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Pura Vida Cooking Class in La Fortuna: Learn to Prepare Traditional Costa Rican Cuisine
5.0
49 Ratings
La Fortuna
Immerse yourself in the flavors of Costa Rica with our Pura Vida Cooking Class in La Fortuna. Learn to prepare traditional Costa Rican cuisine and take home new recipes to share with your loved ones.
Immerse yourself in the flavors of Costa Rica with our Pura Vida Cooking Class in La Fortuna. Learn to prepare traditional Costa Rican cuisine and take home new recipes to share with your loved ones.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- La Finquita from Farm to Table - After picking you up at your hotel, we will take a short drive to “La Finquita”, named for the small self-sufficient farms that are predominant throughout the region. A walk through the farm will show you how our food goes from the field to the table. Together we will gather in-season crops that will allow us to…
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La Finquita from Farm to Table - After picking you up at your hotel, we will take a short drive to “La Finquita”, named for the small self-sufficient farms that are predominant throughout the region. A walk through the farm will show you how our food goes from the field to the table. Together we will gather in-season crops that will allow us to create an open book of recipes, awakening your imagination and creativity.
Morning tours may include preparing a delicious “Gallo Pinto”, our traditional breakfast, which is a combination of rice, beans, special sauces, garlic, onions, and diced sweet peppers. In addition, you can try to make handmade corn tortillas, and turnovers filled with plantains, cheese, beans, or beef.
If you join us for a lunchtime tour, we can prepare Annatto Chicken, which is an easy dish that your family will love. Later in the afternoon, we may prepare a hash of diced fresh vegetables and other “secret” ingredients to accompany our coffee, or perhaps some “Patacones” (deep-fried green plantains) o yucca chips with refried beans or pico de gallo. Once we decide on the recipe of choice, we will get right to work.
Of course, we can’t end without also preparing a special dessert! Bon Appetit!
What's Included
- Fresh ingredients to pick up
- Apron
- Fresh ingredients to pick up
- Apron
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic beverages
- Alcoholic beverages
Meal Options
- Yuca Chips
- Gallo Pinto - our traditional breakfast, which is a combination of rice, beans, special sauces, garlic, onions, and diced sweet peppers.
- Patacones
- Annatto Chicken
- Yuca Chips
- Gallo Pinto - our traditional breakfast, which is a combination of rice, beans, special sauces, garlic, onions, and diced sweet peppers.
- Patacones
- Annatto Chicken
Additional Information
As a conscientious traveller, you should endeavor to ‘Master the art of local culinary preparation.’ Visiting a new nation requires a deep dive into their dietary culture and common dishes, as what we consume greatly impacts who we are. The key to understanding Costa Ricans is by engaging in traditional cooking lessons. Join us in exploring the culinary…
As a conscientious traveller, you should endeavor to ‘Master the art of local culinary preparation.’ Visiting a new nation requires a deep dive into their dietary culture and common dishes, as what we consume greatly impacts who we are. The key to understanding Costa Ricans is by engaging in traditional cooking lessons. Join us in exploring the culinary wonders of Costa Rica. Enjoy an enlightening tour that provides you with exotic recipes to take back and recreate for your loved ones.
- Minimum drinking age is 18 years
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
- If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know when booking
Location
Jacamar Naturalist Tours
Main Office is located upstairs of Lava Rocks Restaurant, beside La Fortuna Church.
La Fortuna, San Carlos, Alajuela.
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
5.0
(49 Ratings)
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Lisa_n
Apr 9, 2025
Excellent! Educational and delicious! - Wow! What a great experience! Our group (of six) all agreed that of the activities we’ve done on this trip to Costa Rica, this is one of the best! Our host, Diego, started us off with a tour of their organic farm, explaining which crops are grown and how they manage them including pineapple, banana, plantains, peppers, peppercorn, a variety of herbs and spices, collecting the ones we needed for our meal. We harvested yuca root, a new experience for us. We then prepared (under guidance of the chef, Marcella) pico de gallo, plantain chips (patacones) made our own flour tortillas, and a delicious local chicken dish. The resulting food was delicious and plentiful. The beautiful outdoor venue and wood burning stove completed a unique experience. The souvenir aprons will bring back many happy memories, and we’ve already started incorporating techniques and spices from our class.
Review provided by Viator
Journey26768798974
Mar 16, 2025
Wonderful Costa Rican cooking experience - AMAZING experience! Kevin and Angela were so welcoming! We had a wonderful time learning about Costa Rican food and the best part was cooking and eating!!! Thank you for an amazing time! Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Newyorkmeri
Mar 5, 2025
Simple, Fun and Delicious - We felt so welcome at the farm and in the kitchen. We were surrounded by colorful birds and flowers. The vibe was supportive, interactive and fun. Getting to walk the farm and learn about local ingredients and agriculture was a treat. The food we made was so good I'm having a hard time recreating it at home without the fabulous local ingredients and loving vibes!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katvg
Feb 22, 2025
Fun & delicious experience - Got to pick the herbs used for the recipes, chop everything for pico de gallo, smash plantains to make patacones, and make fresh tortillas. The farm is a beautiful setting & we saw many birds including 2 toucans. Nelson (guide & translator) & Alicia (chef) were fun & friendly.
My only wish is to have the recipe info.
(Cross-posted on Google Maps)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lois_e
Jan 21, 2025
Top Notch Experience - Melody was so informative about the organic farm and regenerative farming and it was fun to use a machete and gather ingredients for our meal!
Review provided by Viator
Melissa_b
Jan 16, 2025
Don't miss out on this awesome experience! - This tour was prenominal. My friend and I loved it so much! Pick up was on-time and a comfortable drive to the farm. Melanie was a spectacular guide. We loved chatting with her and learning about the finca and the sustainable farming practices they utilize. Anna was the chef that we worked with and she was so much fun and ensured we made a delicious meal. It was so great to learn about traditional ingredients and cooking methods. We also saw wildlife on the farm which was fun too. We highly recommend this experience!
Review provided by Viator
Injoy2911
Nov 8, 2024
Delicioso! - Our tour started with included transportation from our hotel. We then got to do a small tour of the farm, which included harvesting yucca, oregano, peppers, and culantro. During the tour/harvest, we saw toucans and heard howler monkeys. We then moved into a beautiful open air kitchen. The food was delicious, and the chef and guides were so nice! David, Alicia, Oscar, and several other staff were outstanding! We highly recommend this experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scarlettoxx
Oct 4, 2024
What A Fabulous Experience! - My girlfriends and I were in Costa Rica last week and we took the Pura Vida cooking class. It was wonderful! Our tour guide was Hellen (with 2 L's) and she was sensational! Hellen not only took us on the tour, but she explained what was growing, how they grow it, how it's harvested, and she also had a wealth of knowledge about the history of the area, how the farm started, and on and on and on! We picked some of the food we were going to cook. One of us even used the machete to cut the casava! Hellen was an absolute delight and we enjoyed every minute with her.
Now for the cooking class… we were there for the lunch class Our two cooks were Angela and Anna. We called them our "chica chefs" and we all laughed at that! We washed, cut, and chopped the vegetables. Angela taught us how to make corn tortillas. We learned when you're cutting onions to quarter the onion first and put it in water for a minute or so. This soaks away what causes your eyes to water and low and behold… It works! We learned in Spanish lemons are called. Limes and limes are called lemons. We learned that the lemons in Costa Rica were far juicier than anything we get here in the States. We learn to marinate chicken in lemon juice, onion, and salt before cooking and we learned that the cilantro that grows in Costa Rica is much milder than that in the United States!
If you're going to Costa Rica and you're in this area, I would highly, highly recommend this cooking class! It is an experience in itself! And I would also recommend requesting Hellen for your tour guide. You will not be sorry! Pura Vida!!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
40adibh
Aug 25, 2024
Amazing Experience! - Christopher & Christine were amazing!! They were very hospitable and knowledgeable about everything food in Costa Rica and more. Wife and I Had such a fun time during this session!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tempexplorer
Apr 15, 2025
Pricey and interesting AND tasty - This was a really informative and unique experience, but a little too expensive. Per person, it was the most expensive thing we did in Costa Rica... more than ziplining, a river safari, or kayaking. The farm tour was insightful, the cooking with strangers was fun, and there was a diversity of things to eat. Note that you can't drive yourself to the farm for some reason - they only allow people to be shuttled from their (Jacamar Tours) office. Also, this experience is less expensive if you book directly with Jacamar.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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