A Cooking Class Built on the Garden
Our cooking classes are small, unhurried and rooted in what the farm can supply that week. Guests gather at the hacienda, walk the ingredients with us, and then work through a traditional Macedonian menu step by step before sitting down to eat it together.
You do not need to be a confident cook. The point of the session is less technique than understanding how this valley eats: vegetables, herbs and fruit from warm ground, food that peasants and farmers have cooked here for centuries.
How a class runs
Sessions are arranged for the time that suits you, usually late afternoon so the meal doubles as dinner. The team speaks English, Dutch and Macedonian, so instructions and kitchen conversation are never a barrier.
Produce comes from the organic garden and the surrounding land rather than a supermarket trolley. What you cook therefore changes with the season, which is exactly how the village kitchens around us have always worked.
Who it suits
Families enjoy it because children can take real jobs in the kitchen instead of being shooed away. Couples treat it as an evening activity after a day of walking, and solo guests often find it the easiest way to meet the other people staying here.
Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and allergy diets are all catered for with a little notice. Tell us when you book and the menu is adjusted rather than improvised.
Fitting it into a stay
The class pairs naturally with a morning on the land: the tractor ride through the villages, a walk up to the waterfalls, or simply a slow start by the pool. Cook afterwards, eat late, sleep well.
If the kitchen is what interests you, combine the class with a visit to the organic farm and shop, and finish the week with the rakija and liqueur tasting. That sequence traces a single arc from soil to glass.
Why visit
- Traditional Macedonian recipes cooked step by step
- Produce picked from the hacienda's own organic garden
- Small groups in English, Dutch or Macedonian
- The meal you cook becomes the meal you eat
- Dietary needs handled with advance notice
Good to know
Booking
Reserve the class when you reserve your room, by email or phone, and mention any allergies at the same time so the menu can be planned.
Duration
Allow a relaxed afternoon or evening; the class runs at kitchen pace rather than clock pace, and finishes at the table.
What to bring
Comfortable clothes and closed shoes. Aprons and everything in the pot are provided, along with notes on what you cooked.
Frequently asked questions
Can children take part?
What if we do not eat meat?
Will we get the recipes afterwards?
More to explore
Stay at the hacienda
Ask for a cooking class on the evening of your choice when you book. It is the single most sociable thing that happens at the hacienda.