Cooking Class in Quito with Chef, Market Tour and Transportation

Recommended by 97% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Quito, Ecuador

Great choice

5+ bookings last month.

4 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9

· Mackenzie_N ·

Aug 2026

10/10 experience. My friend and I really enjoyed visiting the market, trying some different fruits. Then the cooking portion was so much fun! They gave us recipes I will absolutely be recreating for my family when I return home. The food was amazing and we got to take home what we didn't finish. Absolutely recommend!

· Sophie_H ·

Jun 2026

We 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.

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Overview

A new place offers so many new experiences but when you go home, all you have is the pictures of your time there. This Quito Cooking Class and Market Tour with Professional Chef lets you bring home much more than just photos, as you'll learn to make traditional recipes with a gourmet twist in old town Quito.

Go on a tour in Quito's Central Market while you pick up fresh produce
Enjoy a cooking class in the heart of historic Quito in a colonial building
Learn to make three traditional dishes of Ecuador with recipes to take home
A morning start time leave your evening free for other plans

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.

What's Included

Lunch
Tour of Central Market and Cooking Class
Apron and chef hat for use during cooking class
Soda/Pop

Local Fruit Juice
Recipes
Private transportation

Pick-up in urban Quito is included

Extra food and drinks not mentioned on itinerary
Tips for the chef/guide
Return transportation can be arranged but is not included

$5.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

We can pick you up from a hotel in urban Quito. If you are staying in the Historic Center at a hard to reach area we will ask you go to a meeting point. If you are staying close to the airport please let us know and we can have you meet us at the JW Marriott or we can arrange for a pick-up service.

What To Expect

Mercado Central

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed

Infants must sit on laps
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 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

Holly_B

This cooking class was phenomenal. My best friend and I learned alot. We also had alot of fun. The potato soup and ceviche was sooooo good. An awakening of the taste buds. One of the highlights was going to the market, where we learned about different fruits.

Reviews

4.9

based on 234 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Sort by: Most recent

I was hoping this would...

Rachel_J, Aug 2026

I was hoping this would be a more interactive cooking class. We didn’t really do any of the prep or cooking ourselves. We mostly watched. But did enjoy the market tour and the lunch we ate.

Response from Host, Sep 2026

I'm sorry you thought the class was not interactive enough we always get great reviews about how involved and engaging the class is but I guess you didn't think so. Thanks for your suggestion we will keep it in mind.

Wonderful Experience

Rachel_B, Aug 2026

We had an amazing afternoon with Margola, Sylvia and Andres as they shared their love and knowledge of local foods, customs and culture. We enjoyed the visit to the central market and learning about and tasting native fruits. The cooking class was amazing. We learned so much about local dishes, ingredients and cooking techniques. The dishes we learned to make were delicious and they were able to accommodate for one of our group who is vegan. We would definitely recommend this experience!

Response from Host, Sep 2026

Hi Rachel, thanks for the amazing review! The whole gang had a blast with y'all. Cheers!

10/10 experience. My...

Mackenzie_N, Aug 2026

Response from Host, Aug 2026

Hi Mackenzie (cool name :) Thanks for the amazing review. Im so happy you had a blast during your cooking class experience. I really enjoyed touring the market with you gals and its great to hear you had a fantastic experience with the cooking class as well. Cheers!

Great experience

Jeff_S, Jul 2026

Very interesting tour of the market. Great experience in participating of making lunch, typical for Ecuador. Great people, great food.

Response from Host, Jul 2026

Hi Jeff, thanks for the amazing review. It was great meeting y'all at the market and the ladies had a blast with the group at the cooking class. Cheers!

The hostess and chef was...

Peter_W, Jul 2026

The hostess and chef was amazing and really interesting. Would highly recommend. Ceviche was lovely too!

Response from Host, Jul 2026

Hi Peter thanks for the wonderful review. It was great meeting y'all and congrats on the recent nuptials :) Hope you had a safe return home and were able to see some of the highlights of the England match. On Sunday all Ecuador will be rooting for England!!! Cheers

Fun Way To Learn About Local Food

Sophie_H, Jun 2026

Response from Host, Jun 2026

Hi Sophie, thanks for the wonderful review. I'm happy you had a great cooking class. Cheers!

Precise, personal and...

Kevin_C, May 2026

Precise, 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.

Response from Host, May 2026

Hi Kevin, thanks for your wonderful review! The whole gang had a blast with y'all. Hope you had a great time in Ecuador. Cheers!

Great Food Experience!

Carly_B, Apr 2026

We 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 😊

Response from Host, Apr 2026

Hi Carly, thanks for the 10/10 review! I had a great time meeting y'all during the market tour. And the ladies had a blast with y'all. Cheers!

It is well worth doing....

Neil_B, Mar 2026

It 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

Response from Host, Mar 2026

Hi Neil, thanks for your great review. I enjoyed meeting y'all at the market and the ladies had a blast with you. Hope you had a great time in Galapagos. Cheers!

Authentic Ecuadorian homestyle cooking class

Julane_A, Mar 2026

We 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.

Response from Host, Mar 2026

Hi Julane, Im so happy you enjoyed your cooking class with the ladies. They had a blast with y'all. Hope you have a wonderful time in Galapagos. Cheers!

Fresh take on cooking!

David_D, Feb 2026

After 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

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Hi David, thanks for the amazing review. I had a great time with you guys at the market and the ladies enjoyed their time with y'all. Have a great time in Ecuador. Cheers!

Excellent cooking class...

Peter_O, Feb 2026

Excellent cooking class experience with chef Margola and sous chef Sylvia. Andres picked us up at our hotel and delivered us to the class. Enjoyed a great meal that we helped prepare and will definitely try her recipes. Highly recommend!!

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Hi Peter, thanks for the great review. The whole gang had a great time with your group :) Hope you had a great time in Galapagos and Ecuador as a whole. Cheers!

Highly recommend!!

Hayley_M, Feb 2026

So much fun! My husband and I highly recommend this cooking class and market tour while in Quito. We learned so much and had so much fun. The food was fantastic and everyone was so kind. They went above and beyond and helped us navigate the metro to our next hotel after the class. Such a wonderful experience!

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Hi Hayley, thanks for the wonderful review! I had a blast with you guys at the market. Im so happy you enjoyed your time with the girls at the cooking class and were able to experience the metro/subway in Quito for your return. The subway is fantastic. Cheers!

A wonderful way to connect with local culture and people

Hayley_H, Jan 2026

This was one of our favorite experiences of our Quito trip. The guides were very kind and treated us like family in their home. The menu we prepared was designed in a way that most or all of the ingredients were easily found at home, which I really appreciated.

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Hi Hayley, thanks for the amazing review! I had a blast meeting you and your hubby "Unc" LOL. So happy you had a great time with the whole gang. Hope your time in Ecuador was fantastic. If you're ever back don't hesitate to get in touch. Cheers!

Great for families with kids

Taharka_M, Jan 2026

Great tour! Took my niece and nephew, it was great to see the market and to learn how to make shrimp ceviche and potato soup

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Thanks so much for the amazing review! I had a blast at the market as did the ladies with y'all during the cooking class. Happy you had a great day. Cheers!

Wonderful authentic experience

Karen_M, Jan 2026

The chef Magola 17 was a wonderful woman who taught us about the food of Ecuador, as well as how to make the specific dishes that we made for our lunch and at the same time imparted lots of information about the culture of Quito

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Hi Karen, thanks for your amazing review. I'm so happy you had a great time with Magola she is great! Cheers!

Great experience! Very...

Jared_C, Dec 2025

Great experience! Very cool market and really good food. The hosts were great and helped us take the metro to our next destination. 10/10.

Response from Host, Dec 2025

Hi Jared, so happy you had a great time on your cooking class. Thanks for the great review. Cheers!

Great time playing with food!

Eric_P, Dec 2025

Lovely people! What a fun time! Learned about Ecuadorean food culture and learned how to make some great dishes.

Response from Host, Dec 2025

Hi Eric, thanks for the great review! It was great meeting you and your wife during the market visit. The girls at the cooking class send their hellos. Hope you had a safe return. Cheers!

Fun experience!

Jennifer_B, Dec 2025

This cooking class was wonderful. The chefs were super sweet and you could see the passion in their job. I would recommend to anyone looking for a fun experience in the city.

Response from Host, Dec 2025

Hi Jennifer, thanks for your great review! I had a great time with you guys at the market and the girls had a blast during the cooking class. Cheers!

A great opportunity to learn about traditional Ecuadorian cuisine!

Gary_V, Nov 2025

Our cooking class was everything we had hoped for, and more! Andre took us through the market where we saw the many vendors of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. We sampled some delicious examples of Ecuadorian fruits. Exotic to us ... and delicious. We then moved to the cooking class, where Silvia and Chef Magola explained to us the cooking traditions of Ecuador and guided us through the preparation of a delicious lunch. Simple, fresh ingredients and simple ( and surprisingly quick) cooking methods combined to create a wonderful and very healthy meal! We left with delicious memories and recipes to try at home. Thank you, Andres, Silvia and Chef Magola for creating such an exceptional experience for us!

Response from Host, Nov 2025

Hi Gary thanks for the amazing review. The ladies had a great time with y'all. I enjoyed meeting you at the market too.

Excellent experience with...

Anonymous, Oct 2025

Excellent experience with Andres, his wife, Silvia and their friend. They are very friendly and warm people and make the whole experience very personal. The market tour with Andres was most interesting, learning about their fruits, vegetables, legumes, herbs, poultry etc. The cooking experience was with 2 ladies in a lovely old house in the old town. While the experience is not that hands on (the ladies did the cooking, while we chopped a few things and observe), it was still very nice and cosy. The ladies chatted like friends throughout and we did learn a lot!

Response from Host, Oct 2025

Hello there, thanks for your great review. Im happy you had a great time at the market and with the ladies at the cooking class. Cheers!

Great cooking class.

Holly_B, Sep 2025

Response from Host, Sep 2025

Hi Holly, thanks for the amazing review! I had a blast with y'all at the market. So happy you had a phenomenal time during the cooking class :) Cheers!

Lovely private cooking class with very tasty food!

Christopher_M, Aug 2025

My husband and I were looking for a small cooking class and if you are interested in the same I would highly recommend this one if you are in Quito! It ended up being just us two which was great. Apparently they like to keep the groups small as well. Andres picked us up from our hotel in the morning. There are multiple times to choose from which was nice if you want an early start or a bit later. He toured us around the market, we sampled fruits and juice and herbs. Then we went to a small kitchen in the old downtown area and cooked with his wife and her friend. It’s situated next to a peaceful, quiet little courtyard with a water fountain. I’m not sure if the dishes vary depending on the day but we made a hot fruit drink, ceviche, potato soup, snacks and fried plantains. All of the food was so tasty and could be seasoned more or less to our liking. The best part was being able to ask questions and make conversation. And of course the final lunch at the end! Certainly take a few hours of your time to try this and take home some easy to replicate recipes!

Response from Host, Aug 2025

Hi Christopher, thanks for the amazing review😃 we had a great time with you guys. Have fun in Sacha

So glad we did this class!

Kathryn_A, Aug 2025

We had a really amazing time, thanks to Andras, Silvia & Manila!! We got to tour the market with Andras seeing lots of fruits & vegetables they have & wish we did too at our neighborhood market in Utah! Then we learned to cook several fun recipes AND we will be able to make them for our friends at home! It was a great time learning about the foods of Ecuador! Be sure to do this class in a wonderful place in the historic area while you are in Quitos!

Response from Host, Aug 2025

Hi Kathyn, thanks for your awesome review! I had a blast with y'all at the market as did the ladies at the cooking class. Hope you had a great time in Ecuador.

Fantastic cooking class!

Angie_A, Jul 2025

Great cooking class learning about traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. Some hands on interaction with 2 wonderful chefs.

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Hi Angie, thanks for your great review! We all had a great time with you at the market first and then during the cooking class. Hope you had a wonderful time in Ecuador. Cheers!

Great experience!

william_c, Jul 2025

The market tour was exactly what I was looking for. Andres showed me local and indigenous fruits and produce that I have never seen before. The home-cooking class was great and I am looking to incorporate some of the dishes and ingredients into my own cooking. This experience was well coordinated and they even helped me with arranging transport back to the airport. Thank you!

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Hi William, thanks for the amazing review! It was awesome hanging out with you at the market and I'm so happy you had a great time with the ladies at the cooking class. Cheers!

Fun and delicious cooking class

Lyndall_R, Jun 2025

Very informative and tasty visit to the market and then great fun with Silvia and Majola learning to cook some Ecuadorian specialities. Delicious

Response from Host, Jun 2025

Hi guys thanks for the wonderful review. The whole gang had a blast with y'all. Cheers!

More than just a cooking class!

Carolyn_R, May 2025

A wonderful way to immerse yourself in the local culture to learn about typical meals and preparation. Also sampled a variety of fruits common to Ecuador. After dining on potato soup and shrimp ceviche we had helped prepare, we felt like we were having to leave the embrace of cherished friends.

Response from Host, May 2025

Hi Carolyn, thanks for the good review. We all had a great time during the market visit and at the cooking class. You guys were cool.

Loved it!

Jennifer_A, May 2025

We had a great time! The market tour was informative and he bought me some of my favorite south American fruit. The cookies class was fun and tasty. The woman who taught it make you feel like family. Highly recommend.

Response from Host, May 2025

Hi Jennifer, thanks for your fantastic review. I had a blast with y'all at the market and heard the cooking gals really enjoyed meeting you as well. Hope you had a wonderful time in Ecuador. Cheers!

excellent experience in Ecuadorian cooking

Mary_C, May 2025

great experience- we went to a market to pick up the ingredients- great explanations of all local fruits and veggies. we got to taste some. then we went to a beautiful 309 year old location to cook with 2 wonderful ladies who taught us about authentic Ecuadorian cooking. they made is easy to duplicate and the dishes were healthy. they made a great drink from native fruits. a delicious potato leek soup, and shrimp ceviche. everything was out of this world delicious! i would highly recommend this tour.

Response from Host, May 2025

Hi Mary, thanks for the wonderful review. We all had a great time with y'all especially the ladies at the cooking class. Hope your time in Ecuador was amazing. Cheers!