Cultural Nepali Cooking Class · KathmanduMake Momo by Hand.
Hear Its Story.
A cultural cooking experience, not a demo — spend two hands-on hours with a local chef, hear the stories behind the food, then share the meal you made together.
You'll make momo — Nepal's best-loved dish: like a dumpling, pleated by hand and steamed.
Cook in a real working café kitchen in Maharajgunj Led by Chef Chhetra Shrestha — owner of four across Kathmandu
Your message is pre-written — just hit send.
Sessions most evenings this week — message us and we'll confirm a date in minutes.
Not a demo. A real
Nepali kitchen.
Most tourists eat Nepali food. Few ever learn to cook it — or hear the stories behind it. This is a cultural experience first and a cooking class second: you cook at a table set up right beside the working kitchen — close enough to follow every step — guided hands-on by a chef whose food people in Kathmandu already trust every day. It's one of the most authentic, hands-on cultural things to do in Kathmandu.
Expect whole cumin and coriander hitting hot oil until the whole kitchen smells of it, the soft slap of momo wrappers being folded by hand, and the first taste of something you made from scratch — still warm, on a plate in front of you.
You spend two hands-on hours making momo from scratch — Nepal's most-loved dish — from the wrappers to the spiced filling to the fiery achar. The spices are whole and unground. The technique is how it's actually done in Nepal. You eat what you make.
Because everyone works at one shared table rather than spread across a busy professional kitchen, the chef can watch your hands and correct you as you go — the closest, most personal way to learn.
Leave Nepal with a recipe that actually works back home — and the confidence to cook it again.
Your chef is Chhetra Shrestha. He has spent his life in Kathmandu kitchens, and today he owns and runs four cafés across the city — Café Mitra in Maharajgunj and Avocado Café among them — cooking for hundreds of locals and travellers every week. The food he teaches is the food he grew up on: momo folded by hand, spices kept whole, nothing simplified for tourists. He runs the class the way he’d cook with a friend in his own kitchen — patient, unhurried, watching your hands — with a fluent English-speaking translator beside him throughout, so nothing gets lost.
recipe
A window into
everyday Nepali life
Ask almost anyone in Kathmandu for their favourite food and the answer is momo. Its story traces back centuries to Himalayan trade with Tibet — read the full history of momo.
What began as a trader's dumpling became both an everyday street-corner staple and a celebration dish — folded by hand around the family table on weekends and at festivals. Learning to make it isn't just picking up a recipe; it's stepping into the dish Nepal gathers around.
That's why we treat this as a cultural immersion, not a tourist demonstration. Between the spices, the folding and the shared meal at the end, you'll talk with your host about food, festivals and daily life in Kathmandu — the kind of unhurried, real conversation that turns a trip into a memory. You leave understanding a little more about Nepal, not just how to fold a dumpling.
What You'll Master
Making Momo
Momo is Nepal's most-loved dish — and you'll learn every part of it, hands-on, start to finish. Choose your filling: classic chicken or fresh vegan. Each session focuses on one filling, taught start to finish, so your group cooks a single choice together — just agree on it when you book.
The Dough & Wrappers
Mix and rest the dough, then roll thin, even wrappers by hand — the difference between a good momo and a great one starts right here.
Rolled by hand
The Spiced Filling
Build your filling — your choice of spiced chicken or fresh vegan — with fresh ginger, garlic, and whole spices like cumin and coriander ground in front of you, for the aroma that fills the whole kitchen.
Chicken, veg or vegan
Folding & Shaping
Learn the pleated fold that seals each momo — fiddly at first, then surprisingly satisfying. You'll fill, fold and steam your own batch.
Hands-on
The Fiery Achar
No momo is complete without its dipping achar — the tomato-and-sesame chutney (often lifted with timur, the citrusy Himalayan pepper) that makes people fall in love with the dish. It's the achar as much as the dumpling that makes a momo unmistakably Nepali — every family guards its own version. You'll make it from scratch.
Make it your ownWatch the momo
come together
Half a minute in chef Chhetra's kitchen — from rolling the wrappers to the plate in front of you. This is exactly what your class looks like.
See It for Yourself
How Your Class
Unfolds
Welcome & masala chiya
Spices, by smell & taste
Make the spiced filling
Dough & wrappers
Fold & pleat
Make the fiery achar
Steam & plate
Eat, then take it home
Simple, honest
pricing.
Minimum 2 guests (£70). Solo? Book it just for you, or we'll try to match you to split — never automatic.
- → 2-hour hands-on cooking class
- → Make momo from scratch — chicken or vegan, one choice per session
- → All ingredients included
- → Eat what you cook
- → Recipe booklet (PDF) to keep — cook the dish again for years
- → Certificate of participation — a keepsake to mark the class and the dish you mastered
- → Impact Trek apron & t-shirt to take home
- → Private — just your group of 2–6, never strangers
You pay on the day, in person — nothing upfront. Cash is easiest: Nepali rupees, or pounds, euros or dollars.
GBP price is fixed · USD is approximate
Classes fill up 5–7 days ahead during peak trekking season (Oct–Nov · Mar–Apr). Book early to secure your preferred date.
Cooking Class Details
— Time, Location & More
Everything you need to know about the class in Kathmandu before you book.
| Duration | 2 hours per session The right length to actually master one dish, not rush through five. |
| Location |
Café Mitra, Maharajgunj — Kathmandu Map pin & directions sent when you book |
| Group size | Private — just your own group of 2 to 6 people (minimum 2). You never share with strangers. |
| Skill level | All welcome — complete beginners to confident home cooks |
| Language | Led by chef Chhetra with a dedicated, fluent English-speaking translator beside him the whole class — nothing gets lost |
| Dietary | Choose chicken or vegan momo — ingredients included. One filling per session, so your group cooks the same one — agree when booking. Please mention any allergies when booking. |
| Hygiene | A clean, professional working café kitchen with running water, fresh produce bought daily, and standard food-safety practices throughout. |
| What to bring | Just yourself — aprons, ingredients and equipment all provided |
| Start time | 6pm evening session (roughly 6–8pm) any day — plus a 12–2pm midday session on weekends. About two hours either way. |
What's Included
- → All fresh ingredients for your dish
- → Spices and equipment
- → Hands-on instruction throughout
- → Sit-down meal — you eat what you cook
- → Take-home recipe booklet
- → Certificate of participation
- → Impact Trek cooking-class apron, yours to keep
- → Impact Trek t-shirt to take home
- → Welcome masala chiya / tea on arrival
- → Dedicated English-speaking translator with you the whole class
- — Additional food or drinks beyond the class
- — Tips for your instructor (appreciated but optional)
For Curious
Travellers
This cultural cooking experience suits solo and cultural travellers, couples, friends and food lovers alike — international visitors, gap-year and study-abroad students included. No experience needed, just curiosity and an appetite. On a medical elective or studying abroad in Kathmandu? See our medical elective page.
Solo & Cultural Travellers
Couples
Friends & Groups
Beginners & Food Lovers
No cooking experience required, and no Nepali needed — the class is taught in English, with a dedicated translator alongside the chef throughout. Whether it's your first day in Kathmandu or your last, it's an easy, genuinely cultural way to spend a couple of hours. The only thing you need to bring is curiosity.
Be One of Our
First Guests
This is a new experience, kept deliberately small and personal — led by Chhetra, the chef behind it.
We're welcoming our very first guests now. Book early and you'll have our full attention at one table beside the kitchen, capped at six — a more personal experience than we could ever offer at scale.
Message Us on WhatsAppSessions most evenings this week — we'll confirm a date in minutes.
Questions People
Usually Ask
Reserve Your Class
The quickest way to book is a WhatsApp message — we usually reply within a few hours. Prefer email? Fill in the form below instead and we'll confirm within a few hours. Either way, there's no payment needed to enquire.
Message Us on WhatsAppSessions take about two hours. Pick a 6pm evening session any day — or, on weekends, a 12–2pm midday one. Just tell us which suits you and we'll confirm.
More to do
around Kathmandu & beyond.
Chitwan National Park Safari
Himalayan Treks
Curious about momo? Read how to make momo at home, the story behind Nepal's favourite dumpling, or our guide to cooking classes in Kathmandu.