Private Authentic Indian Cooking Class in Antwerp with Aastha

The best part of this Antwerp experience is that you cook in Aastha’s home kitchen, not in a formal school. You choose a menu, work through the recipes with her, and then eat the meal together. The private setting makes it easy to ask questions, adjust the pace, and take on simple tasks if you are new to cooking.

I like the choice of three menus, especially the street-food option with pav bhaji and masala chai. I also like that Aastha can adjust a recipe with you, as one couple chose a menu and altered it slightly. The main consideration is the price: at $124 per person, this is not a quick meal, but a hands-on class, private host time, and full home-cooked dinner rolled into one.

Key points to know

• Cook in Aastha’s Antwerp apartment: The experience takes place near Antwerp Expo, around 3 kilometers from the city center.
• Choose one of three menus: Pick North Indian food, South Indian dishes, or a street-food spread.
• Learn by doing: The class runs for about two hours, followed by time to eat the food you prepared.
• Good for beginners: You can take on easier jobs if you are not confident in the kitchen.
• A private experience: Only your own group participates, with no strangers sharing the class.
• Plan ahead for dietary needs: Vegetarian food is available if you request it in advance.

A home kitchen near Antwerp Expo

Aastha welcomes you to her apartment near Antwerp Expo, at Jan van Rijswijcklaan 191 in Antwerp. The meeting point is useful if you are already in the Antwerp Expo area, and public transportation is nearby. The apartment is described as about 3 kilometers outside the city center, so you will want to allow time to reach the address rather than treating this as a class in the historic core.

That location shapes the experience. You are not walking into a restaurant kitchen built for large groups. You are entering a private home where Aastha cooks the food she grew up eating. That gives the class a more personal feel, though it also means the setting is a home apartment rather than a purpose-built cooking studio.

The activity is private, so your group gets Aastha’s attention. For a couple or small family, that matters. You can ask why a spice is used, stop to watch a technique again, or choose easier kitchen jobs without worrying about holding up a larger class.

The experience lasts about three hours, with roughly two hours spent cooking. The remaining time allows you to sit down and eat. The schedule is long enough to make the cooking feel like the main event, not a short demonstration followed by a meal.

Pick the Indian menu that fits your appetite

You choose one menu when arranging the experience. Each choice gives you a different view of Indian food, so think about the kind of meal you want to learn before booking.

The North Indian menu includes crispy corn, plus your choice of aloo puri or aloo paratha. It comes with yogurt, mango pickle, and halwa. This is the menu for you if you want to work with dough and learn how a few side dishes turn a simple bread into a full meal.

Aloo puri uses potato and fried bread, while aloo paratha gives you a stuffed flatbread option. The exact hands-on work may differ depending on your choice, but both choices offer more than simply stirring a sauce. You should expect to handle ingredients from the start and learn how the bread fits into a North Indian meal.

The South Indian menu includes pakora, Chettinad chicken curry, lemon rice, and either kheer or Mysore pak. This is the broadest menu, with a savory snack, a spiced curry, rice, and a sweet finish. It suits you if you want a meal with several textures and separate dishes rather than one main recipe.

The Chettinad chicken curry is the centerpiece here. You learn how a curry is built, while lemon rice gives you a lighter partner for the sauce. Pakora adds a crisp element, and kheer or Mysore pak finishes the meal with something sweet. A vegetarian request can be arranged if Aastha knows in advance, but you should make that request before the class.

The street-food menu includes bhel puri or dahi puri, pav bhaji, and masala chai. This is the most casual and snack-focused choice. I would pick it if you are curious about the foods people eat outside the home and want to finish with a drink you can repeat in your own kitchen.

Pav bhaji is the main cooking project, while masala chai gives you a chance to learn how spices shape a drink. Bhel puri or dahi puri adds another street-food preparation to the table. This menu may be the easiest fit for a first Indian cooking class because it gives you several recognizable preparations without building the whole meal around a single curry.

Two hours of cooking, not just a demonstration

The class is hands-on. You do not simply watch Aastha prepare the meal while someone else handles the work. She teaches you through the recipes, explains what you are doing, and lets you take part in the process.

That makes the experience useful for different skill levels. If you cook often, you can ask about technique, spice balance, and the way the dishes fit together. If you rarely cook, you can take on simpler jobs. A couple with little cooking experience found that this was not a problem, since easier tasks were available.

I appreciate that flexibility. A class can become stressful when everyone is expected to perform at the same level. Here, you can learn without turning dinner into a test. The pace also gives you room to ask questions about the ingredients instead of rushing through a printed recipe.

Aastha talks about Indian spices, family recipes, and the way she learned to cook these dishes. That personal background is important. You are not only learning a generic curry formula. You are hearing how particular dishes fit into her family life and food traditions.

The experience also appears open to small changes. One couple agreed on a recipe with Aastha and altered it a little before cooking. If you have a strong preference, you can discuss it ahead of time, but do not assume every change is possible without asking. The menu choice is part of the booking, and changes should be settled with Aastha before the class.

What you actually learn from Aastha

The value of the class is not limited to eating at the end. You learn how Indian food gets its character from the handling of spices, the order in which ingredients are added, and the balance between separate dishes.

The spice lesson is especially useful because Indian cooking is not just a matter of adding more heat. Aastha explains the spices as part of the recipes she teaches, so you can connect each ingredient to the dish in front of you. That is more practical than receiving a long list of unfamiliar seasonings without a meal to anchor them.

Family recipes add another layer. A dish may have many versions, and Aastha’s approach gives you one personal route through that variety. You should not expect this class to represent every region of India. Instead, you get a focused introduction shaped by the dishes she grew up eating and enjoys preparing.

The class also teaches meal structure. With the South Indian menu, for example, you are not preparing chicken curry in isolation. You are pairing it with lemon rice, pakora, and a dessert. With the North Indian menu, bread, yogurt, pickle, and halwa all have a place at the table.

That context is useful when you return home. You are more likely to repeat a recipe successfully if you understand what it is meant to accompany and how the parts of the meal work together.

Sitting down to eat what you made

After cooking, you sit down for the meal. This is not a restaurant tasting where the kitchen does all the work. You have handled the ingredients, followed the steps, and watched the dishes come together, so the final meal gives you a clear sense of what the techniques achieved.

The meal also provides a relaxed finish. One couple described being able to settle into dinner after the cooking, and a separate afternoon class ended with a satisfying lunch. That change of pace matters after two hours in the kitchen. You can stop concentrating on the next step and enjoy the food.

The dishes are designed to make a complete meal, not a pile of unrelated samples. North Indian food comes with yogurt, mango pickle, and halwa. The South Indian menu combines curry, rice, pakora, and dessert. The street-food menu links bhel puri or dahi puri with pav bhaji and chai.

You should arrive ready to eat a substantial meal, particularly if you choose the South Indian menu. The exact portion sizes are not stated, so I would not book this as a guaranteed replacement for a large dinner if you have a very big appetite. The clear purpose is learning and eating together, not maximizing quantity.

Is $124 per person a fair price?

At $124 per person, this costs more than ordering an Indian meal in Antwerp. That comparison is fair, but incomplete. The price includes a private cooking class, Aastha’s instruction, the ingredients and home-cooked meal, and gratuities. You are paying for time and participation as well as food.

For a couple, the cost may make sense if you want an evening activity that gives you a skill to take home. You also avoid sharing the class with a large group, which can make a private lesson more useful. A group discount is available, though the discount amount is not specified.

For a solo diner, the value depends more on your interest in cooking. If you mainly want to eat Indian food, a restaurant will be cheaper and simpler. If you want to understand the dishes and practice making them yourself, the class offers more than a meal.

I would also factor in the roughly three-hour commitment. This is a substantial part of an afternoon or evening, but that is exactly why it can replace several smaller activities. You get conversation, cooking instruction, and dinner in one appointment.

Who will enjoy this most?

I would recommend the experience to couples, small families, and friends who want a private activity. It works especially well for people with different cooking abilities because you can divide the tasks according to comfort.

Beginners should not feel put off by the word cooking class. The available tasks can be adjusted, and the focus is on learning in a relaxed home setting. You can participate without pretending to be an expert.

Indian food fans will get the most from the menu choices. The class gives you a chance to focus on parathas, curry and lemon rice, or street food rather than accepting one fixed meal. The ability to discuss a small adjustment with Aastha is also useful if you already have a dish in mind.

I would be more cautious if you want a quick, central activity with no planning. The apartment is outside the center, close to Antwerp Expo, and the menu must be chosen in advance. Vegetarian diners should give notice early, and the meeting point is not a hotel pickup location.

The experience is offered in English. Confirmation is sent within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability, and the activity is often reserved well ahead of time, with an average booking lead time of 59 days. That suggests you should not leave it until the final day of an Antwerp visit if the timing matters to you.

Practical details before you go

You meet at Antwerp Expo, Jan van Rijswijcklaan 191, 2020 Antwerpen. The activity ends back at the meeting point. There is no hotel pickup or drop-off, so you are responsible for reaching the location and returning afterward.

Public transportation is nearby, which helps, but I would still check your route before the day. A home-based activity is less forgiving if you arrive at the wrong entrance or underestimate the distance from central Antwerp.

Free cancellation is available if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start time. Changes or cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start are not accepted for a refund. The cutoff uses local Antwerp time, so keep that in mind if you are arranging the class from another time zone.

The class is private, and only your group participates. Gratuities are included. A vegetarian meal can be provided when requested in advance, but other dietary needs are not specified, so ask before booking if you need a particular adjustment.

Should you book this Indian cooking class?

Book it if you want an intimate Antwerp activity built around food, conversation, and practical cooking. Aastha’s home setting, three menu choices, and patient approach make it a strong fit for beginners and couples who want to do more than sit at a restaurant.

Choose the street-food menu for pav bhaji and masala chai, North Indian for breads and traditional accompaniments, or South Indian for the fullest multi-dish meal. Skip it if you only want a cheap dinner, need a central location, or dislike committing several hours to a hands-on activity.

At $124 per person, this is best judged as a private cultural activity with dinner included. For the right visitor, the recipes and cooking confidence you take home make the price easier to justify.

FAQ

Where does the Indian cooking class take place?

The experience takes place in Aastha’s apartment in Antwerp, near Antwerp Expo. The meeting point is Antwerp Expo at Jan van Rijswijcklaan 191, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium.

How long does the experience last?

The experience lasts approximately three hours. Around two hours are devoted to the hands-on cooking class, followed by time to eat the meal you prepared.

Which menus can I choose from?

You can choose a North Indian menu, a South Indian menu, or a street-food menu. North Indian includes crispy corn and aloo puri or aloo paratha, South Indian includes pakora, Chettinad chicken curry, lemon rice, and dessert, and the street-food menu includes bhel puri or dahi puri, pav bhaji, and masala chai.

Is the cooking class private?

Yes. Only your own group participates in the activity.

Can I request vegetarian food?

Yes. Aastha can provide a vegetarian meal if you inform her in advance.

Is transportation included?

No. Hotel pickup and drop-off are not included. You meet at Antwerp Expo, and the activity ends back at the meeting point.

What is the cancellation policy?

You can cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours before the experience begins. Cancellations or changes made less than 24 hours before the start time are not accepted for a refund.