You pick out the pomtayer yourself, and five hours later you eat it.
Surinamese cooking class in Paramaribo: the Central Market first, the oven second
Minimum 3 people per departure. Fewer of you? Ask whether you can join another group on the same date.
You start with a shopping list at the Central Market, next to someone who knows exactly which taro you want and why one pile of peppers costs twice what the next one does. Then you grate, chop and stir it yourself, and at quarter past one you sit down to what you made, with the leftovers boxed up to take away.
Pom is the dish we make most often, because it shows how Suriname fits together better than anything else: a baked dish of grated pomtayer with chicken and citrus, Jewish-Portuguese in origin, made with a root from the interior, and now the dish on the table at every Surinamese birthday.
If you would rather learn something else, you can choose: moksi alesi (rice with chicken, salt meat and long bean in one pot), saoto, or roti with chicken and potato including turning the roti yourself on the tawa. Say so when you enquire and we shop accordingly.
The workshop is deliberately small, six people maximum, because beyond that you end up watching instead of cooking. You take the recipes home in English or Dutch, with the substitutions you need to make them work in a European supermarket.
At the end you sit down and eat, and take the leftovers with you.
What happens on the day
Centrale Markt 5 stops
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09:30
Start at the Central Market. Shopping, with each ingredient explained.
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10:45
To the kitchen. Cleaning and prep.
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11:15
Cooking. You do it; you are watched, not taken over.
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13:15
Sit down and eat what you made.
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14:30
End. Recipes and leftovers to take with you.
Times are indicative. Weather, traffic and how long you want to stay somewhere decide the rest.
Included
- All ingredients and market shopping
- The meal itself, plus drinks
- Printed recipes with European substitutions
- Cook and guide in English or Dutch
Not included
- Transport to the meeting point
- Alcohol
- Tips
Bring
- An apron if you have one
- A container for leftovers
- Cash for extra market shopping
This is for you if…
People who genuinely intend to cook this at home, and Surinamese-Dutch visitors who want to get their grandmother’s dish right once and for all.
Do not book this if…
Not for you if you want to watch and taste. This is five hours, six people maximum, and you spend most of it chopping, grating and stirring in a hot kitchen.
What you meet along the way
Frequently asked questions
What does a Surinamese cooking class in Paramaribo cost?
Ours is €75 per person for five hours, including the market shopping, the meal and the recipes. On Viator a Surinamese cooking workshop starts at $85 to $97 per person.
What is pom?
Pom is a Surinamese baked dish of grated pomtayer (a root vegetable), chicken, onion, tomato and citrus. It is Jewish-Portuguese in origin and has become the celebration dish of Suriname, no birthday without pom. It is what we cook most often in this workshop.
Can you make the recipes at home without a Surinamese shop?
Mostly, yes. Frozen or grated pomtayer is sold in every Surinamese/Asian grocer in the Netherlands and in many supermarkets. Where a substitute is needed the recipes list one, for example yuca or white sweet potato in place of taro.
What if there are fewer than 3 of us?
This tour departs from 3 people, because only then are the guide and the tour costs covered. With fewer, ask whether you can join another group on the same date; we confirm per enquiry whether that works.
What do children pay?
Children under 4 come free and taste from their parents' plates. From 4 to 11 they get their own tastings for €60 per person, 20% off.
Other tours
- Paramaribo Food Tour
The market at nine, when it is at its fullest, and a roti lunch to end on.
€55 per person 4 hours
- Blauwgrond by Night: warung hopping
Saoto, satay, petjil and dawet. Four warungs, three hours, no menus.
€55 per person 3 hours
- Historic Centre Walking Tour
From the cells of Fort Zeelandia to the synagogue that shares a plot with a mosque.
€40 per person 3 hours
- Sunday Morning in Paramaribo
Songbirds at seven, Javanese market at eight, breakfast at nine.
€55 per person 4 hours
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