How to book a cooking or baking class in Bengaluru

Three things move the price: whether you cook or watch, how many people share the teacher, and how many hours you get. Watching is cheaper than cooking (question 2). One person alone with a teacher pays about three times a group seat (question 3). And Lavonne's ₹5,500 buys a full 8-hour day, where Manju's ₹2,700 buys 2.5 hours.

A neighbour or a home cook near you can teach you too, and there's no going rate. One person who wrote to us set a budget of about ₹5,000 for three 2-hour lessons. That's what she hoped to pay. No teacher we found charges that. Agree the number of sessions, the dishes, and who buys the groceries before you start.

Add GST where the page doesn't say it's in. At 18%, a ₹4,500 class becomes ₹5,310 (question 6).

A group class can be all demonstration. Manju's Cooking Classes runs its group class that way: for ₹2,700 the teacher cooks, you watch, and you take samples home. Its one-to-one class is the one where you cook (question 3).

Ask how many people share a stove. A class sold as hands-on can still mean five people at one stove, where you stir once and watch the rest. Ask whether you'll have your own place to cook, and how many will be in the room. Canella takes up to 12 in its hands-on class. Ask the baking schools, since they don't print it.

Which one to book. If you already cook and want new dishes and tips, a demo does the job and costs less. If you're starting out, pay for the class where you cook the whole meal.

Ask what two or three of you pay. Manju's page gives both ₹8,000 for up to 3 people and ₹2,700 each for three. Thai, Korean, Japanese, sourdough and croissants need a week's notice.

With just you, a teacher can cook your family's way (less oil, your mother-in-law's sambar). A group class teaches its own menu.

For a teacher who comes to your kitchen, you'll need a quote. What decides it is the number of sessions, travel, and whether the groceries are on top, so agree all three before the first lesson.

For an older parent who has never cooked, one-to-one at home works best: a few short sessions on the meals he'll make every day, with the recipes written down simply in the language he reads. Ask the teacher to come back once after a week, when he's tried them alone.

Look at the students' food. A teacher's own photos show what she can cook. Photos from a past class show what a beginner goes home able to make. Ask for a few.

Ask who teaches your day. A school can have several chefs. Lavonne says its masterclasses are led by guest chefs and industry experts, so ask for the name on your date.

Ask what help you get after. Celesteyum lists help after the class, and Baking Hub gives WhatsApp help after its 5-day course. Ask what that means when your cake sinks at home.

Read reviews that describe the class: what people made, how many were in the room, whether they cooked. A line that only says "amazing" tells you little.

Try one day at the same school first. Lavonne sells single days and Canella single seats, so you can see the kitchen and the teaching before you pay for weeks of it.

The certificate matters for a job, hardly at all for a hobby. Most classes give a certificate of participation (Baking Hub) or of completion (Canella's single classes). Canella's 4-week course ends in its own certificate. Lavonne's diploma names City & Guilds, London, so ask its fee. If you want a hotel kitchen job, ask whether the course is on a national register.

To sell cakes from home, you need a food registration. You don't need a certificate from a class. Since 1 April 2026, basic FSSAI registration covers a food business with sales up to ₹1.5 crore a year, and home bakers come under it. Most classes don't teach pricing or packing, so ask if you need them.

Before you pay for a course in full, ask in writing what you get back if you stop after two weeks. Canella asks for full payment to hold a seat in a single class.

Book early for Christmas baking. Lavonne's 2-day Christmas class is on 5 December, and most of its Bengaluru dates for October and November were sold out when we looked.

A small home cook may not charge GST at all. A studio usually does, at 18%.

Ask how to make the recipes work in your own oven. A class oven isn't your OTG at home, and a cake that rose in class can burn at the bottom in yours. Save the recipes the same day, since class WhatsApp groups get deleted.

A baking class leads to shopping. To bake at home you'll want tins, a hand mixer and piping nozzles.

• Celesteyum, Whitefield, ₹4,500: an eggless day of six bakes, among them pumpkin and ragi breads, oats cookies and whole wheat brownies. Its bread day has egg and eggless options.
• Lavonne, ₹5,500: an eggless day of five bakes, with a tart and a blondie. Its 7 November date was sold out when we looked, so ask for the next one.
• Baking Hub, HBR Layout, ₹4,720: an eggless cookies and biscuits class.

For Jain cooking, tell the cook what you skip: onion, garlic and root vegetables, and gelatine in desserts. In a one-to-one class you choose the dishes, so she can plan around it.

Ask about the kitchen too: whether egg or meat is cooked there, and about the vessels. Manju's teaches mutton, fish and prawns, so a teacher's kitchen may cook meat on other days. It's a normal thing to ask.

A cooking birthday party at Canella is for 8 to 20 children, about 2.5 hours: they make pizzas, burgers and cupcakes, with personalised aprons, recipe cards and the cake cutting. A magician, a face painter and a photo booth are add-ons. Ask about the age if your child is over 13.

What decides a party quote: how many children, how long, at the studio or at your home, and what's added. The cake, return gifts and a venue that isn't theirs usually come on top.

For a younger child, look for a fireless class: sandwiches, salads, no-bake desserts, a pizza put together on a ready base. A 10 year old may want to really bake.

Tell the teacher about allergies before the day. Canella's blog asks parents to share allergies and food sensitivities when they book. Not every teacher asks.

For people who teach children to cook, see cooking classes for kids in Bengaluru. For the rest of a birthday, see our kids' birthday party guide.

How the morning goes there: the teams cook together, with a mystery-basket round, then sit down to a 3-course lunch. Chefs and culinary students guide them.

Canella in Indiranagar takes teams of 8 to 50 or more for ice-breakers, a team cooking challenge and a meal, with branded aprons, photos and certificates. Ask for the price. Bangalore Culinary Academy in Hebbal also quotes on request.

A chef at your office is a quote every time. It has to cover the chef and helpers for 3 to 4 hours, ingredients for everyone, stoves and tables, aprons, the clean-up and travel. Ask your building whether a gas cylinder or induction is allowed. Without either, it's a no-fire menu.

Half the team won't want to cook. Teams with jobs work better: some cook, some plate, some taste and judge. Canella sells it as a team challenge.

Send the food counts with the request: how many are vegetarian, eat egg, eat meat or keep Jain.

For other ideas, see our team building guide.