Private Tour
Private Pre-Hispanic Cooking Class in Mexico City with Martha
Overview
Available languages
2 hours
Mobile ticket
Enjoy a private and authentic cooking class in a local home with host Martha who lived abroad for 35 years in 11 countries and took cooking courses in each of these countries to learn a new cuisine and develop new cooking skills. This is a perfect experience for anyone looking to connect with local culture over food. Your cooking class will take place in a local home kitchen where Martha will teach you how to make 2-3 traditional Spanish dishes from their family recipes. After cooking, you will enjoy your meal together in your hosts' Mexican home.
• Cooking lesson in a local home
• Introduction to Mexico's culture and cuisine
• 100% private activity
• Experience Mexican hospitality in a residential neighborhood
• Vegetarian options available
• If you choose the market tour grade option, your experience will include a visit to the local market where your host will introduce you to her favored vendors and together you will purchase a few ingredients for your cooking class
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Join Martha in her beautiful home west of Mexico City for a hands-on Mexican cooking class. During this 1.5-hour cultural and culinary experience, prepare an appetizer and main dish from scratch while learning authentic pre-Hispanic recipes, cooking tips, and family traditions from her Chihuahua roots. After cooking, sit down at her artfully set table and enjoy the dishes you’ve made, from sopecitos de pollo to cochinita pibil, finished with traditional Mexican desserts. Optional: explore a local market during a 1-hour guided tour with Martha to discover fresh ingredients and meet her favorite vendors. Perfect for food lovers and travelers eager to cook like a local in an intimate home setting.
Sample Menu
starter
Sopecitos de pollo (chicken sopes with beans)
OR Tlacoyos de frijoles (similar to corn tortillas stuffed with cooked ground beans and cheese)
main
Cochinita pibil (Yucatán-Style barbecued pork)
OR Rajas poblanas con crema (roasted Poblano peppers in a cream sauce)
main
Arroz Mexicano rojo (red rice)
OR Frijoles charros (pinto beans stewed with onion, garlic, and bacon)
dessert
Flan and arroz con leche (rice pudding plan) or Capirotada (bread pudding)
What‘s Included
Private cooking class with your host Martha
Alcoholic Beverages
If you choose the "market + cooking" tour grade option, your experience includes a market tour
Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Options
Market, cooking and dinner
Cooking class and dinner
Cooking class and lunch
Market, cooking and lunch
Reviews
22 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Wonderful, in-home cooking experience
jackiepS6081YS,Mar 6, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Wonderful experience! Martha was a fantastic host -- warm and welcoming, great instructor, provided some history about the dishes, etc. The experience of making dinner in a home can't be beat, and of course the food was fantastic. Highly recommend to anyone visiting or living here in Mexico City.
Cooking and Conversation with new friends!
392karenc,Mar 4, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our time spent with Martha and her husband was so delightful. It was as if we were visiting old friends! We first went to the Mercado Argentine to meet some of Martha’s favourite vendors and to purchase the squash flowers needed for the soup. Back in the kitchen we chopped onions, mushrooms and prepped roasted poblanos as Martha roasted tomatoes and dried peppers on the comal for the soup. Martha showed us how to make her version of guacamole served with crickets and chips so that we had a snack while the soup and chorizo and pork stews simmered. Lunch was rounded out with nopales in verde sauce, tortillas stuffed with Huitlacoche and Mexican rice! A feast! Best of all Martha and Arturo were the perfect hosts. We were welcomed into their beautiful home and the conversation was so interesting and easy. We learned so much about Mexican contemporary life while eating foods that predate colonialism. And as good hosts /friends they showed interest in our lives in Canada as well. This was our first time with Travelling Spoon and we are keen to try it again on our next trip but also a bit hesitant - Martha set the bar very high!
Amazing Experience Cooking w/ Marta!!!
Marcos S,Mar 4, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Stop everything and book Marta's cooking class RIGHT NOW! Seriously, whatever you have planned for your Mexico City trip, shuffle it around and make this happen because you will thank yourself forever. Marta and her family are incredibly hospitable and so much fun to spend an evening with. We cooked stunning, authentic Mexican dishes using local ingredients, and ate like royalty! Drinks, food, and memories that will last a lifetime? Yes, yes, and yes! This is Mexico City at its absolute finest. Do not miss it!
A memorable and delicious experience!
Fearless16804700314,Feb 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We loved our experience with Martha and her husband Arturo. Highly recommended. The visit to the Mercado Argentina was great - not crowded, spectacular displays of traditional Mexican foods, and Martha showed us many products we'd never seen. Our food prep back at Martha and Arturo's house was fun, and we learned lots along the way. And what a feast it was, a wide variety of Mexican dishes. If you're staying in Roma or Condessa, it's an easy uber ride to Martha and Arturo's house.
Memorable Mexico City experience!
CalvinJ470,Nov 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a great time cooking with Martha! She was fun, welcoming and hospitable. We appreciate you sharing your cooking with us!
This cooking experience was a highlight of our vacation!
melissasB1709TW,Sep 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our market and cooking experience with Martha was fantastic! She and her husband Arturo welcomed us into their home which was full of exquisite decor from their travels abroad. They drove us to the market where she taught us about different local ingredients and purchased some for our meal. At home, we helped cook a chicken mole, learned how to handmake tortillas for squash blossom quesadillas, and prepared a fresh guacamole complete with a local delicacy of crickets (which I'm sure is optional, but we are adventurous). There was plenty of wine, tequila, and snacks before dinner and a beautiful seated meal with Martha and Arturo (who loved to curate the music). Martha made her grandmother's flan recipe which was a highlight of dessert. We all left stuffed and happy to have made wonderful new friends in Mexico City!
Wonderful cooking and dining experience!
Dream642922,Aug 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Shopping in the market and cooking with Martha was one of the highlights on our spectacular trip to Mexico City. Martha was extremely considerate in putting together a delicious vegetarian meal that we could all cook together. She explained Mexican cooking techniques and flavors as we chopped vegetables and pressed tortillas. She and her husband, Arturo, welcomed us into their beautiful home and our 4 and a half hours together flew by. Our teen, a picky eater, declared that this was the best meal ever! Thank you, Martha and Arturo!
This experience was so...
Georgia T,Jul 22, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00This experience was so special! I would definitely recommened to anyone! For starters, Martha is a wonderful, sweet, and very welcoming woman who made me feel right at home in her home and helped me learn so much about how to cook authentic Mexican dishes. We had such a wonderful time together, from venturing through the market and buying ingredients, preparing many delicious dishes, and eating our creations together at her beautifully set table.
Cooking with Family
A2751CXjimb,Jul 18, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Martha was a wonderful host and teacher. She embraced our family of four and engaged beautifully with our two teenagers. She got us all involved in the cooking and the outcome of our cooking was delicious. Her husband Arturo joined us, and as dog lovers we welcomed their pup into our shared space. It felt like cooking at home with family. It was a great time and one of our highlights of our week in CDMX! Thank you, Martha!
Great Time Learning About Pre-Hispanic Cooking with Martha
sblanch857,Jul 16, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Cooking with Martha is a must do! From the communication beforehand to her knowledge during, it was so much fun and welcoming to cook in her beautiful home. She provides both pre-Hispanic and modern cuisine to satisfy a variety of taste profiles. I would suggest that you also get the alcohol option. The tequila and wine pairings were excellent. Please make your reservation with Martha and Betsy (her assistant) and try the well seasoned crickets!!
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