Join Apple at the Pear Orchard Temple’s Shaxi Cooking School
Guests of Old Theatre Inn enjoy exclusive access to privately guided market shopping and lessons at Shaxi Cooking School. Apple is a Bai woman, as are most of the in Shaxi. She learned to prepare local style dishes from her grandmother since a young age. Apple also speaks fluent English and thus has years of experience as a private guide for Old Theatre Inn guests all around Northwest Yunnan. The Shaxi Cooking School began in 2013 in a specially renovated kitchen within the Pear Orchard Temple in Diantou Village. It’s just a short bike ride from Old Theatre Inn or Shaxi Old Town.
Start in the Shaxi Friday Market
The day normally begins on a Friday morning when Apple brings you from Old Theatre Inn by bicycle to Shaxi Friday Market. Here you will search for the best fresh ingredients for your class. You may also stop along the way to buy specialty items from local village farmers who are famous for particular kinds of local produce. At the Shaxi temple, you will work with Apple and our local chef in a modern kitchen especially designed for the Shaxi Cooking School. With coaching from Apple and help from our village ladies, you will prepare and cook delicious Shaxi cuisine. Enjoy your meal on the temple terrace overlooking the Shaxi Valley, or in our teahouse, the Pear Blossom Restaurant.
Advance reservations of at least 24 hours are required, and as Apple is an active guide, she may not always be available. For those guests who speak Mandarin, our temple chef, Mrs. Yang Yuju can serve as guide and instructor on most given days. To reserve, contact Sam at Old Theatre Inn on the form below. We can also accommodate a limited number of guests from other Shaxi hotels, so we urge everyone to sign up as early as possible.
NOTE: There may be other local copycats calling themselves Shaxi Cooking School! We are the first to establish this school and are the most trusted.