Local Flavor Cooking Experience
Shop a local farmers market, pick your own ingredients from an organic garden, then cook a traditional Costa Rican meal with a local family and sit down to eat it together.
* Rack rates before Costa Rica's 13% VAT. Includes hotel pickup & certified bilingual guide. Book now, pay later.
The experience
This is a hands-on food day on the Tucanes family farm in Londres, about 40 minutes up into the hills from Manuel Antonio. It starts at the farmers market in Quepos, where locals buy and sell their produce, so you get a feel for the ingredients before you cook with them.
From there you head to the ranch, walk the organic garden with your hosts, and pick what goes into the meal: cilantro, green onion, tomatoes, and whatever else is in season. Then the local cooks put you to work, and you eat what you make.
The cooks guide you step by step, so no experience is needed. You shape corn tortillas by hand, make ceviche with plantain or banana, cook rice the old-fashioned way, and put together picadillos, minced vegetables and meat with spices. The dishes change with the season and what the garden is giving that week.
When it is ready, you sit down and eat the meal you cooked, and you leave with the recipes so you can make it again at home. If the weather is good, there is time afterward to wander the ranch or cool off in the Naranjo River. For the full farm day, pair this with our Chocolate, Coffee & Spice Tour, which runs on the same property.
Highlights
- A morning stop at the Quepos farmers market
- Picking your own herbs and vegetables from the organic garden
- Hands-on cooking of traditional dishes: corn tortillas, ceviche, tomato-based mains, and picadillos
- A sit-down meal of everything you prepared, with an organic glass of wine from the farm
- Farm animals to meet: goats, turkeys, ducks, geese, cows, peacocks, and more
- Time to relax by the Naranjo River afterward, weather permitting
What's included
- Round-trip hotel pickup and drop-off
- Certified bilingual guide
- A guided market visit and organic garden walk
- The full hands-on cooking class and the meal you prepare
- An organic glass of wine from the farm
What to bring
- Sunscreen and sunglasses
- Hat or visor
- Insect repellent
- Closed comfortable shoes
- Camera
A typical day
- 8:00 AM or 2:00 PM hotel pickup in Manuel Antonio or Quepos
- Stop at the Quepos farmers market
- Drive up to the farm in Londres
- Organic garden walk to gather ingredients
- Hands-on cooking with the local cooks
- Sit down to the meal you made, with a glass of farm wine
- Free time by the ranch or the Naranjo River, weather permitting
- Return drive to your hotel
Departures & pickup
- From Manuel Antonio / Quepos: 8:00 AM or 2:00 PM pickup, about 5.5 hours round trip, from $85 per person.
- From Jacó / Herradura: an earlier pickup and a longer day because of the drive, from $130 per person. Book the Jacó departure.
- The afternoon (with dinner) departure does not run in May, September, October, or November due to weather.
- Vegetarian options are available, and the menu changes with the season. Let us know any dietary needs when you book.
Frequently asked questions
None at all. Everything is guided step by step, and the focus is on the ingredients and techniques, not skill level.
Traditional Costa Rican home cooking: corn tortillas, ceviche, rice, a tomato-based main, and picadillos. The exact menu changes with the season, and you eat what you make.
Yes. Let us know at booking and the menu is adjusted.
About 5.5 hours door to door from Manuel Antonio, including the drive, the market stop, the cooking, and the meal.
Yes. You leave with written recipes for everything you prepared.
Manuel Antonio and Quepos hotels for the standard departure, and Jacó and Herradura as well. Tell us where you are staying and we will confirm your pickup.
Ready to book Local Flavor Cooking Experience?
Free hotel pickup, certified bilingual guides, book now and pay later.
Prefer just your group? Take this tour private →
