NYC

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Brooklyn

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Food and Drink

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Cooking

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Kid Friendly

Uzbek Cooking Immersion Workshop Experience New York City

Immerse yourself in the flavors of Samarkand with an authentic Uzbek cooking class in Brooklyn!

Damira

The League of Kitchens

ClassBento donates with every booking to

4.5 hours

1 to 6 (public classes), 6 to 70 (private) (private classes)

$220

NYC

•

Brooklyn

•

Food and Drink

•

Cooking

•

Kid Friendly

Overview

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Teacher

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What you'll do

Have you ever wanted to cook like a local from one of the world’s oldest cultural crossroads? Step into Damira’s cozy kitchen in Borough Park and experience the magic of Uzbek cuisine.

Damira hails from Samarkand, the crossroads of East and West, and a city whose inhabitants are known for their warm and generous hospitality. You’ll appreciate this reputation as soon as Damira welcomes you into her home with a hot cup of green tea and an assortment of homemade traditional snacks, which could include pastries filled with meat and vegetables, freshly baked cinnamon or lemon cakes, and dried fruit from Uzbekistan.

For Damira, food, family and culture are inseparable. She fell in love with cooking as a child on her grandmother’s farm, helping to prepare meals for her large family (including 33 grandchildren!). Damira’s love of history and storytelling will shine as she teaches you to use traditional Uzbek cooking tools and explains the origins of her rustic, flavorful dishes.

A retired cardiologist, Damira will also share the health benefits of the fresh herbs, vegetables and spices that color her cooking. An occasional numerologist and tarot card enthusiast, Damira might even tell your fortune.

This Immersion Workshop includes a light lunch and beverage, 3 hours of hands-on cooking instruction, a full dinner, a recipe packet, and a shopping guide. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting your culinary journey, this class is a heartwarming way to bring the flavors of Samarkand into your own home!

Accessibility: Elevator available.

Menu

Dimlama (Beef and Vegetable Stew): A light, flavorful beef stew cooked with carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers, turnips and cabbage, and seasoned with cumin, bay leaves, and freshly chopped cilantro and dill.
Barak (Beef Dumplings): Delicate handmade dumplings (both fried and boiled) filled with a mixture of ground beef and onion and served with sour cream.
Boemjon Salat: A sweet and tangy cooked salad made with eggplant, onion, carrots, grated tomatoes, and freshly chopped dill and cilantro.
Bodiring Salat (Cucumber and Potato Salad): A bright salad of diced cucumbers and chopped boiled potatoes mixed with garlic, oil, and fresh dill.
Achik Chuchuk (Tomato and Red Onion Salad): A classic Uzbek salad of thinly sliced tomatoes and red onion with a dash of cayenne.

Please Note

For large groups, we offer private bookings for both a cooking demo class and a hands-on cooking party.

Gift or Buy

Knowledge required

Beginner-friendly!

What you'll get

Light lunch and beverage
Hands-on cooking instruction
Full dinner
Recipe packet
Shopping guide

Suitable for

This class is great for individuals and couples as well as for a date idea, team building activity or bachelorette party.

Suitable for adults, and kids (minimum 11 years old).

An adult must accompany any attending kids, and must pay for a separate ticket.

This experience would also be a unique gift for her, gift for mom or gift for couples.

Location

Brooklyn, NY

Exact location is masked for privacy. You'll automatically get the specific address after booking.

Uzbek Cooking Immersion Workshop location

More about this class

This class is new, and is covered by ClassBento's money-back guarantee.

Your teacher

Damira

From Uzbekistan. Lives in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

Damira is originally from Samarkand, an ancient city that lies on the Silk Road, which she refers to as “the historic crossroads of East and West.” She loved growing up in such a diverse country, where she learned to cook from her mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, and friends of many backgrounds.

For Damira, food, family, and culture are inseparable. She fell in love with cooking as a child on her grandmother’s farm, helping to prepare meals for her large family, which included many grandchildren. Damira and her husband left Uzbekistan in 2013 to be closer to their three children who were already living in the United States, and to do something new—Damira believes it’s always important to try new things and to have many life experiences.

While she was still in Uzbekistan, Damira was a doctor until her country’s mandatory retirement age of fifty-five. Now, she is doing what she loves most: cooking and hosting people at her dinner table. In 2018, she cooked the first ever Uzbek dinner at the James Beard House, which was also the first halal meal to be offered there. She lives with her husband in Brooklyn and has three grown children and four grandchildren.

Damira’s remarkable meals have been featured by Food & Wine, Smithsonian Magazine, The kitchn, Oprah Magazine, Wirecutter, The Splendid Table, Grub Street, Epicurious, Tasting Table, Chowhound, Brooklyn Magazine, Epicure & Culture, Quartz, Eater, and Brooklyn Based, and the Chicago Tribune.

Your host

The League of Kitchens

The League of Kitchens is a culinary dream-team of women from around the world who will welcome you into their homes, teach you their family recipes, and inspire you with their personal stories.

Each experience offers opportunities for meaningful connection and social interaction, cultural engagement and exchange, culinary learning and discovery, and exceptional eating and drinking. Through this experience, the League of Kitchens seeks to build cross-cultural connection and understanding, to increase access to traditional cooking knowledge, and to provide meaningful, well-paid employment and training for immigrants.