Excellent recipes from excellent chefs! - What a wonderful thing to do in Quito. Not only because you get to learn and experience the amazing food scene, but also because you get to learn how to cook some key dishes! We started the day with a pick up from Andres who very kindly took us to one of the main markets in Quito. We sampled some of the local juices and marvelled at the unbelievable amount of locally grown fruit and vegetables. The climate and soil is so good for growing such a diverse number of crops. After this, we went to join Sylvia and Magda who taught us how to cook some of the main Ecuadorian dishes. On a personal level, I just wanted to say thank you to both these ladies. They are both so lovely and cooking with them felt like home. We will always remember their conversation, their great food and their kindness. Thank you!

Beautiful Food with a very Personal Touch! - We had a great time on this tour. We tried lots of samples of fruits at the market which we had never seen before. The cooking class was excellent and had a very personal touch. We felt like we had a moment in a traditional Ecuadorian home celebrating a new friendship. A beautiful experience for my family. The love and passion for Eqiadorian food and culture was felt!

Fun and tasty class - What a fun experience. We learned how to make authentic Ecuadorian ceviche, potato soup, patacones, and chocolate soup with fruit. The chefs, Magola and Silvia, were warm, friendly and enthusiastic about cooking. Would Holly recommend this cooking class

A Unique Culinary Adventure - This is a wonderful tour. First we visited the local market place and were told all about the various fruits and veggies that Ecuadorians use. The people offering the cooking class were warm and inviting. We got to participate in preparing the recipes (3) and then enjoyed eating the delicious results. The class is in a "colonial" house in the historic area and allows for time to walk around the historical area after the cooking class was over.

a wonderful and personalized cooking experience - review galapagos connoisseur this cooking experience was a wonderful view into life in Ecuador and in Quito! my sweetie and i went together and had it all to ourselves. it was charming, personal, and intimate — not to mention educational! one tip: start your day with a coffee but try to skip breakfast! we wished we could have eaten more! short version: this cooking experience is the real deal and you’ll learn not only about local cuisine, but also a bit about life in Quito, as Andres and his family share their home and warmth with you. you won’t be disappointed! the day began with Andres picking us up and taking us to the market. he is fluent in english and spanish so it was easy for us to learn from him about his life and of course about the market. we got to meet some of the vendors whose stalls Andres has been visiting since he was a boy, and we sampled many of the wonderful fruits unique to Ecuador. it was super cool to have this guided tour of the history of the place, and it was nice to see (and be able to take some small advantage of!) Andre’s’ relationship with the vendors themselves. from there, we went to the home of Andres, where his wife Silvia gave us a short tour before entering the kitchen together with Margola. it’s hard to explain everything because even though Silvia and Margola speak english, my sweetie is Quitian and did most of the talking :) but we got a wonderful explanation of local cuisine and history as we prepared ceviche (which is not the typical “crudo” of raw seafood in acidic salsa — ceviche in Ecuador is cooked!), locro de papa (a classic and simple potato soup), patacon (smashed green plantain patties), and canelazo (a cinnamon drink with naranjilla). afterwards, we dined privately together in the room adjacent to the kitchen. the food was delicious! it was lovely to learn all of this and to get to know the family. they are all very warm and friendly and happy to share their culture, and i can’t recommend the experience enough!

Want a Unique Experience and a Taste Sensation? Take This "Class"!!! - OMG! What an enjoyable and special experience!! Marala, Andres and Sylvia were the best hosts...engaging, fun, and knowledgeable. Our visit to the Central Market was a great "appetizer" to start the morning. But walking into the "kitchen" after bringing some fresh food to slice up and learning a little bit about the fruits, veggies, potatoes, chocolate and seafood of Ecuador was such a blast! Though we were given our aprons and chefs hats, thank goodness we didn't do a lot of cooking but were taught about the various regions where the best food can be found. The soup, ceviche and dessert we "made" topped off a wonderful thing to do on our last day in Ecuador. We highly recommend

Informative and delicious! - Andres, Margola, and Silvia were so amazing and genuine! We learned so much, and thoroughly enjoyed both the market and cooking experience.

Delicious food with wonderful hosts - We had a wonderful late morning to afternoon with everyone at Galapagos Connoisseur. Starting with walking through the marketplace with Andre and learning about the diverse fruit that are native to Ecuador. We made traditional Ecuadorian potato soup and chicken empandas made from green plantains. Sylvia and Magoda were professional and delightful. I will recommend this to any family or friends coming to Quito.

Come hungry and leave full of great food and information! - Take this class! Andres gives a great market tour and introduction to new produce and tastes. The class itself is a sensory bonanza--Magola is an outstanding cook and teacher and Silvia makes everything work right. We learned so much in a short period of time. We are anxious to try the recipes at home, especially the chocolate sauce, which was so-o-o good!! It's not as hands-on as other cooking classes but you do get to do some of the preparations. It is a great way to start your time in Ecuador.

Cooking fun in Quito - My mom and I had a great time learning about the exotic fruits at the market. Andres is more than fluent in English. Then experiencing the learning and cooking with Margola and Silvia was excellent! So much food we left stuffed and happy. I wish we had know about Andres before booking our other excursions in Ecuador.