Cooking Class 'Cook Like a Local' La Fortuna: Authentic Costa Rican Cuisine Experience

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: 24 hours
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,…
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…

Location
La Fortuna de San Carlos
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.4
(55 Ratings)
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1 star
O9309kcnancyh
May 6, 2025
Jennie is a wonderful chef and teacher - Jennie was an amazing chef, instructor and host ! Her expert guidance throughout our meal preparation resulted in a delicious dinner. She shared so much interesting information about the ingredients, how they were sourced and how to modify if certain ingredients were not available. She taught a really fun class and is a wonderful instructor. Thank you Jennie !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mika
May 6, 2025
Learn how to make a Costa Rican meal with a talented chef - We had an unforgettable cooking experience with Chef Jenny. I was so impressed by how a meal that was seemingly prepared with very simple ingredients could be so incredibly tasty. Jenny was a great instructor and made the whole process go so smoothly- an entire feast was prepared before we knew it. It was fun to eat as a group and meet new people too. Jenny also served a dessert that was her own creation and served a refreshing blackberry juice with dinner. It was the best meal I had on this trip! Would highly recommend this experience to anyone looking for a fun and delicious evening.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elainej285
Feb 15, 2025
Cook Like A Local - Cooking with Chef Jenny Madrigal was so much fun, educa and of course yummy. She had us pounding, chopping, mincing and making tortillas with our hands to create a delicious authentic Costa Rican meal. I would highly recommend this experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Road43428647215
Feb 6, 2025
Cooking Class, Jacamar Tours, Costa Rica - it was an amazing cooking class. It happened to be only my husband and I. We did not know what to expect and exceeded our expectations. Our itinerary listed the traditional Costa Rican cuisine that we would learn how to cook. As soon as we arrived, we were put to work under a supervision of the lady chef. We learned how to prepare a traditional vegetable salad; home-made plantain and yuca (also known as cassava) chips, chicken stew and tortillas -- fresh and so good. I will never buy them in a store again. Our guide Jason helped us communicate with the chef by translating from English to Spanish, making it even more authentic experience. He also gave us a tour of the garden. The cooking class culminated with a delicious lunch of what we had cooked with the chef's help. There was abundance of delicious food. We highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Reena_p
Dec 26, 2024
Was great experience and... - Was great experience and recipe was also shared via email. We also Enjoyed the food we cooked for dinner.
Review provided by Viator
Lindsey
Dec 14, 2024
Cooking Class With Kathy A. - Enjoyed local cooking class with Kathy A, the meal and cocktail were delicious. Kathy and her staff did their best to keep everyone engaged, while at times only a few had “assigned tasks”. The amount of “work” a person does in this class will depend on the class size, when I attended there were roughly 16 people in attendance. During these lulls she did a great job educating the group on local cuisine and customs. I highly recommend this experience as a way to immerse yourself in the local culture while in La Fortuna.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Monicafh3774fb
Dec 13, 2024
So much fun! And yummy! - This was a fantastic experience. We had so much fun! The food was delicious! Not only learning about the food and cooking culture but having many laughs along the way! It was definitely a great evening and I highly recommend booking.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Voyager34087911567
Aug 21, 2024
Great for teens - My wife and I found the cooking class to be pretty elementary, particularly for the cost, but our kids found it to be one of the highlights of the trip. The fact that it got the five of us around the same table doing (relatively) the same thing and chatting all the way was worth it in and of itself. The end result was tasty too!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G1791glamyb
Jul 31, 2024
Culture and Tasty Food - If you want to learn a little about the Costa Rican culture and learn to cook some great food this is a wonderful class. Katherine did a great job helping us cook and teaching us about traditional food in Costa Rica. Even our teen boys enjoyed the class. The food was really good too!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susanhi4434jn
Jan 14, 2025
good instructor and the food was good - Was not as expected - its open air and it was just the two of us. I thought the space was somewhat unsanitary with only a small sink and no hot water. Our instructor was great - we learned a lot about the local customs. We loved our food as well. While we were eating they pulled up a van and started to clean it right next to where we were eating - not a very nice ambiance. The driver to and from was a bit rough and I was a bit nervous on the drive. We ere supposed to receive the recipes but never did.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $63
up to 9 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).