Cooking Class 'Cook Like a Local' La Fortuna: Authentic Costa Rican Cuisine Experience
4.3
43 Ratings
La Fortuna de San Carlos
Immerse yourself in Costa Rican culture through its cuisine with our 'Cook Like a Local' cooking class in La Fortuna. Learn to make traditional dishes and enjoy a memorable meal!
Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Hunters & Gatherers Costa Rica - We’ll pick you up from your hotel and drive about 5 minutes to an exclusive, hidden out place next to the enchanting El Salto waterfall near downtown La Fortuna. Upon arrival to your Costa Rica Cooking Class, you’ll learn about the garden and farm where the fresh cooking ingredients come from. To get started, you’ll try your hand at mixing up a delicious homemade tropical Costa Rican cocktail
  • our famous Kiss of the Cacique! You will then get ready to learn how to cook up some Tico-style “picadillos,” tortillas and “guisados” for a delicious sit-down
  • “Casado” meal and plenty of captivating conversation!

After dinner, relax with a cup of coffee, share some recipes and head back to your hotel to dream about the scrumptious Tico food you’ll recreate back home!

What's Included
  • Cooking class
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Dinner
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Meal Options
  • Casado - You’ll be gathering all of the farm fresh ingredients and chopping up vegetables from local providers and creating a delicious “Casado” meal.
Additional Information

Traveling abroad offers a unique sense of authenticity when one truly experiences the local way of life. Every culture expresses itself through its food, and the people of Costa Rica are no exception – it extends well beyond the stereotypical ‘rice and beans.’ We extend a warm invitation for you to savor an authentic meal prepared in the Costa Rican tradition, which will likely stand out as the most memorable dining experience of your trip! Take part in crafting the beloved Costa Rican cocktail, the ‘Kiss of the Cacique,’ followed by cooking a hearty traditional ‘casado’ feast. You’ll create dishes such as ‘pollo sudado’ and ‘picadillo,’ along with handcrafted tortillas and more!

  • Minimum age is 5 years old.
  • Please let us know if you have any allergies or food restrictions. We have options for gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, etc,
Location
La Fortuna de San Carlos
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(43 Ratings)
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Tomtp6993iu
Dec 21, 2023
This ‘excursion’ is a must if you’re a foodie and enjoy the foods from different cultures. - We chose this as our first excursion in La Fortuna because we were arriving late in the afternoon and thought it would be great to learn how to cook a traditional Costa Rican food and have that as our first meal. We are so glad we did. It was a small group of 5 and we learned the staples of Costa Rican cuisine and made their traditional dish the Casado (the marriage of the rice and the beans) It was interesting because we received the instructions for each step but were given individual roles that allowed us to interact with the other guests. At the end the meal was a 10/10 😋 We highly recommend this experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joy_l
Jul 5, 2023
Great fun for the whole family! - Kathy was our main person there and she awesome along with her help! We brought all of our teenagers (7 boys and girls) with us, and they loved the whole experience, including getting to eat the traditional Costa Rican meal that they prepared!
Review provided by Viator
Randy_s
May 14, 2023
The Best - Katherine was most kind and personable. She made it simple and delicious. She shared about Costa Rican life and culture and answered ALL our questions so well. Great English skills as well. Thank you, Viator!
Review provided by Viator
Bvarner9
Apr 1, 2023
Cooking Class - A Must Do - The cooking class was a fun event that our whole family enjoyed! Kathy was an outstanding teacher and hostess. She taught us techniques that helped with food prep and helped our kids learn how to cut some of the ingredients as well. We also learned how to cook some traditional Costa Rican dishes that ended up being very tasty! The best part was sitting together with our group enjoying a meal that all of us worked to prepare and getting to know one another. Everyone in our family had a memorable time and learned a lot on the way!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dovp2018
Jan 22, 2023
The best meal I had in Costa Rica - Great welcoming to a nice outdoor covered space. Our guides started with a drink and we started prep. Cooking points on Costa Rican food and style. We ended with a testy delightful Costa Rican meal. They offer options for fish, meat and vegetables. Great for solo, couple, friends and family.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
121candicee
Jan 9, 2023
Cooking with Cathy - Cooking with Cathy was amazing, it was completely hands on and we got to eat everything we made! I highly recommend this class!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ohapyus
Feb 1, 2024
Basic cooking class - Basic cooking class; chop veggies for picogallo and steamed vegetables, kneed dough for handmade tortillas, mix our own cocktail. Rice cooked in front of us, Beans precooked and chicken prepared in back kitchen. Meal was ok, instructor very pleasant, best part was international guests and good conversations.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Beartechnc
Feb 11, 2023
It was OK - The Positives: The price seemed reasonable and the food was good. The instructor was personable. The Negatives: There was no instruction of cooking mechanics such as food prep. Peeling, cutting, chopping. Knives were dull. Not suitable for a cooking class. I hopped to LEARN more about cooking, not just how to cook a few items.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amrita_g
Jan 2, 2023
COOK LIKE A LOCAL - Not a good experience - The entire class was not a good experience. The class was supposed to be 3 hrs but it ended it in 1.5 hrs. We cut one vegetable each, and made tortillas. We were not involved any preparation otherwise. The host was not engaged with the group and said she was exhausted as she had been under the weather. The decription mentioned, the class was hosted by a Costa Rican Family but was not true as well. It was 2 young women. The food was basic with limited quantities and there was not enough food for the group and ran out of most food. The host and the helpers ate and left before the our group. We we surprised when they told us in a bit over an hour that we were done We cleaned up the plates, cutlery and stacked in on a trolley outside the kitchen. This is not a experience we expected for the money we paid. We could have gone out to a resultant and had a great meal for the money we spent. We were hoping to have a good fun experience with the kids and learn a new cuisine but it was very disappointing. I would like my money refunded and this review to published.
Review provided by Viator
Anuja_b
Dec 29, 2022
This is a SCAM - This is a SCAM. These are following pointers we experienced, then decide whether you want to book it- 1. Class got over in one and half hour which includes our eating/driving time. 2. Chef and the staff left the place before us and we cleaned up. 3. There was very little cooking involved. You just watch them cook and most of the stuff was cooked before hand. I rather go to a restaurant and eat. 4. We were a group of 12 ppl and most of them lost interest in first 15min of the class. Host ate at the same as us and left quickly after eating. There wasn’t enough food left for us. 5. We contacted the host after the event raising my concerns. He was not co operative and was adamant that the event was conducted as per description which is a lie. Highly recommend not to take this tour.
Review provided by Viator
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