Cooking Class in Quito with Chef, Market Tour and Transportation
Overview
Available languages
4 hours
Mobile ticket
Andres (the owner) will meet you at your hotel, if your hotel is close to the market we will walk there, if not we will take my comfy SUV. Andres will first take you for a tour in the traditional Central Market and surroundings to hunt for fresh local products that you will use during your cooking class. Then you will head to the restaurant which is located in a beautiful Colonial house in the heart of Old Town Quito. During this tour, you will experience life as a local and will learn how to make 3 traditional dishes, which you can replicate back home. Get ready for a packed day filled with incredible sights, tastes, and smells. And at the end of it all, you will be able to enjoy the delicious meal you cooked. Highly recommended experience!
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
What To Expect
Market Tour Visiting the market in Ecuador is a one-of-a-kind experience! You´ll discover the best smells, tastes, and colors of fruits, vegetables, and spices that will help you create the perfect Ecuadorian meal. Andres will take you on a tour of the Central Market and the surrounding area. Here you will meet the best specialty vendors, the stand that has the freshest vegetables, yesteryear meat vendors, the lady who always has the best fruits, the medicinal herb stand, the mote vendor, the flower girl and an exotic fruit juice stand. The experience starts off by shopping for fresh ingredients and local products, some of which you will not be able to find anywhere else in the world. Cooking Class At the Cooking Class you will meet the Chef, my best friend's mom who will teach you all the local secrets and will tell you the best stories of yesteryear Quito. You will make everything from scratch, chopping, dicing, and cooking like a true local. Time to Eat Once finished in the kitchen, the chef sets a beautiful table and all the hard work pays off. It´s time to enjoy your meal in a Colonial house in the heart of Old Town Quito. Highly recommended experience!
Sample Menu
starter
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.
starter
Quinoa Soup
For those that are lactose intolerant a Quinoa Soup is right up their alley.
main
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)
main
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.
main
Empanadas
Empanadas are such a tasty treat. We can make cheese filled, cheese and onion filled or chicken stew filled empanadas.
main
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.
dessert
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.
dessert
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.
Options
Cooking Class in Quito with Chef, Market Tour and Transportation
Pickup included
What‘s Included
Pick-up in urban Quito is included
Recipes
Apron and chef hat for use during cooking class
Lunch
Tour of Central Market and Cooking Class
Local Fruit Juice
Extra food and drinks not mentioned on itinerary
Tips for the chef/guide
Return transportation can be arranged but is not included
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
226 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Fun Way To Learn About Local Food
Sophie H,Jun 3, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00We enjoyed our cooking experience with Chef Margola and Assistant Sylvia. They showed us each fruit or vegetable in its raw form, explained every step in each recipe, and allowed us to get "hands on" with some of the preparation. Best of all, we had a delicious meal at the end.
Great day
LivetodiveCF,May 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Picked up at hotel (a bit late because of traffic but kept informed). Escorted round market with the very knowledgeable Andre and had delicious juice. Learnt so much about the local produce. Cooking class was lovely, not really possible to be very involved in the actual cooking because there were 4 of us preparing a joint meal, but still very informative. Very tasty nibbles, soup and something based on cornflour cooked on plantain like leaves. Fruit dessert. Highly recommended. All staff were superb
Precise, personal and...
Kevin C,May 6, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Precise, personal and detailed explanation of how to make some traditional dishes. Fascinating visit to a local market. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming Lunch at the end was delicious.
Great Food Experience!
Carly B,Apr 26, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00We 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 😊
It is well worth doing....
Neil B,Mar 25, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00It 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
Authentic Ecuadorian homestyle cooking class
Julane A,Mar 20, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00We 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.
Great experience of Ecuadorian food.
jackiegT4250WD,Mar 1, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We 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!
Perfect afternoon activity to finalize our Ecuador trip
Elizabeth M,Feb 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We 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.
Fantastic experience with local Ecuadoreans
beccybrooks,Feb 21, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We 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.
Fresh take on cooking!
David D,Feb 14, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00After 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
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