Best Bali Cooking Class: Review of Ketut’s Omahneka Class 

Chef Ketut runs the Omahneka Cooking Class.

He grew up near Mt. Agung, which we caught a glimpse of during our Bali bike tour. His mother taught him how to cook all the authentic Bali dishes. He then took that knowledge and further developed his culinary skills while cooking at several well known Balinese hotels.

You will love Chef Ketut!

He is patient, warm, welcoming, friendly, and a very good instructor. When he smiles, you cannot help but smile too. He has a wonderful positive energy.

It’s like you are cooking with a friend.

I love that Ketut only hosts small groups (4-6 people), which makes the experience very personal and intimate. His English is perfect, which makes it very easy to communicate.

This class is hands-on! No watching from the sideline.

But don’t worry, there are no Gordon Ramsay moments. And thank goodness, because I cannot cook (besides some scrambled eggs), lol.

Every time we do these cooking classes, my husband is always the star pupil since he LOVES to cook.

At least I get some points for effort. I appreciated Ketut was patient and encouraged me as I gave my best effort.

The Omahneka Cooking Class is located just outside the downtown area of Ubud in a quiet neighborhood.

It was a 5-minute Grab ride from our beautiful hotel, Uma Kalai.

Chef Ketut hosts his cooking class in his beautiful father-in-law’s home, which is decorated with meticulously maintained bonsai trees. 

I cannot imagine the time it takes to prune all those trees! All the greenery gives the space a very peaceful, harmonious vibe.

The cooking class is hosted in a covered open-air room in the family courtyard. His kitchen is spotless!

To the right is a table for prep work. The center table has several gas burners to cook up all the delicious dishes. To the left is a beautiful handcrafted wooden table for dining.

There are three menus to choose from: Balinese, Indonesian, and Vegetarian.

We chose the Indonesian menu because we wanted to learn how to make the famous Nasi Goreng, which you will eat everywhere in Bali!

Ketut did an excellent job explaining all the spices and ingredients we would be using. In addition, he gave suggestions on alternative ingredients if we couldn’t find the exact items back home.

All the ingredients were super fresh. The Balinese purchase the ingredients for their meals each morning at the local market.

Don’t worry. You won’t have to memorize the recipe. He gives you a recipe book at the end.

Here’s a sneak peak of the dishes we made: 

Fun name right?

Bumbu is the Indonesian word for spice.

Bumbu Bali is the spice mix used as a base in a lot of Balinese dishes. Ingredients include ginger, shallots, red chilies, lemongrass, black and white pepper, nutmeg, cumin, and shrimp paste.

Chop up all the ingredients and mix with a mortar and pestle.

The Balinese make this spice mix in big batches and use it throughout the week. It’s good for a few weeks in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.

We had a lot of Nasi Goreng while in Bali!

It’s basically fried rice. Very flavorful. Ketut will teach you how to make his Magic Sauce. 😊

Soto Ayam is Balinese chicken noodle soup. Comforting, flavorful, and filling. Delicious! 

Next we learned how to make chicken satay (similar to a kebab) with peanut sauce.

My favorite part of this cooking class was learning how to make the peanut sauce that pairs with the chicken satay.

Back home in the United States, we order a lot of Vietnamese summer rolls, which are always accompanied by peanut sauce for dipping. It is delicious!

So I was super excited to learn how to make peanut sauce from scratch. When you make it homemade, it comes out smooth and creamy almost like hummus in texture. 

There are certain things that when you learn how to make it from scratch (like salsa when we were in Mexico City), you can never do store-bought again.

Peanut sauce is one of them.

Tempeh is fermented soybeans packed with protein. You can enjoy it as a meal or as a yummy snack.

I thought I didn’t like tempeh … but that was until I learned how to make it with Ketut.

Wow. This was the biggest surprise dish of them all.

I love tempeh now, at least Ketut’s version which is crispy, sweet, and SUPER flavorful.

Dadar Gulung is my favorite Indonesian dessert.

It’s light, sweet, and goes down way too quickly. The best way to describe it is a rolled coconut crepe.

You cook it in a pan like a crepe, nice and thin. Then roll it like a little burrito. The green color is due to the Pandan leaf. The filling is delicious fresh grated coconut. 

Book Ketut’s Omahneka Cooking Class through WhatsApp.

Everyone in Bali uses WhatsApp!

So, if you don’t have it, download the app now. Also, to make sure you are always online and have access to WhatsApp, I strongly suggest getting an eSIM.

We purchased one from Airalo and used it all over Bali.

Ketut is very responsive and was able to confirm our booking quickly. We booked about a month out.

Cooking with Ketut was one of our top things to do on the island! 

And his class was only a 6-minute drive from our favorite boutique hotel in Bali.

There are a lot of cooking classes to choose from in Bali. I promise you though the Omahneka Cooking Class is the best if you like small intimate classes with one-on-one instruction and a warm, friendly Chef.

Not only will you learn about cooking techniques and local ingredients but also about Balinese culture and traditions.

Matur Suksma Ketut!

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Questions about our Bali cooking experience?

Let me know in the comments below!