Cambodian Charity-based Cooking Class in Siem Reap Countryside

Absolutely fabulous cooking experience with professional and friendly staff. I would recommend anyone wanting a real food experience in Siem Reap to call Bong Sen.

We started with a fascinating tour of a market for locals with our excellent chef and guide, Jason/T, who named ingredients, talked about the people and their lives, and we compared prices with UK. Then into the village for the cooking class. Jason is a really good teacher who put everyone at ease and worked with us each step of the way. He was funny and considerate. We made banana blossom salad, chicken amok and pumpkin custard which were absolutely delicious. Jason was able to suggest alternative ingredients for things we can't get back home and talked about his career as a chef and other jobs, the orphanage they set up and life in Cambodia. It was so interesting. We also had a little look around the site and saw rice growing at different stages. The cooking was outside (under cover) and on wood stoves. We all really enjoyed it, even our teenager who had been a bit nervous. A great introduction to Cambodian cooking. Definitely recommend.

This was an exceptional cooking class. I chose it specifically because it was outside of Siem Reap and I wasn’t disappointed. The local market was a great insight into life as it is. Nothing about this class felt ‘manufactured’ for tourists. The recipes were well explained and fun to create with the expert guidance of chef Ty and support from their Master Chef. I thoroughly recommend this experience for an authentic cooking experience of local food.

Ben was super nice, explained everything and helped us with all of our cooking! We cooked the most delicious food ever, was a really really cool experience!

Can’t recommend this class enough. Completely exceeded our expectations, Thy was an incredible host and is so knowledgeable. We got to see the local markets and learn about certain fruits and veg, an experience you couldn’t appreciate fully without a guide. We then got to the class were Thy explained how they support the orphanage which was really touching, amazing work they are doing. We had such a fun afternoon and came away with new techniques and appreciation for Khmer cooking. All in all, one of the best days I’ve experienced in Cambodia and would highly recommend you to book! Thank you again Thy and Master Chef

This was amazing where we had a local experience. We went to a unique market and learned about some of the foods that we later cooked with. The class was great and we learned skills that can be used at home. The food was delicious and unique. Lastly the guide spoke excellent English and taught us step by step through the cooking process. Overall a great experience and would recommend to anyone!

The class we took was really cool. Our instructor Tea picked us up at our hotel from where we went to a local market. He walked us around and we even got to try crickets. At the cooking class‘ site we started to prepare our 3-course-menu. It was really fun and we enjoyed our time cooking and having it tasted after.

We really can recommend the cooking-class with Ben. He picked us up at our hotel and showed us a beautiful market outside of Siem Reap with an typing out typical cambodian vegetables and fruits. After that we went to the cooking- place and prepared a wounderful 3 course menu together! Furthermore Ben is helping underpriviliged and orphaned children from the neighbourhood around and helps his community with it!

The tour guide/ teacher came to pick us up on time. His name is Tea! My boyfriend and I loved him so much cos he’s so dedicated and passionate about his job. He brought us to the market and explained everything and even answered every single question we have. Super knowledgeable. The food we cooked was amazing and it was the best meal we’ve had in our trip to Siem Reap. If I were to come back, I would definitely attend the afternoon session. Thanks!! No regrets!

Authentic cuisine, only fresh ingredients, no convenience food, over open fire, nice and Good English talking chef

It was fascinating going around the locals market. The orphanage where the cooking took place was very peaceful

This was such an unexpectedly great afternoon! If you have some free time in Siem Reap I would 100% recommend doing this class. Our cooking instructor Mr Tea took us around the local market in the country and explained how they utilise some of the commonly used ingredients. He told us a bit more about the recent history of the country and also got a chance to try some insects (grasshoppers, silk worms and beetles) - definitely an experience for adventurous eaters! From there we went to the community centre to prepare our fabulous Khmer dishes. The community centre also houses underprivileged children and assists them with schooling and social support. The whole group participates in making all of the dishes (special thanks to the other instructor Mr Ben!) and everyone shares the end product around a friendly table. We enjoyed some well-deserved beer while waiting for our dishes to cook and finally enjoyed our homemade meals. Portion sizes are generous so come hungry! All in all a wonderful afternoon!

It was more than I expected. I extremely how natural the way we cooked. I will strongly recommend this class!

The teacher was nice, approachable, professional and informative. The class itself was beautiful and made me feel that I'm cooking in a real Khmer kitchen. The produce was fresh and tasty, the dishes came out amazing, and I would totally recommend this to my friends and family.

Ben, who s leading the countryside cooking class is a very open and enthusiastic cook (speaking very good english by the way). he picked us up on time at the hotel and took us to a local market in siem reap (we did not see any other tourist there), explained a lot and answered all the questions we had. overall it was very impressive to see such market way off the usual tourist track. we then went to his cooking place, where we cooked with him a very delicious 3 course menu. the place where we cooked is actually also the place where Ben accomodates for children/teenagers (at the moment 17) whos parents died and wouldn't have any other place to stay. apart from that Ben makes sure these children and around 90 others(who still live with their parents but wouldn't have the money) can go to school all year long. this effort alone should be reason enough to book a cooking class with him. this is a direct support for the children and the future of cambodia without the additional costs of advertisment and so on as it is the case for bigger organizations. book a class with countryside cooking class, you won't regret it that's for sure!

Everything about this experience was great! Our guide T, was friendly, funny and made the whole day fun and interesting, especially the market tour where we learnt loads about Cambodian cooking culture. The food we cooked was absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to cook it back in the UK! Would 100% recommend!

It was an amazing experience, booked the class the night before , received confirmation right away. We went for afternoon class, Ben, a young local, came to pick us up with Tuk tuk on time. He was passionate and humorous while explaining the things in local countryside market. He also shows us all the cooking ingredients and methods in details. It was a great experience especially part of their income goes to support local charity . Strongly recommend!

We had class with 2 girls . Chef Ben explained warmly and cared about girls. It was a great chance to cook and taste authentic Khmer food. Highly recommend.

Everyone was very friendly, it was very personal and lovely being in the countryside - not in the busy city for a change! We felt very welcomed and it was lovely to learn about the good cause that the money from this class goes towards. Would recommend to everyone as something different and cultural to try.

The cooking class was amazing! We were looking for something fun to do on our last day in Siem Reap and decided to do a cooking class. It was great fun and we learnt a lot! Everyone was very friendly and helpful which was great. Also, we found out when we got there that it was non profit and all costs went to the orphanage charity which was a bonus for us! Couldn’t recommend this class higher!

The class was so much fun, with only 4 of us, and going round the market with Ben was so interesting. Highly recommend this, also the cookery school is not for profit as they use the money to help orphaned kids.

Ben is engaging and explains everything clearly. The food is, of course, delicious!

I loved the food, everything very well explained and the visit to the market was great. It's a beautiful job that Ben does with the children of the orphanage. The classes I took were vegetarian and the menu was excellent.

I was the only customer and it was quite far away from Siem Reap. We visited the local market (45 minutes with tuk-tuk) and my guide was introducing me to local vegetables and herbs, which I hadn't tasted before. We prepared Cambodian spring rolls, chicken amok and pumpkin coconut custard. Everything was super tasty and well organized. Thank you!

Really engaging and insightful into Cambodian cooking. Enjoyed visiting the market and learning about traditional cooking/ingredients and what dishes they’re typically used in. Went with a friend who was vegan and although the dish originally contained meat it was easy to just use replacements and alter the dishes.

Great experience with great people. They picked us up from hotel and we got to experience giving back to orphan children nearby. We had the time to interact with them. They were so kind and beautiful. Then we went straight to our market tour we got the chance to speak with Cambodian locals and asked them questions about their spices as culture. The cooking class started right after. The chef was very great at his specialty. It was an authentic Cambodian encounter. We shared experiences and life tips with our co-tourists. It was a great experience to be with a group of people who were all very jolly and happy to spend time with you. At the end of the day we shared our meal on a very traditional farm house and had a fantastic time altogether. Worth every penny!

Good people, good food, great stories! Worth every penny! You get the taste of real cambodia in the market and at the farm house and it’s was not like tourist trap or really set tour but they took time to talk and chat :) we stayed there much longer for example! I recommend it to everyone.

We were picked up at our hotel and taken to the village to pick up 3 more people. They had done research and brought school supplies and clothing for the kiddos in the nearby orphanage! We got to interact with them and they were all so sweet and thankful! We went to the local market and learned about local foods. We all even tried bugs! They weren’t that bad. We went back to the village and made food over fire. It was so much fun!

Really enjoyed the morning with Ben and the rest of the crew. Started the morning with an interesting visit to Ben's local market, got a tour around and learned interesting facts e.g. about how different plants are used for medicinal purposes. Also got to taste lovely crunchy crickets and beetles. Would definitely recommend giving it a go! Got to cook really tasty spring rolls from scratch, beautiful amok as well as gorgeous pumpkin custard desert. Last but not least got to eat it too. Just lovely. Would definitely recommend the class!

Well organised, good fun and we learned something. Very pleased to see that the organisers are using our revenue to help an orphanage. Would recommend

The day was very enjoyable and Ben puts his heart and soul into it. The food was delicous and I cant wait to try and recreate it at home.

I would highly recommend the course to anyone who travels to Cambodia. Not only do you get a full cooking lesson but also a tour of a market as well. Ben is an amazing person and loves to share his experiences and knowledge with you. 10/10