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Quito Cooking Class: Traditional Dishes in Colonial House with Market Tour
Immerse yourself in the vibrant culinary culture of Quito with a cooking class led by Andres. Explore the local market, learn to make traditional dishes with a gourmet twist, and enjoy a delicious meal in a beautiful Colonial house. Book now!
Immerse yourself in the vibrant culinary culture of Quito with a cooking class led by Andres. Explore the local market, learn to make traditional dishes with a gourmet twist, and enjoy a delicious meal in a beautiful Colonial house. Book now!
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Venezuela & Rocafuerte - Market Tour
Exploring the market in Ecuador offers a truly unique experience!
Discover the finest aromas, flavors, and colors of fruits, vegetables, and spices that will inspire the creation of an authentic Ecuadorian meal. Andres will guide you through the Central Market and its surroundings. Here, you will encounter…
-
Venezuela & Rocafuerte - Market Tour
Exploring the market in Ecuador offers a truly unique experience!
Discover the finest aromas, flavors, and colors of fruits, vegetables, and spices that will inspire the creation of an authentic Ecuadorian meal. Andres will guide you through the Central Market and its surroundings. Here, you will encounter top specialty vendors, the stall with the freshest vegetables, traditional meat sellers, the lady known for the best fruits, the medicinal herb stand, the mote vendor, the flower girl, and an exotic fruit juice stand. The journey begins with shopping for fresh ingredients and local products, some of which are exclusive to this region.
Cooking Class
During the Cooking Class, meet the Chef, the mother of the operator’s best friend, who will share local secrets and captivating stories of historic Quito. Participants will prepare everything from scratch, engaging in chopping, dicing, and cooking like a true local.
Time to Eat
After the culinary efforts, the chef arranges a beautifully set table, and it’s time to savor the meal in a Colonial house located in the heart of Old Town Quito.
This experience comes highly recommended!
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Tour of Central Market and Cooking Class
- Apron and chef hat for use during cooking class
- Recipes
- Lunch
- Carbonated beverages
- Private transportation
- Tour of Central Market and Cooking Class
- Apron and chef hat for use during cooking class
- Recipes
- Lunch
- Carbonated beverages
What's Not Included
- Extra food and drinks not mentioned on itinerary
- Tips for the chef/guide
- Return transportation can be arranged but is not included
- Extra food and drinks not mentioned on itinerary
- Tips for the chef/guide
- Return transportation can be arranged but is not included
Meal Options
- Locro de Papa (Potato Cheese Soup) - The Locro de Papa is a classic dish from Quito. It is a savory dish, with tons of cheese, potatoes and decorated with an avocado rose.
- Quinoa Soup - For those that are lactose intolerant a Quinoa Soup is right up their alley.
- Traditional Quito Shrimp Ceviche - Served with shrimp cooked to perfection, onions,…
- Locro de Papa (Potato Cheese Soup) - The Locro de Papa is a classic dish from Quito. It is a savory dish, with tons of cheese, potatoes and decorated with an avocado rose.
- Quinoa Soup - For those that are lactose intolerant a Quinoa Soup is right up their alley.
- Traditional Quito Shrimp Ceviche - Served with shrimp cooked to perfection, onions, various tomato textures, and orange juice. (The starter dish can be modified to your requests)
- Chicken or Veggie Tamales - Tamales are made in an achira leaf and cooked in a special pot for tamales. They are fun to make and very tasty.
- Empanadas - Empanadas are such a tasty treat. We can make cheese filled, cheese and onion filled or chicken stew filled empanadas.
- Encocado de Pescado (Coconut Fish Dish) - You will cook the fish with a delicious coconut sauce. The fish is served with yellow rice, plantain chips, and a garden salad.
- Chocolate Soup - The dish includes a variety of Ecuadorian fresh fruits and a chocolate sauce made with real Ecuadorian cocoa and a bit of liquor.
- Quimbolito Quiteño (Fluffy cake in a leaf) - Quimbolitos are awesome, they are a traditional dessert in Quito, a fluffy cake steamed inside an achira leaf.
Additional Information
Andres, the owner, will meet guests at their hotel. If the hotel is near the market, they will walk there; otherwise, they will travel in a comfortable SUV. Andres will guide guests on a tour of the traditional Central Market and its surroundings to find fresh local ingredients for the cooking class. Following the market visit, guests will proceed to a…
Andres, the owner, will meet guests at their hotel. If the hotel is near the market, they will walk there; otherwise, they will travel in a comfortable SUV. Andres will guide guests on a tour of the traditional Central Market and its surroundings to find fresh local ingredients for the cooking class. Following the market visit, guests will proceed to a restaurant situated in a charming Colonial house in the heart of Old Town Quito. This tour offers an authentic local experience, teaching participants how to prepare three traditional dishes that can be recreated at home. Prepare for a day full of amazing sights, flavors, and aromas. At the end of the day, guests will savor the delicious meal they have prepared. This experience comes highly recommended!
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(223 Ratings)
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Carly_b
Apr 26, 2026
Great Food Experience! - We scheduled this experience for our first day in Quito, and we are so glad we did! Andres and Silvia were very hospitable, and they even went out of their way to help us navigate the city after the class.
10/10 😊
Review provided by Viator
Neil_b
Mar 25, 2026
It is well worth doing.... - It is well worth doing. The chef is great and the food is delicious.
In particular, I liked the way the chef ensured that you could do the recioes back home
Review provided by Viator
Julane_a
Mar 20, 2026
Authentic Ecuadorian homestyle cooking class - We really enjoyed an intimate cooking class that made us feel like we were in our chef’s home. We were timely picked up at our hotel and taken to the Centrale Mercado where our driver introduced us to an Ecuadorian smoothly and led us through the market to purchase fruits and vegetables to be used in our cooking class. We then went to a 200 year old hacienda style building where we met our chefs Margorita and Silvia. The 3 students each got our aprons and chef hats. We prepared a 3 course meal under Margorita’s supervision including a hot spiced fruit drink, a traditional potato soup with shrimp ceviche and plantains with a Babaco dessert. We were very comfortable with the whole experience. The recipes were provided so that we could enjoy these treats at home.
Review provided by Viator
Jackiegt4250wd
Mar 1, 2026
Great experience of Ecuadorian food. - We had a wonderful morning which started off with being picked up at our hotel then a guided tour of the local market followed. We tasted several fruits and met some local vendors. Afterwards followed a fabulous cooking demonstration with our participation. The lovely thing was the food was a traditional Ecuadorian menu from start to finish. We then ate and drank everything we made!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elizabeth
Feb 22, 2026
Perfect afternoon activity to finalize our Ecuador trip - We chose this cooking class as something to do on our final day in Ecuador, after returning from the Galapagos and before returning to the USA late that night. From start to finish it was a lovely, well orchestrated activity. Andres picked us up at our Airbnb on time, then took us for a tour of a city market full of produce, juices, meats, flowers, plants. He knew many of the vendors there so we were welcomed, and tried some different tropical fruits. We then met up with his wife Silvia who took us to the kitchen in historic Quito. Sylvia and Magdola showed us, step by step, how to prepare some delicious fruit items, potato soup, shrimp ceviche, and a local warm drink. Everything was explained well, and we participated in the preparation. Recipes were provided so we could try these dishes at home. Then Silvia and Magdola introduced us to the Metro system and escorted us back to our our lodging. It was a wonderful afternoon and I would highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in Ecuadorian food and culture.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Beccybrooks
Feb 21, 2026
Fantastic experience with local Ecuadoreans - We really enjoyed our Market Tour and cooking experience with Andres, Silvia and Magola. It was lovely to visit the market and to spend time with local Ecuadoreans. All the food was delicious and the cooking lesson brilliant fun. We enjoyed all the different dishes and healthy snacks and it was all brilliantly explained. We will definitely try to recreate it at home, although the quality of our prawns is definitely not as good as yours. After the class to avoid the carnival traffic we even got a ride on the Metro, which was a great experience. Great value for money, definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
David_d
Feb 14, 2026
Fresh take on cooking! - After being picked up at the hotel by Andres, we stopped at the Central Mkt, where we were introduced to a very good fruit drink/smoothie. We then were shown a smorgasbord of fruits, vegetables and flowers which opened our eyes to new delights. We proceeded to sample a few items, which of course are not available in the U.S., for our cooking class. Upon arriving at the class destination, we were introduced to Sylvia (sous chef) and Margola (chef). Both were very friendly, inviting and just open to any questions that we may have had. We started of mixing ingredients for our Canelazo, (cinnamon drink), in the preparation area, and which Sylvie then took back to the stove to boil. Next came the Ecuadorian Shrimp Ceviche AND the potato soup. Both were kind of prepped at the same time to coordinate cooking times. At the end everything was cooked to perfection. The simple preparation and ease of preparation of the foods helped us realize you don’t have to be a master chef to prepare simple yet quality meals.
It was a truly delightful and delicious experience which we highly recommend to anyone visiting Quito
Review provided by Viator
Peter_o
Feb 9, 2026
Excellent cooking class... - Excellent cooking class experience with chef Margola and sous chef Sylvia. Andres picked us up at our hotel and delivered us to the class. Enjoyed a great meal that we helped prepare and will definitely try her recipes. Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Viator
Edward
Feb 6, 2026
Great Traditional Ecuadorian experience - Wonderful family experience; while learning to make simple, great Ecuadorian food. The market experience was wonderful and informative; the cooking class was intimate and very personable!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hayley_m
Feb 1, 2026
Highly recommend!! - So much fun! My husband and I highly recommend this cooking class and market tour while in Quito. We learned so much and had so much fun. The food was fantastic and everyone was so kind. They went above and beyond and helped us navigate the metro to our next hotel after the class. Such a wonderful experience!
Review provided by Viator
