended.

Duyen Than is a very interesting woman. She took us on a wholesale market tour, and we bought vegetables and herbs for the meal. We went back to her home and met her family where we cooked several dishes. We opted for vegetarian menu which was delicious. She went out of her way to explain about the food, Vietnam and culture. We would thoroughly recommend her cooking class. I can't wait to try the recipes at home, from the little recipe booklet she gave us.

To say that Chef Duyen was a wonderful educator of Vietnamese cuisine would be an understatement. She not only instructed our group of four on the recipes we were producing, but she also provided the cultural context while cooking and on our local market tour. She seemed to know everyone at the market too! It was fun, informative, and delicious! You are missing out on the best experience in Hanoi if you do not book this tour.

Chef Duyen is a wonderful chef who generously shared not only her food and recipes but also her home and her amazing story. A truly memorable experience.

We had a wonderful time with Chef Duyen in the afternoon cooking class! She took us first to the market street to seek ingredients and explained a lot about spices plants and types of meat. Then we went back to her home for the cooking class and we had a fun time creating many different recipes. We ended up eating all together with her family and had such a great time that we chatted for a long time after dinner time. Thank you so much Duyen for such a good experience! - Jen & Matt

Just as excellent as the cooking lesson and food were,... we were equally, ... if not even more inspired by the life story of Chef Duyen and the resilience and resolve of this remarkable lady. She, and likely many others like her will be the future of Vietnam and role models for future strong and independent women around the world. We were truly and unexpectedly touched by her amazing story. If you would like an authentic experience, we highly recommend taking her class.

The chef is professional and gives a lot of insights in the Vietnamese kitchen. You feel welcome in her home as of the beginning of the class We really liked the dishes she planned for us and would definitely recommend it to others.

The class was absolutely perfect. Chef Duyen is very knowledgeable! She is very committed to satisfy her clients! She adapted the course to our preferred food! We learned a lot on Vietnamese food! We have enjoyed a lot the course! Congratulations !

The class was absolutely perfect. Chef Duyen is very knowledgeable! She is vey committed to satisfy her clients! She adapted the course to our preferred food! We learned a lot on Vietnamese food! We have enjoyed a lot the course!

Chef Duyen is so knowledgeable, she took is round the entire market and explained the different vegetables and their variants abroad. She changed the menu for us as vegetarians and helped us with the recipes as well as suggesting other substitutes. The food was delicious and we got to both prepare and cook the dishes under Chef Duyen’s supervision. Afterwards we all ate together with her family and she gave us some other additions to our recipes, such as vegan ‘pork’ with seaweed and vegetables for the spring rolls. All in all an unmissable experience if you’re in Hanoi!

It's the best cooking class in Hanoi. It's different because it takes place in the chef's home and you share the food you prepare with her family. She is a great cook and the experience is fascinating

We started with a market tour. Duyen speeks good english and showed us a lot of interesting stuff at the market. After that we went to her home with a large an nicely equipped kitchen. We prepared a meal with a variety of dishes. She provided us with a recipe booklet and even told us how we can replace specific incredients that might be hard to come by in Germany. Finally we got to eat the delicious food with her family in a nice atmosphere. All in all we can highly recommend Duyen's cooking class.

I recently took part in a cooking class with Chef Duyen and have nothing but positive things to say. The tour of the local market was fantastic and took us off the beaten track to a place not easily accessible by tourists otherwise. Chef Duyen’s guidance resulted in us producing a feast of Vietnamese food with her invaluable assistance and knowledge along the way. Alongside the food, it was great to be able to learn more about life in Vietnam. Would thoroughly recommend!

Brilliant experience! The tour is smaller in size and more personal. The food was also amazing and you get to share the meal you prepared with her family, making the experience even more meaningful. Fantastic communication, she went out of her way to pick us up from where we were staying and patiently answered all our answers! I would recommend chef Duyen’s tours and classes, just a great experience from start to finish!

It was a superb experience and we’d highly recommend it! Duyen is such a talented chef, amazing host and inspiring lady!!! I went with 3 girlfriends and in our class was another woman. We had a very cool tour of the wholesale market, then went to Duyen’s house for a cooking class, then we got to eat the meal with her family! Besides the cooking, which is fun and extensive, Duyen was also very forthcoming to share about her life story and about Vietnamese culture. We learnt so much and had a splendid time!

It was great to go to a market where we were the only non-locals selling food grown in Hanoi with an interested and friendly guide who was not only able to translate but also tell us about how the different products are used. The cooking was fun and we have experienced how different techniques are used and we finished by eating a delicious meal that we had prepared with the family.

Chef Duyan is really really nice and took us to the market explaining everything they do and how the market works. It was such a lovely experience I would recommend to everyone!!! The food we cooked was delicious and we had such a nice time.

We took a Cooking class with Chef Duyen. First we had a wonderful tour of the local market. We learned much from her on the intricacies of “shopping” at this local market. It was amazing how much fresh vegetables and herbs Vietnamese use in their cuisine. Then, we spent nearly 6 tours at her beautiful home with a professional kitchen to learn how to make Banana leaf salad, taro desert, soft spring rolls, soup, chicken. Once Duyen learnt I’m curious about bitter melon, she bought it at the market and we prepared a really unusual dish with it together. Duyen is such a  pleasant individual and her instructions are very clear and professional. Not only we learned much about Vietnamese cuisine and qualities of specific vegetables, we also learned its culture and history. It was not just a cooking class; it was an unparalleled cultural sensory experience. You don’t want to miss it if you are in Hanoi.

Chef Duyen is the warmest, most humble and passionate Vietnamese chef. We had such a great time cooking and talking to her. Chef Duyen's traditional dishes were splendid (we went with Menu B), and we even bought good quality fish sauce from her! She was extremely helpful when we asked her (too many) questions on food ingredients and where to buy them in Hanoi. She is a pro! Her house is clean, well-equipped, spacious for our group of 6-pax, and just a few minutes' walk from the wet market. More about the chef https://chefduyen.com/about-me/

Chef Duyen's is a very good teacher. It was delicious

Chef Duyen was a lovely host and very knowledgeable chef! I would highly recommend this experience for anyone looking to see some local markets and learn delicious recipes :)

We were a group of only three people, which was wonderful. Chef Duyen explained a lot when walking through her local market and took us to her home, it felt like cooking among friends rather than like a class. The food was delicious. She is a wonderful person, I would book her again.

Chef Duyen was prepared and very friendly! All dishes we prepared were interesting and tasty. The market tour was a nice touch and helped us recognise some exotic ingredients.

I did the morning "Dishes From My Countryside" menu cookery class with Chef Duyen and I couldn't have asked for anything better. Easy hotel pick-up, a fascinating tour of the food markets, and then a full few hours of talking about, preparing and eating an incredible feast. Chef Duyen is knowledgeable and extremely friendly, and the small class size (five of us) meant we all got to fully engage throughout. If you can go without, don't bother with breakfast as you prepare a LOT of food! And the dishes were delicious (despite my less-than-stellar cooking abilities). A truly memorable and excellent value five-hour cookery experience!

Chef Duyen's class was the best! She is down to earth, funny, caring, and talented. She creates a welcoming environment in her lovely home where we cook up a huge feats. I keep thinking about our market tour in the morning: We explored busy and vibrant markets and shops that are distinctly Hanoi... The whole experience was VERY worthwhile, and I have already suggested it to my extended family traveling to Vietnam in the future!! Thank you Chef Duyen!

Super inspiring and educative. Combination with market trip gave a unique understanding of food culture in Vietnam. Small class (only 6 participants), where everybody contributed. Learned some tricks: do not cut the garlic-just smash it with the knife, fry eggs, eat banana flowers! Duyen is a very nice host and was flexible to match food for one non-meat eater.

My partner and I had a great time. Chef Duyen is such a warm, funny, lovely teacher who will guide you through all the process. During the market tour we even got to see how they make tofu! We are vegetarian and we highly recommend this option for vegans as well.

We had a wonderful time with Chef Duyen during our market tour and following cooking class. Everything was perfectly organised and the cooking class location is really nice. We learned a lot new things and also got some recommendations for “must-eats“ in Hanoi. We also had a wonderful dinner at the end with Chef Duyen and her family which we really enjoyed! Many thanks to Chef Duyen for the great afternoon :)

Much more than expected. Don’t cheat yourself, take this class. So much more than cooking and eating delicious food

This cooking class is brilliant. Miss Duyen is a very good and proffesionel chef, and a lovely person. We had such a good time. All the dishes we made were excellent ! The Bun chau was the most tastfull dish I had in Vietnam . Wow! And the trip to the market , first, so very fascinating . Only that was a great experiance, with her introducing us to all the things there, and also telling about the everyday life in Vietnam .I can truls recomend Miss Duyens cooking class, I ’ve been to a few and this is in absolute top class.

We experienced so many new ideas in the kitchen, but also had a good time at the market. Chef Duyen was really cool. The food we prepared was quite delicious and the dinner with our family and her family was lovely. The facility itself for cooking preparation was well - appointed. Preparation of the meal was fun and the time went by quickly. The chef speaks English well, but her Vietnamese accent is difficult to understand at times. So go and enjoy and learn!

Chef Duyen is a great teacher!!! She is very passionate, lovely and professional! I was very amazed!!! Before the class, she took us to local local market and explained many beautiful ingredients of Hanoi. It was fantastic!!! After the market, she took us to her home!!! The all dishes we cooked were super home style and very new to me, but some of them are not difficult to remake at home!!! After class, I went to market by myself and got many skins for Vietnamese spring rolls. Besides, now I know how to make sweet Vietnamese sauce!!! Omg! I can’t wait to remake at home!!! When I come back to Hanoi, I definitely want to cook with her again:-) Highly recommended!!!

Was a completely different experience going to a locals house and learning how to cook. Duyen's a fun and bubbly person and also an amazing cook. Couldn't recommend this enough.

Chef Duyen was amazingly friendly and skilled. The tour of the market was very interesting and she was able to answer all the questions. The food we cooked was delicious and she was very helpful with her instructions and lessons.

Chef Duyen was very informative. The meal was delicious and we shared the meal with beers and her wonderful family.

I'm a Vietnamese-American who has been eager to get in touch with my family's culture through food. And though I have a working familiarity with Vietnamese recipes, I wanted a professional and authentic touch: and Chef Duyen's Home Cooking Class provides all that and more. Chef Duyen is incredibly accommodating and attentive — when we got a little lost on the way to her class, she smoothly guided us in the right direction. The tour she gave us of the Long Bien market near her house was super informative and educational, and brought an extra level of authenticity that we wouldn't have found in a more popular market. Not only was Chef Duyen well-informed on matters of food, she also gave us a quick rundown of the social and ethnographic issues at play at the market. It gave us a real holistic understanding of our food and where it came from. Onto the cooking class: Chef Duyen provided us with everything we needed, from a chopping board, to aprons, to her special branded knives (which looked totally rad). She moved quickly but offered an easy to understand step-by-step process, and would advise us on how to chop or peel things if we asked for her help. She always kept a soothing level of calm, no matter how many pots she had cooking (literally), which was really helpful for a beginner-level chef like me. During the long cooking process, Chef Duyen would ask about us and make easy conversation while her family flitted in and out of her kitchen as well, which made the environment warm and inviting. I'm excited to incorporate her recipes into my regular cooking rotation. And though I'm familiar with these dishes, Chef Duyen's cooking class is perfect for those unfamiliar with Vietnamese cuisine as well. I highly recommend it for both newcomers and Hanoi old-timers alike.