Citrus & Salt Cooking Lessons
Citrus & Salt Cooking Lessons
4.9
About
Citrus and Salt offers a hands on culinary experience that gives you a window into the Tel Aviv food scene with personalized cooking lessons. Cooking is all about passion, and we will channel that into the flavors we produce in the kitchen, making things that both taste delicious and can be made again and again in your in home. Come learn Israeli classics such as handmade pita, falafel, hummus and shakshouka! Whether you are an experienced chef or a budding beginner, Citrus and Salt offers you a new way to explore and experience Tel Aviv.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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- Rachel K1 contributionHad such a fun time making sufganiyot at Citrus & Salt! I’ve always been intimidated to fry doughnuts at home, so learning how to do it in this class was perfect. Everyone was so friendly, warm and welcoming, and it was great getting to know all the participants! I would definitely be interested in taking more classes the next time I’m in Israel! The doughnuts were delicious and we all got to take home as many as we wanted. Learning about all the good citrus & salt has been doing in their “off hours” made it all the more meaningful. Was a great way to spend an afternoon in Tel Aviv.Visited December 2024Traveled with familyWritten January 8, 2025
- Alicia S4 contributionsI've done a few cooking classes with Citrus and Salt and they've always been amazing! The food always comes out delicious and it's so fun learning how to make new recipes in a way that's easy and approachable. The instructors were very hands-on and helped answer any questions we had. My favorite classes I've done there are Thai and Mexican. I think it's really good value for money and I'd definitely recommend these cooking classes to anyone visiting or even for people who live in Tel Aviv and are looking for something fun and different to do.Visited December 2024Traveled soloWritten January 4, 2025
- Pathfinder5562145 contributionsI always wanted to attend an Indian cooking class because it was a cuisine that I always went to restaurants to eat, but hadn’t tackled myself. Aliya managed different personalities, skill levels, and many different dishes and spices seamlessly. She was great at providing direction and the food was amazing. I’m looking forward to taking more classes in the near future at Citrus & Salt!Visited June 2024Traveled soloWritten January 8, 2025
- Brandon A1 contributionThis was one of the best decisions I made coming here! I joined the Italian class and learned how to make what was no doubt the best arancini I ever had. Then learning how to make pasta from scratch, which was something I've always wanted to learn, was made so easy! The teachers are so thorough and patient, teaching so much but in a simple and authentic way. Shaendl taught me so many recipes for the Italian course, and I loved the Tiramisù we learned how to make. I also did the Israeli class with Aliya. Learning how to make pita from scratch and her tricks for making it in a simple home oven really made me feel like I could take these recipes with me and make them at home. As you can probably tell I've done a few of these classes because I also came back for Ramen with chef Ash, and learning how to make those noodles from scratch, as well as the crack eggs, and chili oil... Let's just say I'll be coming back plentyVisited December 2024Traveled soloWritten January 5, 2025
- Revital M1 contributionI’ve had the best time at Citrus and Salt. This place is more than just food it’s all about community. Especially if you have moved to Tel Aviv or planning to move to Israel. If you love food and making friends, this is a place to be. I had the opportunity to go for Thai cooking class and it was one of the best experiences. I love Asian food but to be able to learn to cook with people who could be your potential best friends is another experience. The highlight was the Thai curry and mango rice pudding. They have all sorts of cuisine cooking classes from Middle eastern, to Indian, Korean, Thai, Mexican etc. They also host community Shabbat dinners once a month. It’s one of my fav places to hang out at and make new friends. Highly recommend Citrus and Salt ❤️Visited November 2024Traveled with friendsWritten January 8, 2025
- Fredo G2 contributionsI had a lot of fun :) classes were just the right size and still felt like I got individual attention. Definitely learned enough to continue cooking what we covered at home and my family is all the happier for it! Not related to their cooking classes, but their shabbat potlucks are also super nice and highly recommended. Hat's off to you guys, amazing effort and fantastic classesVisited December 2024Traveled soloWritten January 5, 2025
- Nava R5 contributionsAliya and Shaendl are remarkable hosts who transform cooking into a warm, engaging cultural experience. Their passion for food is infectious, and their teaching style makes even complex dishes feel accessible and fun. What sets Citrus and Salt apart is their warm and inviting energy, and how you are welcomed into their space - it feels less like a formal cooking class and more like learning from a friend in their own kitchen. The authenticity of the cuisine is remarkable. During my class, we prepared a stunning array of dishes that truly captured the essence of Israeli and Middle Eastern cooking. They are incredibly accommodating in both menu and skill levels, making this the perfect experience for tourists, locals, families, and groups. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a genuine, delightful culinary adventure in Tel Aviv :)Visited November 2024Traveled soloWritten January 5, 2025
- Caroline ICaesarea, Israel475 contributionsWe attended an Indian cook demo sponsored by Citrus & Salt. It was such a fun evening. The cooking stations were well organized, and we made papadam appetizers and samosas. Afterward, we ate dinner, including what we'd prepared: dahl, chickpea, and another spicy and delicious dish. There was a fascinating talk about the Jewish community in India. It was a terrific evening—lovely thing to do with friends or family.Visited February 2025Traveled with friendsWritten February 24, 2025
- Sarah S1 contributionI can’t recommend this experience enough. We had so much fun and picked up such helpful tips for cooking delicious Israeli food at home. Citrus & Salt very thoughtfully avoids the use of any fancy or specific kitchen equipment in order to make sure that students will be able to recreate their recipes at home. I’ve never made homemade pita bread successfully and I can’t believe how delicious it was! My only disclaimer is that people need to be sure to skip breakfast and show up hungry because there was so much delicious food to taste and I was too full!Visited July 2024Traveled with friendsWritten July 22, 2024
- Ruth L1 contributionWe did a japanese/sushi workshop in our home for Chanukah.We had our children and grandchildren. The grand hildren ages 2-19. Everyone interacted and Aliya involved everyone in preparing the yummy meal. From peeking and slicing and rolling everyone had so much fun. Aliya was so so great with everyone. And the food was yummy and filling. I highly recommend going to her or do like we did and book here for your family in your home. U will enjoy!Visited December 2024Traveled with familyWritten December 30, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.9
115 reviews
Excellent
112
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Karen S
Chevy Chase Village, MD74 contributions
Jun 2021 • Family
Our family of five (children in their early 20s and parents in their early 50s) had a phenomenal time cooking with Aliyah today. She creates a beautiful vegetarian menu for us, then taught us how to create a fabulous Israeli meal. The food was delicious, and her stories and cooking lessons were incredibly entertaining. I would do this again in a heartbeat. Everyone in the family agreed that it was one of the highlights of our trip.
Written July 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Or
1 contribution
Jun 2022 • Couples
I am an Israeli guy living here with my European partner, and sadly I never learned to cook anything beyond the basics. When my partner suggested that we will try to participate in Aliya’s cooking classes I was hesitant but decided to give it a try - when arrived to her magical space we were greeted with her amazing cocktails to cool us (and the anxiety from cooking) down in the hot Israeli summer, and then somehow we were just.. cooking. We learned how easy it is to make different recipes using the same common ingredients you could find in the local market, and how delicious it can be with even with her own twist. We later came for the more advanced Thai cooking class which was fun to make with guidance, and later when she sent us the recipes we were so excited to try it at home. I feel like for me the experience and the lesson really taught how to not be afraid from cooking, by seeing her simplifying everything and demonstrating how much easy it is to just follow the steps for the perfect falafel balls in your own simple home kitchen. In the class there were people with different levels of cooking, from zero to actual chefs, and she managed to pass parts of her knowledge and guide each of us in what we needed most.
Definitely recommend participating in classes with Alyia if you want to expand your cooking skills.
Definitely recommend participating in classes with Alyia if you want to expand your cooking skills.
Written June 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fayanne B.
New York City, NY2 contributions
Feb 2023
I've been attending weekly workshops at Citrus & Salt for the past couple of months and love it. Aliya and Shaendl are excellent teachers. I was looking for English speaking cooking classes and could not have found a better place to be. The classes are laid back, fun, and the best part is that you get to eat your creations at the end of class :) The studio is conveniently located in Florentin off of Ha'aliya.
Written February 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aaron S
2 contributions
Dec 2024 • Couples
1. Our teacher was not Israeli and doesn't speak Hebrew, so there was no feeling of authenticity.
2. She was obviously hungover.
3. She explained how to do things once, then walked away and did something else, . For example, she showed us how to make a pita, which is not simple and "harder than it looks" according to her, and then literally just walked away after demonstrating it once, never seeing whether we were doing it properly.
4. She showed minimal interest in people's questions.
5. The class was totally disorganized and it was up to the participants to create a sense of cohesion and organization.
I've taken cooking classes in many different countries from different teachers, and this was easily the worst. Only good thing I could say is that the food tasted good and we met some nice people!
2. She was obviously hungover.
3. She explained how to do things once, then walked away and did something else, . For example, she showed us how to make a pita, which is not simple and "harder than it looks" according to her, and then literally just walked away after demonstrating it once, never seeing whether we were doing it properly.
4. She showed minimal interest in people's questions.
5. The class was totally disorganized and it was up to the participants to create a sense of cohesion and organization.
I've taken cooking classes in many different countries from different teachers, and this was easily the worst. Only good thing I could say is that the food tasted good and we met some nice people!
Written January 2, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Aaron,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your feedback. I'm really sorry to hear you had a negative experience at our cooking class. We will of course be taking your feedback into account in order to improve our classes in the future.
There are a few points I feel it's important to address:
1. Our instructor was absolutely not hungover. If you aren't aware, Israelis have been woken up by overnight incoming missiles for weeks already, so it's possible our instructor was tired, and I apologize if this came across as her having less energy than what could be expected.
2. We are all Israelis :) Just because we were born in the diaspora doesn't mean our instructors, myself included, aren't Israeli. We made aliyah over a decade ago and have had ample experience learning and cooking Israeli cuisine. The fact that we're native English speakers is what allows us to offer the only all-English cooking workshops in Tel Aviv.
3. We received other feedback from participants who attended the same class that they had really positive experiences and felt they got attention from the instructor when they needed it. We're always open to feedback, and it would have been great to be told on the spot that you felt you needed more guidance on preparing the pitas.
I would like to apologize again that you didn't get the experience you wanted.
Best,
Aliya Fastman
Owner
Written January 5, 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ed Bettendorf
2 contributions
Jan 2023
The proprietor, Aliya Fastman, is a knowledgeable, pleasant, hands-on teacher who gives everyone a chance to participate in food preparation. Her studio, a separate, well-equipped kitchen, is conveniently located in the heart of Tel Aviv. If anything, the cost was a little low; but the food was delicious! I heartily recommend her!
Written January 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kelsey R
3 contributions
Jun 2021
I believe that food is the best way to connect to a culture, and learning to cook is a way to bring that culture back home. Both Aliya and Shaendl are phenomenal! With Aliya I was able to take Isreali, Thai, and Moroccan classes and an Israeli dessert class with Shaendl (there's many more that I wish I could take). I didn't have a single bad dish at any of these classes and feel like they were a delicious, authentic representation of the cultures. The price for a class is very fair for a 5-6 course meal and learning how to make them. They are very patient with all skill levels and are willing to change up the recipes for peoples preferred spice level. This is a great class to take or reserve a private lesson as a cute date or gift idea. I could not recommend it enough!
Written August 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jason B
3 contributions
Jan 2023
I've had the pleasure of attending two workshops at Citrus and Salt. The whole process of learning about the dishes we were making, while meeting new people and getting to eat the delicious fruits of our labor was both enjoyable and educational!
They really make it feel as though you're just learning to cook delicious food in your friend's kitchen at home. I would totally recommend Aliya and Shaendl's workshops to anybody who likes good food and good people!
They really make it feel as though you're just learning to cook delicious food in your friend's kitchen at home. I would totally recommend Aliya and Shaendl's workshops to anybody who likes good food and good people!
Written March 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sharon L
Philadelphia, PA55 contributions
Nov 2022 • Couples
First of all, Aliya Fastman, the owner, was so welcoming and flexible. Second, the recipes were spot on for taking home a good souvenir from Israel. Third, the atmosphere was homey and the location was in a sweet neighborhood in Tel Aviv and easy to find. Finally, she saved me from a disappointing end of my vacation.
Here’s the story:
I had scheduled a cooking class with another cooking vendor (Jon’s Carmel Market Cooking Tour) and he canceled my class at the last minute! 😡 I had been corresponding with him for months about my reservation and confirmed the week before so I was very upset with this unprofessional treatment.
I searched for others and found Citrus and Salt! After completing the contact form and calling her to explain my predicament, she told me she did not have a class scheduled for the day I wanted, but she could offer me a private lesson for me and my husband. I was thrilled! She moved her schedule around and made my dream cooking class happen within 24 hours! She’s not only a friendly cooking instructor, she’s a super business woman and customer service provider!
We made humus, roasted eggplant and tahini, falafel, and Shakshuka. She had snacks and wine for us. She accepts credit cards. She’s on WhatsApp so she easy to communicate with. Definitely give her class a try if you are planning a trip to Israel. My only piece of advice is to eat a light breakfast and skip lunch. I ate all the food! 💗
Here’s the story:
I had scheduled a cooking class with another cooking vendor (Jon’s Carmel Market Cooking Tour) and he canceled my class at the last minute! 😡 I had been corresponding with him for months about my reservation and confirmed the week before so I was very upset with this unprofessional treatment.
I searched for others and found Citrus and Salt! After completing the contact form and calling her to explain my predicament, she told me she did not have a class scheduled for the day I wanted, but she could offer me a private lesson for me and my husband. I was thrilled! She moved her schedule around and made my dream cooking class happen within 24 hours! She’s not only a friendly cooking instructor, she’s a super business woman and customer service provider!
We made humus, roasted eggplant and tahini, falafel, and Shakshuka. She had snacks and wine for us. She accepts credit cards. She’s on WhatsApp so she easy to communicate with. Definitely give her class a try if you are planning a trip to Israel. My only piece of advice is to eat a light breakfast and skip lunch. I ate all the food! 💗
Written November 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Guide65633442544
1 contribution
May 2023 • Couples
We really enjoyed joining the Israeli Meze Class. It was a fun mixed group and Aliya did a great job guiding through the single steps and introducing us to the little secrets of the local cuisine. Thank you for this wonderful, enjoyable afternoon! Food is culture and this way we could bring home a little piece of it. We are looking forward to preparing the recipes again and serving them to our friends and family! !
Written May 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christian B
4 contributions
Nov 2021 • Couples
I have the time of my life cooking different thai dishes with Aliya. She is beyond knowledgeable.
She taught us about the history of the dishes, the precise geographical location where the ingredients can be found, and even stores within tel aviv where where we could find them so we could make it at home. On top of that she is one of the nicest person I've ever met, she is extremely charismatic, and patient with the people attending.
Moreover, the price is absolutely affordable so everyone can attend it. This is by far the best cooking class you can attend in tel aviv. Cant wait to attend the next one!
She taught us about the history of the dishes, the precise geographical location where the ingredients can be found, and even stores within tel aviv where where we could find them so we could make it at home. On top of that she is one of the nicest person I've ever met, she is extremely charismatic, and patient with the people attending.
Moreover, the price is absolutely affordable so everyone can attend it. This is by far the best cooking class you can attend in tel aviv. Cant wait to attend the next one!
Written November 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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