One-Day Sichuan Culinary Cooking Experience

To truly understand a city’s food culture, you must go beyond restaurants and visit markets. The Old Chengdu Market comes alive before dawn. Fresh green leafy vegetables glisten with morning dew, red chilies pile up like small hills, purple eggplants are neatly arranged, and bamboo baskets overflow with freshly dug peanuts. The air carries a mix of earthy soil, sweet vegetables, savory braised flavors, and the deep red essence of Pixian broad bean paste—the soul of Sichuan cuisine. Each stall is a window into the secrets of Chengdu residents’ daily meals.

Sichuan cuisine has ancient roots and is a vital part of Chinese gastronomy. The concept of Sichuan cuisine was formally defined during the late Qing Dynasty by figures such as Kong Daosheng. After thousands of years of integration and development, Sichuan cuisine has earned worldwide acclaim and admiration from food lovers. Sichuan culinary culture encompasses not only the techniques and craftsmanship, nutritional science, visual artistry, and literary expressions embedded within its dishes, but also the physical carriers of this tradition—such as cookware, tableware, relics, and historical sites. Here, you won’t just passively learn about Sichuan cuisine like in a typical museum—you’ll don a chef’s uniform and, under expert guidance, learn how to make iconic dishes like Mapo Tofu and Kung Pao Chicken.