Cooking Course in the West Bank, Palestine: Volunteer in Palestine invites people worldwide to come to Hebron and participate in our Palestinian cooking classes in Hebron, West Bank. It is a great chance to engage in the Palestinian culture and share meals with many people in Palestine. You will have the chance to meet a lot of Palestinians, learn Palestinian Arabic, and live daily life in Hebron, Palestine. 

The cooking Palestinian food classes occur in our modern kitchen, kitchenette, and culinary space at the Volunteer in Palestine. You will learn how to cook Palestinian vegetarian, vegan, and meat meals. You will learn to make traditional Arabic dishes with local Palestinian cooks. Furthermore, you will be introduced to Mediterranean–Eastern recipes. 

If you are looking for a cooking school in the West Bank, Palestine, and Israel, this cooking course is for you. The center in Hebron, West Bank, provides the best Cooking Classes in Palestine. Palestine and the Levantine countries are known for their delicious Arabic food.

Cooking Course In The West Bank, Palestine
Cooking Course In The West Bank, Palestine

To know Palestine and the West Bank even better through the food, take one of the cooking classes. During the cooking lessons, you will learn about the Palestinian – Levantine food, culture, cooking, and spices. You will taste different traditional Arabic foods and sweets. 

Make a Special Palestinian Meal at Home

Working in our Palestinian kitchen allows you to participate in these fun, interactive Palestinian cooking sessions. We are sure you will enjoy our cooking classes in the West Bank, and you will be able to cook new recipes for your whole family back home. This means that you will always be able to produce a taste of Palestine wherever you are.

Food is Central to Palestinian Culture

Food is central to Palestinian culture. Friends and family typically gather around the table for a shared meal and great conversation. Friendships grow in the presence of multiple cups of coffee, tea, snacks, and sweets. Food is simply adored in Palestine, not only for satiating our hunger but also for the happy memories it helps us to create.

A wide variety of fruits and vegetables is available, and in some Palestinian homes you visit, you will be served fresh-cut fruits and/or vegetables. Sliced apples and oranges are everyday staples. You may also be served a blend of nuts and seeds or dried fruit when you visit with your host family or the homes of Palestinian friends that you make.

Where? When and Who Can Participate?

Volunteer in Palestine is looking for all travelers to the Levant region interested in cooking, Palestinian culture, and Palestine to participate in our Cooking in Palestine Program.

If you plan a trip to Palestine or Israel, consider visiting Hebron and participating in the Cooking Course in the West Bank, Palestine, for a few days to gain a rich and authentic cultural culinary experience at Volunteer in Palestine.

Brief Information about the Cooking Course

As a participant in this Cooking Course in the West Bank, Palestine program, you will spend your days in the Volunteer in Palestine kitchen learning how to create tasty, traditional Palestinian meals. Maqluba, mansaf, hummus, falafel, Arabic coffee, and tea are a few of the possibilities that await.

We will guide you through the process and show you step-by-step how to prepare the most famous Palestinian dishes. After completing the program, you will walk away with culinary and cultural knowledge, satisfied taste buds, and new recipes to add to your collection.

Overview of Our Cooking Lessons in Palestine

Location of cooking course Hebron, West Bank, Palestine
Program LanguageEnglish, Arabic
Cooking course duration 1-13 Weeks
Starting/ Ending DatesParticipants can freely choose their starting and ending dates. We offer cooking classes programs in Palestine year-round (Summer, Winter, Autumn, and Spring)
Monthly Costs
Weekly Costs		€400 a week
Homestay in HebronPalestinian host family
Male dorm
Private (Additional fees apply)
Cooking course includes Palestinian traditional food 
Vegan food
Vegetarian food
Palestinian cuisine 
Form of the cooking course Small groups (1-3)
Private cooking class
Application DeadlineNo Deadline
Reviews of our center Reviews On Gooverseas.com
Reviews On Goabroad.com
Participants video testimonials

Food in Palestine

Food is a central part of Palestinian culture. Much communal gathering occurs around the table for a shared meal and great conversation. In this program, you will learn about Palestinian cooking, culture, and customs. You’ll also have the opportunity to live with a host family in Hebron, furthering your immersion. This allows you to experience daily life as a Palestinian, where you will be treated as part of the family, invited to participate in family activities and attend family events and social gatherings. 

Food is a great way to bring people together. The shared experience of preparing, sharing, and enjoying delicious meals helps build relationships and helps one better understand the people of Hebron.

Host families provide exciting opportunities for international visitors to learn about Palestinian culture, meet new people, and improve their Arabic language skills.

A Feast for Your Senses!

Of course, we all need to eat to live, but in Palestine, meal times are about more than just satisfying your hunger. Cooking and eating are social activities, and you will be able to smell the tantalizing aromas, see the varied colors of the ingredients, taste the delicious flavors, touch the food, discover the different textures, and hear the sounds of items sizzling in the pan. You will also listen to the voices of those around you, laugh, chat, and enjoy the occasion.

Something for Everyone

Trying a different cuisine can be scary for some people, but there is no need to worry. Palestine offers a wide variety of foods, and there are certain to be several dishes that you will find to your taste.

Rice, meat, and plenty of different vegetables are widely available. Local fruits are also grown, and you can enjoy them when they are in season.

Vegetarian and Vegan Food in Palestine

It is perfectly possible to enjoy Palestinian food as a vegetarian or vegan. Although most Palestinians include meat in their diet, it is not difficult to create dishes without meat. There are many vegetarian foods, such as falafels and hummus, soup, mujaddara, tabbouleh, and many more. Most dishes can be adapted to become vegetarian. Finding vegan food may be a little more complicated, but options exist.

During the cooking courses in the West Bank, Palestine, you can select ingredients to suit your requirements. One regular addition to meals is vegan pita bread. Nobody needs to go hungry! Palestinian people are generally very hospitable. They want our international visitors to feel comfortable and happy and will do what they can to help you enjoy your stay.

Sweet Treats

Palestine is famous for its sweets and desserts- if you have a sweet tooth, there are many tempting concoctions for you to try! You can also learn to make some of these dishes yourself. For example, Kinafah is one of the most famous and much-desired sweets for Palestinians.  It was originally made in Nablus and is called “Kenafah Nabulsia“. It contains cheese pastry soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup. 

This isn’t the only delicious sweet you can find. Baklawa, Burma, Muhalabiyeh, Qatayef (mainly found in Ramadan), and many others exist.

  • Fasoulya Beyda: White beans cooked in tomato sauce and served with rice.
  • Fasoulya Khadra: Green beans cooked with a tomato sauce and also eaten with rice;
  • Kufta Bethinia: Meatballs (lamb or beef) cooked with Thinia (tahini) sauce and served with rice.
  • Kufta bel-bandora: Meatballs cooked with tomato sauce and potatoes. It can be eaten with a spoon or with Pita bread.
  • Mahshi Lift: This dish is mostly cooked in Hebron. It consists of turnips stuffed with rice, minced lamb, and spices and cooked in a Tamarind sauce.
  • Mansaf falastine: Lamb cooked in a fermented, dried yogurt sauce and served with rice or bulgur.
  • Maqluba means “upside-down” and is made with fried Cauliflower or eggplant, meat (chicken or lamb), and rice.
  • Musakhan: This is a common and preferred meal for Palestinians. The meal is easy to make, and the content is affordable and easy to obtain. The ingredients are olive oil, sumac, pine nuts, chicken pieces, onions, and Taboon bread. The term ‘musakhan’ means “something that is heated.”
  • Zarb is a different type of cooking in which meat (lamb or chicken) is cooked under high pressure in an airtight oven under the ground and served with rice and bread. Jordanians, especially those who live in the deserts, influence this way of cooking.
  • Mujaddara: This is another popular, affordable meal. It is very easy to make, and the ingredients are available all year round. This meal contains lentils and rice with fried onions on top.

When can you join the Cooking Course in Palestine?

You can join Volunteer in Palestine at any time throughout the year. We will work with you to find a time that suits you best. With this program, you’ll choose your cooking adventure’s start and end dates with us in Palestine.

If you are in the midst of planning a trip to Palestine, consider staying one or more days with Volunteer in Palestine in Hebron for a one-of-a-kind cultural cooking experience. From your very first meal, you will enjoy this enriching time in Hebron with Volunteer in Palestine.

Program Fees for Cooking Courses in Palestine

The Cooking Course in Palestine fees include pre-departure support, accommodations with a local host family, breakfast, program assistance & coordination while in Palestine, three hours of Arabic lessons, and some visits to different sites in the city of Hebron.

As stated, the program fee includes 3 hours of private Arabic lessons a week or 12 hours a month. Suppose you want to continue studying Arabic once the Cooking in Palestine Program ends. In that case, we at Volunteer in Palestine are more than happy to organize this for you. At the center, we host Arabic students who come to Palestine year-round to enhance their language skills. You will be welcome.

Which Airport Should I Start Checking for Flights to Palestine?

Unfortunately, there are no airports in Palestine; flying directly into the West Bank is impossible. Palestinians use either the airports in Jordan or Egypt to travel abroad. However, internationals can fly to Israeli airports and then cross to Palestine. We believe the easiest ways to get to Volunteer in Palestine in Hebron are:

  • To fly to Ben Gurion, Tel Aviv Airport (Israel). Two and a half hours from the airport to Volunteer in Palestine in Hebron via shared Taxi.
  • You can fly to Eilat airport in Israel and then travel by booking a shuttle or taking a bus to Jerusalem and then to Hebron. The whole trip can last between 6-7 hours.
  • You can also fly to Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan, and then cross to Palestine, but this route takes more time and is more expensive.

Reviews and Awards

Volunteer in Palestine has been honored with several prestigious Community Awards, and it has been recognized as the Best Language School and Top Volunteer and Internship Program Provider for the years 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. For more details, please visit our profiles on GoOverseas.com and GoAbroad.com.

Further Information

Should you have any questions about our cooking program, please do not hesitate to contact us at Info@ecpalestine.org with the subject line “Cooking Course in the West Bank Palestine.”

Conclusion

Engaging in a cooking course with Volunteer in Palestine in Hebron offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Palestinian culture through its rich culinary traditions. Participating lets you prepare traditional dishes such as maqluba, mansaf, hummus, and falafel, guided by local cooks in a modern kitchen setting. This hands-on experience enhances your cooking skills and deepens your understanding of Palestinian customs and daily life.

Food is central to Palestinian society, serving as a medium for social gatherings and cultural expression. Through this program, you’ll experience the hospitality and warmth of Palestinian families, often sharing meals that feature a variety of fruits, vegetables, and traditional sweets like kinafah and baklawa. Living with a host family further enriches this experience, allowing for authentic cultural exchange and the opportunity to practice Arabic language skills.

Whether you’re a seasoned cook or a culinary novice, this program caters to all skill levels, offering personalized instruction in small groups or private classes. With flexible scheduling and year-round availability, you can choose the duration and timing best for your travel plans. The program fee includes accommodations, breakfast, Arabic lessons, and guided visits to local sites in Hebron, ensuring a comprehensive and memorable experience.

By joining Volunteer in Palestine’s cooking course, you’ll learn to recreate delicious Palestinian meals and gain a deeper appreciation for the cultural significance of food in Palestine. This immersive experience promises to leave you with lasting memories, new friendships, and the skills to bring a taste of Palestine to your kitchen.

Contact Us

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Info@ecpalestine.org

WhatsApp:+972 599 479 880

Website: https://volunteerinpalestine.org/

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