Puerto Vallarta Cooking Class: Local Chef Experience

199 Ratings

Puerto Vallarta

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Experience a private culinary adventure in Puerto Vallarta! Join chef Manu on a market visit, where you’ll discover the best local ingredients. Then, learn to cook authentic Mexican dishes with a modern twist in Manu’s charming home.

Duration: 3 hours

Cancellation: 2 days learn more

Highlights

5 de Diciembre - You will meet Manu at the Mercado Cinco de Diciembre, located a short eight minute drive away from his house. Together you will browse the stalls, where you will have an opportunity to experience all the sounds, smells, and colors of a traditional Mexican marketplace. You will visit fruit and vegetable stands, a tortilleria (tortilla factory), a carnicería (butcher), and a pescadería (fish market), and learn how to choose the best ingredients from each.

Upon returning to Manu’s home, join Manu in his home kitchen to learn to prepare an authentic Mexican meal together. During your Puerto Vallarta cooking lesson, you can expect to learn how to make three dishes. Some of the dishes you might learn to cook are a fresh ceviche with the catch of the day, panela enchiladas, a unique dish made with authentic Mexican cheese, and a shrimp or octopus or mushroom al ajillo; all with traditional techniques and ingredients. You can expect to cook for about an hour before sitting down to share the meal together.

If you are not a seafood fan, let Manu know a few days in advance and he can plan a menu with meat.

What's Included

Inclusive of all taxes, fees, and handling charges
Complimentary bottled water provided
Experience a private market tour and cooking class with local host Manuel
Enjoy the company and expertise of a local host
Savor local beer during the experience

What's Not Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meal Options

Ceviche - Citrusy ceviche made with fresh catch of the day like mahi mahi
Panela enchiladas - A unique dish of rolled tortillas filled with authentic panela cheese and topped with a lettuce, tomato, radish and pickled jalapeno garnish
Seafood or mushroom al ajillo - Shrimp, octopus or mushroom sautéed in a chili, garlic oil

Additional Information

Learn to cook with a local chef in Puerto Vallarta during this private culinary experience! Your host for the day is Manu, a professionally trained chef who loves to create innovative, modern fusions of classic Mexican dishes. Manu will take you to the local market and show you his favorite vendors. After doing a bit of shopping you’ll return to his home and cook a meal together. Manu will teach you to prepare traditional Mexican dishes with a modern twist, dishes you can replicate in your own kitchen at home. Enjoy the meal together in Manu’s home, a small but typical home in central Puerto Vallarta.

Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Please note: this is not a professional cooking class, rather an experience to visit a local home to meet a local chef and share culture and cuisine together.

Location

San Salvador 604

San Salvador

Meet your host Manuel at the Mercado Cinco de Diciembre (Address: San Salvador 604 in 5 de Diciembre neighborhood.). Exact address can be found in your ticket upon booking confirmation.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 2 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings

4.9

(199 Ratings)

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Larry_c

Aug 20, 2024

Learn about coastal cooking for a great local chef. - Manu helped two culinary inept guys understand flavors profiles, spice levels and cooking methodologies. We learned that you can have spicy flavors without blowing your palate. The picking of seafood and groceries was one of the highlights. Manu was fun to learn from and showcased the real life of Puerto Vallartans. We would do it again.

Review provided by Viator

Jordan_c

Jul 25, 2024

Amazing Cooking Class 💛 - Seeing the local market was truly amazing. Our host, Manuel, was very friendly and gave us a list places to visit before we leave. The food was incredible and we get the recipes so we can try these at home! We 100% would do this again and highly recommend to everyone.

Review provided by Viator

1984kimvf

Jul 12, 2024

Yumm! - My husband and I loved Manuel’s dishes! He met us at the market, asked a few questions about our preferences, and planned a menu on the spot. It was fun to walk around the market with him, and learn more about the local foods/produce. He kindly answers any questions (and I tend to ask a lot of questions). We really enjoyed watching him cook, learning more about the area, and petting his adorable little dog, Max! The meal has been better than any restaurant we have eaten at so far! We left full, and happy! Thanks for everything!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Stevegz8078lt

Jun 26, 2024

Great experience for food lovers - I highly recommend this cooking lesson! My wife and I were visiting PV on our honeymoon and really enjoyed spending time outside of the touristy spots, and with this tour, Manu gets to show you a local side of PV. The market you visit is the same market many of the restaurants use to get their ingredients. Manu is very nice and knowledgeable and has great recommendations on where else to eat like a local. Manu's cooking is fantastic! He's flexible and will help bring your food ideas to life. He presents his cooking in a way that inspires confidence in my own cooking - however it's unlikely I'll be able to get my cooking as good as his! Thanks Manu!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Christina_c

Jun 26, 2024

Excellent experience - Manu is warm, inspiring and knowledgeable. We would highly recommend his class and will definitely do it again!!

Review provided by Viator

Corinne_dublin_usa

Jun 25, 2024

Will do it again! - Manu is amazing! He has good design on food. Somehow he magically makes the al pastor tacos become fusion taco. Perfect display on food. Especially he picks the most fresh ingredients to make the food so perfect. Gracias Manu Z!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Laura_b

Jun 23, 2024

Delicious! - Delicioso! Manuel is a skilled chef and shared many fun facts about Mexican cuisine. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the market and cooking the results. Highly recommend this event and Manuel as the chef.

Review provided by Viator

Misshillyll

Jun 18, 2024

Cooking class with kids! - We met Manuel at the fish market. We connected earlier on what’s app and he helped me figure out the time to leave from Vidanta the day before. At the beginning when we met we talked about preferences. This is where you come together to decide what to make. Our kids (8 & 6) loved the market. They were his helpers in carrying the produce. They loved the fresh tortillas from the tortilla factory. They were so, so good. After you get all your ingredients he drove us back to his beautiful home where he went through each step with us on preparing. It was a great time to ask him about his knives and see his whole setup. I’ve got some room for improvement at home! The kids played with Max, his dog, while we watched. Our first dish was a ceviche made with yellow belly snapper, key lime and some mandarin juice for the citrus. He also made a chili oil that was to die for to go on top. The kids crushed the small bites of fresh frijoles with cheese and tortilla chips. Lastly the final dish was a chicken Gordita. We had to err on the side of being safe because of our kids palates. Our son ate 3 or 4 of these. 😂. We caught an Uber back to Vidanta. This was a highlight of our trip and will connect with Manu to see if maybe we can do a walking and eating tour with him! He has lots of suggestions on what to do in the area. Thank you again for hosting us in your wonderful home.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Krystina_b

May 29, 2024

An authentic cooking experience! - We absolutely loved this market tour and cooking lesson! Manu was an amazing host and designed our menu to accommodate our personal tastes. We started at the market, where he showed us all of the highlights and picked the freshest ingredients for our menu. He then drove us to his lovely home, which was a warm and inviting space, and showed us how to cook two authenticate and amazing dishes. His cooking tips were invaluable. This was truly a wonderful experience!

Review provided by Viator

Delia_r