Phu Quoc Cooking Classes

classes: 2
about: 3 h
cooks max: 10
from: USD 49

The two classes

Roll & Brew

O Hên Cooking Class - from USD 49

Three rolls built on rice paper and rice sheet - fresh rolls, steamed banh cuon and pho rolls - then whipped egg coffee. Morning 09:00 - 12:00 or late afternoon 16:00 - 19:00. Class details.

Pass It On Kitchen

Madam Mận Cooking Class - from USD 55

A walk to a neighbourhood market, then pho rolls, a vegetable salad, boiled vegetables with kho quet or banh hoi, and coconut jelly for the next class. Daily from 16:00. Class details.

Dish by dish

	Roll & Brew	Pass It On Kitchen
Rolls	Fresh rolls (nem cuon), steamed banh cuon, pho rolls	Pho rolls
Salad	-	Vegetable salad
Something to dip	A dipping sauce you mix yourself	Kho quet, a thick caramelised dip, with boiled vegetables - or banh hoi, fine rice vermicelli, if you prefer
Sweet	-	Coconut jelly, made for the next class
To drink	Egg coffee	Water; other drinks extra
Meal	Lunch or dinner	Dinner

Notice the overlap: both teach pho rolls. If you plan to take both classes, that is the one dish you will make twice, and the teachers do it differently enough that it is not wasted.

How the time is spent

Roll & Brew is three hours at a counter. The first quarter hour is ingredients; the rest is hands-on, with the steamed rolls taking the longest because each person pours batter onto a cloth stretched over boiling water and lifts a sheet off before it tears. Nobody gets it right first time and that is part of the fun.

Pass It On Kitchen spends its first fifty minutes outside. The teacher leads the group to a local market about 500 metres away, shows how to choose herbs and vegetables, and everyone buys part of the dinner. Back in the kitchen the order is set by the coconut jelly, which goes on first because it needs time to set.

	Roll & Brew	Pass It On Kitchen
Standing at a counter	About 2 h 30	About 2 h, plus the market
On foot	None	About 1 km, there and back
Activity level	1 of 5	1.5 of 5
Indoors	All of it	All but the market walk

Children, diets and the weather

Children from 6 can take either class with an adult, at USD 35 (Roll & Brew) or USD 39 (Pass It On Kitchen) for ages 6 to 11. The steaming station in Roll & Brew is hot, so younger children need an adult beside them there.
Vegetarians have a version of both: tofu and mushrooms in place of meat and shrimp, a soy-based dip instead of fish sauce, and a mushroom kho quet in Pass It On Kitchen.
Egg coffee is made with raw egg yolk. There is an egg-free alternative for pregnant guests and young children.
Allergies - egg, peanut, seafood, gluten in soy sauce - go in the booking form.
Rain barely touches Roll & Brew. In heavy rain Pass It On Kitchen skips the market and the teacher has the ingredients ready.

More detail on cooking without seafood or fish sauce is on the vegetarian and allergies page.

Choosing between them

You want a skill to take home: Roll & Brew. Three rolls and a coffee you can repeat in your own kitchen with supermarket rice paper.
You want to see how people here shop and cook for a family dinner: Pass It On Kitchen.
You only have the morning: Roll & Brew is the only class with a morning session.
You like a story: Pass It On Kitchen, where you eat jelly made by strangers and make some for the next ones.

Both are classes in resort kitchens with a teacher and a plan. Neither is a home visit, and neither pretends to be. If you would rather spend the evening moving around town, the food tour is the other way to spend three hours on food.

Plan your trip