{"id":26730,"date":"2018-04-26T10:19:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T00:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures?p=26730&preview=true&preview_id=26730"},"modified":"2025-03-04T03:59:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T16:59:57","slug":"cooking-school-jordan-beit-sitti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cooking-school-jordan-beit-sitti\/","title":{"rendered":"This cooking school in Amman will change your view of Jordan. Here\u2019s how."},"content":{"rendered":"

When you read the reviews of Jordan<\/a>\u2019s Beit Sitti cooking school<\/a>, one thing becomes clear very quickly: anyone with an interest in food and\/or eating can\u2019t leave Amman without signing up to a class.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Established in 2010 by three sisters, Maria, Tania and Dina, the school was opened for three reasons: firstly, to keep the memory of their grandmother alive (Beit Sitti means \u2018my grandmother\u2019s house\u2019 in Arabic, and the school is run from the kitchen of her villa); secondly, as a way for the sisters to share their love of good food and family traditions; and, perhaps most importantly, as a social initiative to empower local women.<\/p>\n

VISIT BEIT SITTI ON OUR NEW 8-DAY JORDAN WOMEN’S EXPEDITION<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur grandmother used to make the best food you can think of, although I\u2019m sure everybody thinks that about their grandmother!\u201d Maria tells me over FaceTime. Her day is just starting; cars honk outside her home, and her two-year-old son intermittently shrieks beside her, eager for someone to play with.<\/p>\n

\"Three

Tania, Dina and Maria.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWhen we were children, we\u2019d sit at her table and she\u2019d teach us to cook Arabic food; she was always giving us little tasks. I remember, quite clearly, my most important task: stirring the milk pudding. I would stir and stir until it became thick; that\u2019s when I knew it was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Maria\u2019s grandmother passed away, the three sisters \u2013 along with their mother \u2013 kept her house open so they could pass on the recipes they had learned to make as children to travellers, or anyone wanting to learn how to make a good maaloubeh<\/em>, kousa mahshi<\/em> or hummus<\/em>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0HOW INTREPID IS BREAKING THE BARRIERS OF TRADITIONAL TOURISM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

But Beit Sitti became more than just an outlet for the women to share their grandmother\u2019s dishes. Maria and her sisters saw that \u2013 through cooking, their love of food, and the importance of generosity \u2013 they could open their kitchen to women experiencing hardships. Women who needed financial stability, women who were being abused, and women who had fled to Jordan from Syria, Palestine, and Iraq. Beit Sitti could provide them with an income, regular employment, and a confidence boost many of them have sorely missed.<\/p>\n

It was also a way to keep traditional customs alive.<\/p>\n

\"Two

Maria and a student making falafel<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe ritual of cooking together seems to have skipped a generation,\u201d Maria explains. \u201cIn my grandmother\u2019s time, all the women would come together and cook. They\u2019d all be preparing different things \u2013 making the kibbeh and the shish barak, working on the lamb \u2013 but they\u2019d all be working together. That unity, that coming together \u2013 it doesn\u2019t really happen anymore. My generation didn\u2019t cook with their families.<\/p>\n

SUBSCRIBE TO INTREPID\u2019S NEWSLETTER FOR TRAVEL TIPS, COMPETITIONS, GIVEAWAYS & MORE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re starting to get more young people through the kitchen. People in their twenties who missed that phase, or weren\u2019t able to learn from their grandmothers or their mothers, are coming to Beit Sitti to learn from us. So we\u2019re creating this communication platform between younger generations, and these older women who are exceptionally good cooks. We\u2019re all learning from each other and creating a bond, which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Travellers

Budding chefs in the kitchen<\/p><\/div>\n

Beit Sitti is about more than just food. It\u2019s an opportunity for people to really immerse themselves in other cultures, to ask questions, to learn.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 7 DISHES YOU HAVE TO TRY IN JORDAN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see a veiled woman walking down the street, you would never approach her,\u201d Maria tells me. “But in the kitchen, it\u2019s different. You have the opportunity to ask questions \u2013 even if it\u2019s about Islam, or why a man can have four wives. The women in our kitchen are very open to discussing these things with foreigners, because they want to explain. Many people seem to have this misconception about Islam, and about our culture being demeaning to women, but I think that\u2019s all changing. Right now, women are empowered to work, to make money, to support themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recipes taught at Beit Sitti are all easy to replicate at home, and are so delicious you\u2019ll be wowing dinner guests with your cooking prowess for years. But by learning from these women, you\u2019ll also be passing on your knowledge of the culture, the value of working together, and the joy of sharing an afternoon in the kitchen with a strong group of women.<\/p>\n

Hungry? Intrepid visits Beit Sitti for an afternoon of cooking and storytelling on our 6-Day Jordan Real Food Adventure<\/a> and our new Jordan: Women’s Expedition.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

All images C\/O Beit Sitti.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beit Sitti, on the edge of Amman’s charming Jabal Al Lweibdeh neighbourhood, isn’t your average cooking school. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15582,"featured_media":26734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[455,9],"tags":[1040,260,55],"class_list":["post-26730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-food","tag-amman","tag-food-adventures","tag-jordan","ipf_theme-food","ipf_region-jordan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJordan: How One Cooking School is Empowering Women | Intrepid Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Beit Sitti in Amman, Jordan, isn't your average cooking school. 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