All activities / Culinary / Cooking / Addis Ababa
Culinary / Cooking in Addis Ababa
Ethiopia's high-altitude capital and the diplomatic hub of Africa, a sprawling city of Merkato markets, national museums holding the fossil Lucy, a deep coffee-house culture and the injera-and-wat cooking at the heart of Ethiopian food.
Why here
Addis Ababa is the place to learn Ethiopian food at its source, in a country that gave the world coffee and a cuisine unlike any other. A hands-on class here means learning to ferment and pour injera, the spongy teff flatbread that is both plate and utensil, and to build the slow spiced stews called wat, from the fiery chicken doro wat to chickpea shiro and vegetable tibs, seasoned with the berbere and niter kibbeh that define the flavour. The meal is shared from a single platter by hand, and it closes with a full coffee ceremony, beans roasted, ground and brewed in front of you in the land where Arabica was first cultivated. It is culture you eat, and Addis is where the ingredients, markets and teachers come together.
Best months
Cooking classes run year round in Addis, which sits at 2,400 metres and stays mild, so weather is never really the constraint. Classes usually pair a market walk with several hours of cooking and a coffee ceremony, and many are hosted in family homes. The long rains from June to September are the wettest stretch. Come hungry and plan for a half day, since Ethiopian dishes are cooked slowly.
Getting there & around
Addis Ababa is Ethiopia's main international gateway, so most trips begin and end here, making a cooking class an easy first or last day. Classes are spread across the city, some in central kitchens and some in family homes on the outskirts, and hosts commonly include a market visit and hotel transfers. Traffic is heavy, so allow time between the market and the kitchen.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Source Ethiopia Tours
OutfitterSource Ethiopia Tours is a locally owned Addis Ababa operator that runs an authentic Ethiopian cooking class and coffee ceremony hosted by Daniel Ademe and his wife Tigist at their family home on the city's outskirts, 25 kilometres from the airport. The four-hour experience starts with a walk to the local Keta, or Asco, market for spices and ingredients, then teaches injera and a traditional stew cooked family-style, and finishes with beans roasted for a full coffee ceremony.