Private Tour
Private Puerto Rican Cooking Class in San Juan for Groups
Overview
Available languages
3 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Enjoy a private cooking class in a local San Juan home in a residential neighborhood away from the touristy center. This is a perfect experience for anyone looking to connect with local Puerto Rican culture over food. Your cooking class takes place in a local home kitchen where Yeira will teach you 4-5 traditional Puerto Rican dishes. After cooking, enjoy your meal together with this warm and friendly local, passionate about food and travel. Experience authentic Puerto Rican life and cuisine with your host Yeira as you cook together and dine on authentic family recipes you won't find in restaurants. Yeira is a fun local host with a doctorate in clinical psychology who believes that food and cooking promotes wellness in people! She is excited to share her authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and culture with those visiting her hometown of San Juan.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Private, personalized experience
If any travelers in your party have any allergies, dietary restrictions or cooking preferences please advise at time of booking
Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Menu varies depending on the season and guests' dietary requests
Yeira can host larger groups of up to 30 so if you're interested please contact us
A 1-week cancellation policy applies to this experience. Please cancel at least 7 days in advance to receive a full refund.
What To Expect
This is a unique opportunity to visit the home of a local and explore traditional Puerto Rican culture and cuisine. Yeira welcomes you into her home with a delicious tropical cocktail and then teaches you to cook 4-5 dishes. Your hands-on 2-hour cooking lesson includes cooking demonstrations. A few dishes you might learn to cook are a main such as pollo en salsa criolla (Caribbean style chicken stew) or churrasco (skirt steak) with chimichurri, two side dishes such as arroz con gandules (traditional rice in Puerto Rico with green pigeon peas) or Caribbean style rice and beans, mofongo or yuca al mojo with sofrito (Puerto Rican seasoning), and a dessert. Your meal is served with a fresh salad. The menu varies and is created based on the season, availability of ingredients, and guests' dietary restrictions. Your meal also includes an appetizer that your hosts may have prepared in advance. After cooking, enjoy the dishes you helped prepare on Yeira's beautiful outdoor terrace. At the end of this culinary experience, you will leave with a full stomach, an understanding of Puerto Rican cuisine and culture, two Puerto Rican eBooks to share with your loved ones, and memorable stories!
Sample Menu
starter
Cocktail: Tropical passionfruit cocktail
starter
Tostones con pollo in a Creole sauce
main
Churrasco con chimichurri
Skirt steak served with a herbaceous garlicky sauce
starter
Arroz con frijoles
Caribbean-style rice and beans
starter
Mofongo
Fried and mashed plantains with garlic
starter
Fresh tropical salad
dessert
Quesitos
Puerto Rican cream cheese pastry
What‘s Included
Alcoholic Beverages
All Fees and Taxes
Private Puerto Rican cooking lesson and meal with Yeira
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Options
Cooking class and dinner
Cooking class and lunch
Reviews
54 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Don't Miss This Opportunity!
Traveler12779269102,May 26, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My sister-in-law's parents were from PR but she had only been there a few times as a child. I brought her back, hoping to help her reconnect with her roots. Viviana, a professional chef, spoke not just about PR food but the history and the cultural significance behind it. I could see the impact this had on my sister-in-law as they shared stories of how recipes got passed down through generations. I enjoyed learning about the PR culture and discussing the politics in PR with a local! We both had a wonderful time, learned how to cook some new dishes (which Viviana was gracious to do at our request) and ate great food. Now we can both peel plantains quickly thanks to Viviana!
Amazing night of cooking and fun!
elenatB1038XH,May 19, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Viviana’s cooking class was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Not only was she passionate about cooking, but she also knew extensive knowledge about the history of PR and the history of each dish and ingredient that we used. She was fun, lively, patient, and above all an excellent teacher. What an amazing host and night we had.
A taste of home away from home
maliciousmalina,Apr 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Thank you, Viviana, for your warmth, hospitality, and passion for Puerto Rican cooking! It was our first at-home cooking experience while traveling and we are so thankful to Viviana for opening up her bright, cheerful home to us. The kitchen workshop had more than enough space and we enjoyed learning about the history, culture, and flavors of comida criolla. The process was so smooth-sailing, with a menu based on our preferences and room for a bit of improvisation as well. It was such a treat to share these dishes over the dining table and to have so much food that we were able to enjoy leftovers! It really felt like a bit of home away from home.
Delicious, fun, and unique cooking experience
jongE4711TB,Apr 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00When on vacation to a new area, our family enjoys cooking experiences. This one was particularly unique and fun! Viviana has an amazing cooking studio detached from her home, where there was room for the 4 of us to food prep, learn, and cook. The smells and tastes were delicious. After cooking, it is time to enjoy the food in Viviana's charming home where we enjoyed great conversation and laughs. Having had mofongo several times over the week, this was the best BY FAR. One in our group is dairy-free, which we advised in advance, and Viviana had already made menu & ingredient adjustments. Our mistake -- we should have scheduled this earlier in our trip so that we could have enjoyed all the leftovers!
Private Cooking Class - Favorite Experience when Traveling Abroad
U3053TElindag,Apr 6, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The private cooking class with Chef Viviana was one of our favorite experiences during our stay in Puerto Rico. We enjoyed learning the history and culinary evolution of the locally grown food. It was fun to prepare and blend together the ingredients of a delicious local meal, including sofrito, mofongo, tostones. Viviana also provided us with a list of recommended restaurants that fit to our liking during our stay. We highly recommend Viviana's private cooking class, it is an excellent way to start off your trip when staying in Puerto Rico.
“A Highlight of Our Trip—Perfect for Families!”
RonickaS,Mar 23, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our experience with Viviana in San Juan was absolutely wonderful! She was incredibly warm, welcoming, and especially amazing with our 6-year-old and 4-year-old. Traveling with young kids can be unpredictable, but Viviana was so patient, flexible, and adaptable throughout the entire experience, which made everything feel relaxed and enjoyable. She created such a comfortable and engaging environment for our family, and our kids genuinely had a great time. It didn’t feel like a “tour” at all—it felt like being welcomed into someone’s home and culture in the best way possible. We are so grateful for the experience and would highly recommend Viviana to anyone traveling to San Juan, especially families with young children!
Delicous experience - an absolute must do!
DJTrekkie,Mar 14, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What an amazing and delicious experience! Viviana is a lovely person who guided me and my daughter through an understanding of Puerto Rican food. We prepared a meal of pork chops, rice, mofongo and tostones. She gave us perspective on the history and cultural significance of the foods we were making and we sat down to enjoy the meal with her afterward. She offered us her homemade coquito and it was so delicious, I'm afraid we drank the entire bottle on her! Would definitely recommend this experience with Viviana! My daughter further commented that our meal with her was by far the best food we had on our trip!
Review
S7463VThilarys,Feb 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great experience would definitely do it again! Local fresh ingredients, charming home and workshop and an excellent host make for an amazing experience - definitely recommend.
So glad we included this to our vacation itinerary
cindyk430,Feb 1, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00It was a wonderful experience with Viviana. Definitely would recommend this to anyone. What I always thought was Puerto Rico food was not as flavorful as her recipes. The way she wove the history and culture was again very interesting.
Highlight of our PR Trip
Z6918RSamyw,Jan 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Such an amazing cooking experience with Viviana! Highly recommend to anyone looking to try delicious Puerto Rican food and a fun way to spend a few hours. Viviana was a gracious host at her home and made my daughter and I feel very welcome. Her instructions were clear and the pace was perfect to be able to understand and still ask questions. We would definitely come back in the future and it’s a great value for the tasty lunch you get to have at the end!
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