What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• So much fun and so much food!

  Elizabeth H,Mar 7, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Maria took me to the market and then to her house to make ceviche and empanadas. The tour was really fun. We walked around the market ate a whole bunch of different things. Wow this was my second trip to Ecuador, I tasted a whole bunch of different foods that I didn’t taste on the first trip. The vendors were all really nice and willing to hand out samples. Then we went to Maria’s house in the suburbs of Quito and cooked together. She made sure to use ingredients that I could find at home and nothing was extremely complicated such that I couldn’t re-create it with tools I have at home. I did this tour solo, but I think it would be great for couples or families and people of all ages.

  

  

  

  

  

  

• A “must do” in Quito, Ecuador!

  CP111111,Jan 21, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Lovely culinary experience for 3 generations! Excellent hostess and instructor in Maria! Four teenagers enjoyed the entire cooking experience, from cutting the vegetables to crimping the empanadas!

• Private cooking class in a traditional Ecuadorian home

  HorseHawk,May 30, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Maria generously opened her own home and kitchen to my husband and I for this hands-on cooking experience. We learned how to choose green plantains and make cheese stuffed empanadas, which are delicious and healthy - a real game changer if you want to avoid gluten or typical wheat flour doughs. Pressing the empanadas was fun - we have already ordered a tortilla press for our home use and will make this recipe frequently. We also made fresh shrimp ceviche and learned that Ecuadorians cook the shrimp first. Many of the ingredients came from Maria's own backyard, which is an amazing array of fruit trees (50 foot avocado trees!) and herbs. The lemon verbena lemonade was amazing! We had Maria arrange a private ride for us from the Wyndham Quito Airport hotel for a very reasonable extra fee. I highly suggest this, as she lives in a gated community and our driver knew how to get in. The drive was beautiful and interesting - especially the neighboring town with all the guinea pigs hanging on the street. We did not eat any of these, but wow are they huge!

  

  

  

• Excellent

  danlast7,May 3, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  We spent an enjoyable afternoon with Maria. Upon arrival we toured her diverse garden to see some of the ingredients that would be part of our lunch – tree tomatoes, lemon verbena, etc. Her home, in a gated community, is comfortable and authentically decorated. Maria was quickly accommodating to adjust one dish to be vegetarian. She shared tips on making the dishes and provided the recipes to us later that day via WhatsApp. We intentionally scheduled this activity within the first 24 hours of arriving in to Quito. The pace was low-key which helped with our adjustment to the altitude. One day before the tour, she connected with us via WhatsApp and offered to set up a driver between our city hotel and her suburban home. We were grateful for her foresight and accepted her helpful offer. We paid the cost of the driver directly to Maria (in USD cash) when our afternoon was ending. Would recommend for a local, hands-on, slow paced experience.

• Delicious!!

  danielleford04,Jan 1, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  What an incredible time! I was the only one signed up so I got lots of attention and got to learn and try so many things. It was absolutely delicious!

• Very Fun!

  Diego S,Sep 19, 2024

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  I asked Maria to arrange transportation for me from Downtown Quito to her home, and she did so. Her home is in a lovely gated community about 45 minutes outside of Quito. She toured me through her garden, explained some of the ingredients we'd be using, and we prepared ceviche and empanadas! I enjoyed it so much, I've just purchased the ingredients at home to prepare the dishes with my family.

• Awesome cooking class

  Shad D,Sep 17, 2024

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Maria's cooking class was awesome! Very hands on which I liked. Very accommodating of dietary restrictions and we learned easy authentic Ecuadorian recipes to take back home as well as alternatives if we don't have the exact ingredients. Everything came out very tasty!

• Informative and Incredible

  Angie G,Jul 2, 2024

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  So much fun. I learned so much and the recipes we made were very authentic and fresh, yet simple enough that I can easily replicate them at home. Loved my time there.

• Time in Quito well spent

  R6773YPtylera,Jun 25, 2024

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Had a great time going through the market and making ceviche and empanadas. I would 100% recommend this class to anyone in Quito.

• Market visit & cooking class with Maria

  MICHAEL P,Feb 1, 2024

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Had a great day with Maria in Quito visiting a local market and cooking a meal at her home. Maria is super nice, easy to talk with. She picked me up at the hotel and we headed to a local market where she introduced me to the local ingredients and dishes, great experience. She took me to her home to where we prepared together a wonderful meal. If you look for an individual private tour, learn about local cuisines and get an insight in Ecuadorian lifestyle reach out to Maria. I highly recommend her tour

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
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