Cooking Class "Cook Like a Local" La Fortuna

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La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Great choice

5+ bookings last month.

2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Get a taste of authentic Costa Rican life and cuisine as you join a local family for a cooking class and home-style meal. Along with a guide, visit the home of your hosts outside of La Fortuna and learn about household customs and cooking techniques for a cultural experience that takes you well beyond just dining out. Join in the preparation of a typical meal, and then savor the fruits of your labor alongside new friends.

A unique experience: Cook and eat with a Costa Rican family in their home
Learn how to make authentic Costa Rican dishes at home
Hotel pickup and drop-off mean you don’t need to find a meeting point
Visit a garden and pick vegetables for a fresh salad

Sample Menu

Main

Casado

You’ll be gathering all of the farm fresh ingredients and chopping up vegetables from local providers and creating a delicious “Casado” meal.

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Cooking class
Dinner

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

We can pick you up from your La Fortuna hotel or you can meet at our office in downtown La Fortuna, 100 meters West of the Central Park on the west side of the Church. The Coking Class takes place at our exclusive riverside location at Hunters and Gatherers. Returns to original departure point at approximately 8pm

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.5:00 pm

What To Expect

We'll pick you up from your hotel and drive to a hidden spot next to the enchanting El Salto waterfall near downtown La Fortuna. Upon arrival to your Costa Rica Cooking Class, you'll learn about the farm where the fresh cooking ingredients come from. You'll get an understanding of what it takes to get the food from the farm to the table.

To get started, you'll try your hand at mixing a delicious tropical Costa Rican cocktail we call the “Kiss of the Cacique!” You will then start the cooking process of a traditional Costa Rican “Casado.” Get ready to chop as you learn how to cook up some Tico-style "picadillos," tortillas and "guisados" for a delicious traditional sit-down meal and plenty of captivating conversation.

After dinner, relax with a cup of coffee, share some recipes and head back to your hotel to dream about the scrumptious food you'll hopefully recreate back home! This is the perfect, interactive Costa Rican Cooking class.

Desafio Adventure Company

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Minimum age is 5 years old.
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed

Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Please let us know if you have any allergies or food restrictions. We have options for gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, etc,
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Amy_H

We loved the Cook Like a Local class in La Fortuna! Kathy was fantastic, guiding our group of nine as we all got hands-on making local specialties. Cooking together and then sharing the meal made it such a fun, memorable experience. Highly recommend!

Reviews

4.5

based on 79 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Wonderful experience

Danita_B, Feb 2026

Have done this twice now. Love that we all prepare The food together. Our instructor is the same one I've had in the past I believe her name was Linda and I just love her.

Cooking Like a Local—So Much Fun!

Amy_H, Feb 2026

Go for it!

Kathleen_S, Dec 2025

Great experience! It was something fun and different to do and you get a great meal at the end of it.

Come with a good...

gayle_R, Aug 2025

Come with a good appetite. We loved sharing this experience with the others signed up for it. Food was basic but very tasty. Host did a great job.

Response from Host, Aug 2025

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We’re so glad to hear you came with a big appetite and enjoyed both the delicious food 😋 and the company of fellow guests 🤝✨. It’s wonderful to know you found the dishes simple yet tasty, and that our host made the experience memorable. 💛 We love creating moments where great flavors and great people come together! 🇨🇷🌴 Pura vida, Desafío Adventure Company 🌋 team

Fun food experience

Jean_K, Jul 2025

This is a hands on activity. You'll get to help prepare all elements of the meal. The ingredients are fresh and local. The dishes are traditional Costa Rican foods. We had a great time. Our instructor, Jenny, explained everything clearly and was very engaging.

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! 😊 We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed the hands-on experience and had fun preparing traditional Costa Rican dishes with fresh, local ingredients 🥘🌿. Jenny will be so happy to know she helped make your time with us memorable — she truly loves sharing our culture in a fun and engaging way 🇨🇷💛. We hope to welcome you back soon for more delicious adventures! 🍽️✨ Pura vida, The Desafío Adventure Company Team

Was great experience and...

Reena_P, Dec 2024

Was great experience and recipe was also shared via email. We also Enjoyed the food we cooked for dinner.

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Hi, Thank you for sharing your experience! 🍳✨ We're so glad you enjoyed the cooking class and the delicious dinner you prepared! 🥗🍽️ It's always a treat to savor something made with your own hands. 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳 We hope the emailed recipe inspires more amazing meals at home! 📧🍲 Let us know if you recreate it—we’d love to hear how it turns out! 🥰 Thanks for joining us, and we look forward to your next culinary adventure! 🌟🍴 #PuraVida Desafío Adventure Company Team

basic cooking class

TracyJo_D, Jun 2024

Very nice cooking class. Instructor was great. It was NOT a farm to table experience. Everything was from the local grocery store.

Great fun for the whole family!

Joy_L, Jul 2023

Kathy was our main person there and she awesome along with her help! We brought all of our teenagers (7 boys and girls) with us, and they loved the whole experience, including getting to eat the traditional Costa Rican meal that they prepared!

The Best

Randy_S, May 2023

Katherine was most kind and personable. She made it simple and delicious. She shared about Costa Rican life and culture and answered ALL our questions so well. Great English skills as well. Thank you, Viator!

COOK LIKE A LOCAL - Not a good experience

amrita_g, Jan 2023

The entire class was not a good experience. The class was supposed to be 3 hrs but it ended it in 1.5 hrs. We cut one vegetable each, and made tortillas. We were not involved any preparation otherwise. The host was not engaged with the group and said she was exhausted as she had been under the weather. The decription mentioned, the class was hosted by a Costa Rican Family but was not true as well. It was 2 young women. The food was basic with limited quantities and there was not enough food for the group and ran out of most food. The host and the helpers ate and left before the our group. We we surprised when they told us in a bit over an hour that we were done We cleaned up the plates, cutlery and stacked in on a trolley outside the kitchen. This is not a experience we expected for the money we paid. We could have gone out to a resultant and had a great meal for the money we spent. We were hoping to have a good fun experience with the kids and learn a new cuisine but it was very disappointing. I would like my money refunded and this review to published.

This is a SCAM

anuja_B, Dec 2022

This is a SCAM. These are following pointers we experienced, then decide whether you want to book it- 1. Class got over in one and half hour which includes our eating/driving time. 2. Chef and the staff left the place before us and we cleaned up. 3. There was very little cooking involved. You just watch them cook and most of the stuff was cooked before hand. I rather go to a restaurant and eat. 4. We were a group of 12 ppl and most of them lost interest in first 15min of the class. Host ate at the same as us and left quickly after eating. There wasn’t enough food left for us. 5. We contacted the host after the event raising my concerns. He was not co operative and was adamant that the event was conducted as per description which is a lie. Highly recommend not to take this tour.

great experience and lots of fun

Max_c, Dec 2022

Great experience! lots of fun! Highly recommend. Well organized, good value for the money. Our whole family enjoyed doing it!

Perfect evening spent cooking, learning, and eating!

Jessica_T, Apr 2022

What a great evening experience to learn to cook a local meal & the history of the dish & ingredients. The venue was very accommodating & clean. Then to try what we made was the best part!

Not as advertised - don't waste your money

Erin_W, Sep 2021

This tour was not the activity that was advertised and paid for. We signed up for a tour advertising a trip to the garden to pick fresh produce while learning about the farm everything came from, going to a local family's house to meet them and learn about cooking and mealtime customs while cooking and eating with them in their home, then learning and trading recipes over coffee after the meal. Not one of these things were a part of this tour, and our guide/cook was not very open to answering questions or discussing traditions, etc. She told us that she was hungover from a party the night before, and did not seem interested in actually teaching us anything. She wasn't even able to tell us what fruit was used to make the juice provided. The "fresh picked produce" was a couple herbs that she cut from a pot sitting nearby the restaurant (not local family home) that we cooked in. The produce was all cleaned, picked, and ready to chop, and she just handed us pieces of things to chop or dump into pots then did the rest herself. It felt like we were completing a "Hello Fresh" meal prep. The food was pretty good, and the cocktail tasted great, but we certainly had better at local restaurants for about $6 compared to the $100 we paid for this. Don't waste your money if you are looking for a true local learning experience.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Hola Erin, Thank you for letting us know about your experience with us. We advertise that our cooking class takes place at our elegant riverside location next to the El Salto waterfall, not at a family’s home. We are sorry for any misunderstanding and that the tour did not meet your expectations. I have also spoken with our staff about your comments to take corrective action. I appreciate your feedback. Wishing you the very best, Christine Larson Co-owner Desafio Adventure Company

Yummy!

naomi_P, Aug 2021

Great food and great teacher. Got the recipe afterwards right away. Very delicious meal that we made!

A Must Do Activity!

Sarah_M, Aug 2021

Such a fun experience! A great option when the weather is unpredictable as it is all covered. The food was delicious and we loved talking with our teacher! I would highly recommend anyone traveling to La Fortuna to take this class.

Great and friendly host

James_B, Apr 2021

Our teaching chef was enthusiastic and energetic even though our group does not have much real cooking talents. We enjoyed learning about the local vegetables and spices. Definitely recommend this for a fun way to have a dinner.

Great teacher, great food!

Alison_H, Feb 2020

This class was wonderful. It was a really hands on experience, our instructor was great, nice facilities, and the food was delicious! Everything was super fresh and locally sourced. I also really appreciated that hotel pickup and drop off was available for this experience. Highly recommend!

Cooking At Another Level

Dandridge_F, Feb 2020

First, the location is amazing! It’s tucked off down a steep hill and opens up to a beautifully lit open kitchen and tables. Our chef & host, Katherine, was amazing. She explained everything we were going to cook and the utensils and ingredients needed... everyone had a job in the preparation. and she was very helpful along the way. My ten year old loved making the salad and vegetables. Finally, the food was DELICIOUS. We received recipes via email and I will definitely make at home!

Wonderful Costa Rican Cooking Experience

Christina_C, Jan 2020

This cooking class was a perfect experience. We made a sugarcane liquor cocktail and casado (chicken, rice and beans, chiramote with corn, a cabbage salad, and handmade corn tortillas. Eli was very knowledgeable instructor. We certainly came hungry and left stuffed!

Wonderful Cultural Experience

Prity_B, Jan 2020

Our family enjoyed an evening of cooking Costa Rican food followed by an hour of learning the local dance. Facilitators were energetic and enthusiastic to share their culture with the attendees.

Good Experience, different than what was advertised though

amitarao, Dec 2019

Overall we had a good experience. We were picked up on time from downtown La Fortuna Desafio Adventures office and dropped off at a "restaurant". Cooked the local food and the guide/chef was great. The tour was advertised as we would meet a local family, pick veggies from their garden for salad and cook at their home - which did not happen. We cooked in a restaurant setting and all veggies were already ready to be cut/cooked. Hence the "poor" rating as we expected a different experience as was advertised but the actual activity was different.

Beautiful relaxing setting and awesome hosts

Christie_F, Sep 2019

We really enjoyed our time here - before, during and after. Our hosts and transport were so friendly. Would come back and do this again. They also offer many other activities.

Cooking Class Fun

Jacob_F, Jun 2019

We were taken to a beautiful house, and hands on when making both the drinks and food. Super delicious and fun as our teacher was helpful and enjoyable!

Fun time.

Marsha E, Sep 2018

We had a good time, four of us went together and there were five more there. We all help in the preparation. It would have been nice if the tables were set in an Lshaoe so we could have all been together during the preparation instead of separating us into 2 groups.

We had a fantastic time learning how...

Mary C, Mar 2015

We had a fantastic time learning how to cook with Antonio and his wife. Our guides were very friendly and helpful everyone was very hospitable. Antonio even let us ride his donkey!