My wife and I had a wonderful day with Van and a group of ten other travellers. After being collected from our hotels, we went straight to the market where Van's lively, informative and fun loving character becomes immediately apparent. We each chose a dish that we'd later prepare and cook before Van probably spent the best part of an hour walking us through the stalls choosing and often tasting our ingredients (or other things she sees of interest. Then it's back into the minibus for a trip to her home where she explains in detail how to use your equipment (knives) and prepare your dish. Next you each, one by one, get to cook your dish in front of the group (who by now have probably become friends, such is the humorous style of Van's delivery) and each then share the tastes. Throughout she is ably assisted by her three helpers who work like trojans keeping things cleaned and all in order. Don't underestimate how much you'll get to eat. There were twelve of us, so twelve varied dishes, seafood, fish, beef, pork, vegetarian, cold, hot, spicy and always incredibly fresh tastes. Incredible. Personally, I enjoy cooking (and eating!) so this was a delight however my wife less so and she really wasn't sure if she wanted to join me on this experience. She's so glad she did!! Van makes everything fun and we both learnt a lot, had a good laugh and tried things that might otherwise have passed us by! At around £75 for two, it's great value and, I'd say a must do if you have the time. We were collected around 8.30am and got back into town around 4.40pm, having eaten our fill, drank shots of spirits and enjoyed cold drinks (beer, soda or water) throughout. I highly recommend.

We had such a great day with Van and her team. Effortless hotel pick up- drop off. There was 13 in the group (including a family of 6 who had been twice before!) and Van managed to orchestrate, show/ demonstrate everyone’s prep for each specific dish, giving us time to do our prep then creating the space for each to cook, present and sample each of the dishes. Such a nice change from classes where everyone is making the same dish, we had so many great flavors including three different fish cooked three different ways, two HoiAn pancake recipes, stir fry, curries and soups. She provided water, sodas, beer and an aperitif made of passion fruit and vodka as well as a gift at the end. Nice touch! Will always remember: Flip from the hip Stir from the bum Smiles all the way!

Doing a cooking class with Van has been hands-down the highlight of our Vietnam trip. We got picked up from our accommodation on time and we went straight to the market. You could see some other cooking class groups that were rushing through the market. But Van takes her time and explains all the elements of Vietnamese cooking and what to look out for when buying these ingredients in your home country to make sure they're as fresh as possible. Next is the cooking class in Van's beautiful home (in a nice and cosy kitchen). Van spends a sufficient amount of time explaining how to cook one dish at a time. The great thing about Van's cooking class is that she doesn't just cook for you; she shows you how to prep/cook the meals but then you have to do the cooking. So you learn by doing instead of just watching. The food that we prepared turned out amazing and was so yummy. Make sure to skip breakfast. I have never eaten this much delicious food in a span of one day. Van also let us try her plum wine and shrimp cocktail which was a bonus. We learnt from Van that she has a very cute cafe in Hoi An by the river (Van Le Café) and we visited her that evening with others from the cooking class and had a wonderful time trying her very delicious and affordable cocktails (you have to try Phojito!). Van, you are one of a kind and thank you for being such an amazing cook/friend.