Cancun Hands-On Mexican Cooking Class

Recommended by 93% of travelers

Cancun, Mexico

3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Uncover the secrets of Mexican cuisine with a hands-on 4-course cooking class in Cancun. Led by an expert local chef, you’ll learn how to prepare iconic dishes using traditional tools like the Molcajete and Comal. Experience the true flavors of Mexico while mastering easy techniques to recreate them at home. Enjoy a private kitchen setting at Cancun's most famous restaurant.

Learn to prepare a 4-course Mexican meal with expert guidance
Taste seasonal fruits and tamales for a local experience
Enjoy a house-made margarita
Experience a private cooking class in Cancun's top restaurant

Sample Menu

Starter

Seasonal Fresh Fruit Tasting

Learn to choose the best fresh fruit in the local market and get a taste of real Mexican fruit.

Starter

Guacamole

Simple, yet difficult to accomplish to perfection, learn how to prepare this avocado and pico de gallo appetizer.

Starter

Handmade tortillas

The secret behind most Mexican dishes

Starter

Refried beans

As good Mexicans, we like beans everywhere!

Main

Sopes

Thick corn base with different stews toppings.

Main

Enchiladas

Rolled up chicken tacos drowned in green or red sauce topped with cream, cheese, and onion.

Dessert

Arroz con leche

Traditional dessert made with rice, milk, and sugar.

Dessert

Margarita

Do we need to describe it?

What's Included

English speaking local chef (guide)
Food tasting
4-course hands-on cooking class
Drink including margarita.

Extra food or drinks not specified.

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Cancun Food Tours
Av Yaxchilán 51, Centro, 77500 Cancún, Q.R., Mexico
Find our location inside the most iconic Mexican Restaurant "La Parrilla"

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.11:00 am

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infant seats available

Dress code is smart casual
Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Supplied by

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

Sophie_T

I'm so glad I booked this cooking class! What a cool experience- everyone was so friendly and they had no problem accommodating for gluten-free. So tasty, so fun to go home with some new skills. Do it!

Reviews

4.7

based on 96 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Great cultural...

Jeffrey_H, Feb 2026

Great cultural experience! The food was amazing and Sasha was a great instructor. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

Delicious Food, Friendly People, Fun Experience!

Sophie_T, Jan 2026

Must do cooking class.

Edwin_C, May 2025

Amazing cooking experience, food was delicious and location was nice. Chef was informative did get a bit hot but definitely worth the experience.

What a fun day.

Karrie_D, Mar 2025

We had fun. Food was great. Drink was yummy. We were told to be there at 11:00 so we missed the trip to market and supposed continental breakfast. Was bummed. Going to contact company. I am sure they will make it right. It was a great experience.

Nice experience and delicious lunch

Sharonne_H, Feb 2025

Nassim, our chef, was enthusiastic and fun, as he led us through a local market and our cooking journey. We very much enjoyed this class, though important for participants to know, we primarily served as prep staff. The only "dish" we made was guacamole. We learned a few techniques, pressed some tortilla dough to make sopas and tortillas and assembled our lunch. We very much enjoyed the experience. Max participation on website is 10 people, but we had 12. We were a bit crowded on the work station. The option for meeting at the restaurant or paying to get picked up and going to the market were not clear on the Viator app, but we were able to book that after confirmation, and for the small additional cost, is well worth it. The website indicates that they can accommodate vegetarians, but the meat substitute was sauteed mushrooms in 2 dishes, which Nassim stated was our "protein" (mushrooms have no protein and both chicken and pork were provided to non-vegetarians). Beans or cheese would have been welcome as a true protein alternative. But all in all, we recommend the experience.

Great experience

Sherlin_E, Feb 2025

Nassim was an instructor. He made the cooking enjoyable and fun. The was food absolutely delicious ☺️

A fun, informative, and...

Paul_W, Jan 2025

A fun, informative, and VERY tasty time. It was better than we had hoped. Looking forward to coming back to Mexico and trying other local cuisine.

Response from Host, Feb 2025

We're so glad the tour exceeded your expectations! Can't wait to have you back in Mexico for more delicious local food! 🌮😊

Fun for the Whole Family

Mary_S, Jan 2025

We were staying at a resort that was a little ways away but the reviews were so good we thought we’d venture out to try this experience. It was a little confusing in whether or not it included transportation so make sure you choose appropriately. We arrived right on time and were fortunate that it was just us! We had a personal experience and my 13-year old daughter especially loved it. I would highly recommend for all ages.

Response from Host, Feb 2025

We're so glad you and your daughter had a great time and enjoyed the personal experience. We apologize for any confusion about transportation—thank you for highlighting that! Your recommendation means a lot, and we hope to welcome you all again soon 🌮😊

Cooked delicious food and...

Nathan_J, Jan 2025

Cooked delicious food and Diego the instructor was great. He was knowledgeable about the food and kept things fun the whole time.

Excellent experience!

Cheri_J, Dec 2024

The whole experience was fantastic. I took my son on this excursion for his birthday and he enjoyed it.

Great experience, highly recommend

Christine_D, Dec 2024

Diego was an exceptional Chef. Explained everything thoroughly! Our food was also amazing that we helped prepare

Inaccurate description

carrie_W, Dec 2024

There is no continent breakfast and coffee as listed. We were billed for the coffee after we ordered it. The instructor undercook 2 of the 4 tacos. The quality of the ingredients were poor and not enough. Paying $100 to learn the tacos and guacamole is very expensive. We were looking at more exotic menu.

Excellent Mexican Cooking Experience!

Thelma_W, Dec 2024

Was excellent and well organized! Excited and appreciated the hands-on experience and look forward to learning more Mexican cooking techniques! Diego did great and was very easy to follow! The venue was perfect. The meal was delicious!

Great tour but the cooking is done by the chef and we prepped

Jill_M, Nov 2024

This tour was really great. Our tour guide, G, was fantastic. We learned all about why foods were called certain things, he taught us about vegetables and other fresh ingredients and was very enthusiastic - a great tour guide and chef! Things we loved: -small group (there were only 4 of us on the tour which was great) -G, our tour guide, was amazing -having an empty restaurant to ourselves was really cool and made us feel very VIP -the food was great - lots of it, lots of variety -margaritas! (who doesn't love a free drink!?) Areas in need of improvement: -market tour not included. In the description it mentioned touring a local market for fresh ingredients. This added to our experience of authentic mexican ingredients and it was great to tour the market, but it was an added cost with the shuttle. If we met at the restaurant, we were told 11am but we needed a shuttle so we got to go to the market with our chef which is half the description of the tour -We didn't find we actually cooked enough. We flattened the tortillas and cut vegetables and crushed avocado but we didn't actually cook. There were great cooking demonstrations and we learned a lot. It's great if you're not as comfortable cooking or have less experience, but my partner cooks and I wanted to find a tour where it was an actual cooking class. We were more like prep cooks - still cool, but chopping veggies and making guac isn't cooking. -please sharpen your knives!! These knives were the dullest knives I've ever worked with, which is actually more dangerous than using sharp ones. We had to saw through a tomato and it still didn't cut it! They don't have to be sharpened to the level of a professional chef knife, but these knives were not useable.

The Experience Won't Be What They Promise

Dominique_H, Sep 2024

My girlfriend and I decided to do a date day while visiting Cancun. We signed up for this cooking class. Based on the description, we would get continental breakfast, a trip to the market to get local ingredients, and would then cook the food. I asked before the excursion if we would be picked up or if there would be transportation for us and the operator was nonresponsive. We were told to meet at the Mexican restaurant. When we got there, there was a couple already there, and it seems everyone was waiting on us. Come to find out, not only was the couple transported to the location, but they also had the breakfast and market visit and my girlfriend and I received none of this. The chef was nice and taught the class well. The other couple was also transported back to their resort. Honestly, I would not book this class again. I paid good money for the ENTIRE experience and only received a part of it. Do NOT recommend!

Highly Recommend!

Destiny_E, Sep 2024

10/10 experience and something different! Instructor was the best and explained everything so well! Would do it again!

Good experience, bad communication

Candace_V, Aug 2024

Overall was good, Nassim led a good class. However, we had reached out to the operator to ask about transportation and didnt hear back for 5 days. We had to contact viator support. We still didn't hear back from anyone until the evening before. So had to arrange our own transportation and missed out on the market tour. The other couple in the class told us they did get to do it. Im disappointed we didn't get the full experience and would have appreciated receiving communication sooner since we reached out so far in advance.

Good Food and Laughs

erika_b, May 2024

Naseem was a great teacher and quite funny- so happy we did this cute experience. The guacamole technique was new and the corn tortillas were delicious. He taught us alot about the culture behind the dishes which I found to be quite enjoyable. Good times!

Great knowledgeable tour guide and traditional experience

Ellie_C, Apr 2024

We loved getting to experience the market and try some more traditional recipes and cooking. The class wasn't too complicated, so would be great for beginner cooks. Diego was really great and helpful in all aspects.

Fun, informative, authentic

John_D, Mar 2024

The market was a fun experience, and I was able to buy a qualitt, hand stitched, locally made shirt for a great price. We learned a lot about Mexican cuisine you'd never learn from food network. Diego was funny and patient.

A great experience!

LesleyJane_S, Mar 2024

A great time from start to finish. We loved going to the market and purchasing our foods for our recipes. The mexican restaurant where we took our cookery class was unique and an authentic Mexican Restaurant. All the staff were very attentive. Nasim our guide was just great and the cookery lesson was most enjoyable. We loved the hands on experience making all our recipes then sitting down and enjoying our lunch with complimentary drinks. Value for money and a great experience to take part in. Highly recommend this activity.

Booking was a challenge....

Thomas_A, Mar 2024

Booking was a challenge. Tried to tell us we didn’t have hotel pick up/drop off when it clearly stated in advertisement. They finally did agree and provided it. Experience and guide was great.

Great Experience

Jana_F, Feb 2023

I am so glad we did this tour. Everything from the very beginning was organized and so interesting. We went to a local market and learned how to choose the freshest ingredients, the different kinds of chiles and what they are for. Then we prepared and ate a wonderful meal. Carlos is an excellent chef and knows his cooking! Would do this again!!

Highly Recommend

Dixie_M, Jan 2023

Chef Rodrigo was amazing. He was extremely knowledgeable and was a pleasure to spend the day with. We enjoyed our experience and would recommend it to everyone.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Dear Dixie_M, Thank you for your kind words about Chef Rodrigo! We are thrilled to hear that he was amazing and knowledgeable, and that you enjoyed spending the day with him. Your feedback is valuable to us, and we are delighted to know that you had a great experience and would recommend it to others. We work hard to ensure that every guest has a memorable and enjoyable experience, and it is rewarding to hear that we have succeeded in doing so. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, and we look forward to serving you again soon! Kindest regards,

Great meal, fantastic host and chef

Paul_L, Jan 2023

Hector was an incredible host and chef. Had a great time and the food was fantastic. Would highly recommend!

Great experience

Patricia_B, Jan 2023

The Chef was excellent and it was very informative and he was extremely personable. I would recommend this experience to all my friends. I also learned a lot about the country.

Must do in Playa del Carmen

Deborah_O, Sep 2022

Carlos was knowledgeable and passionate about cooking Mexican food. We had a blast! This is a “must do”.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Hello Deborah_O, Thank you for taking some time to share with us your comments about your experience with us and for your kind words towards the excellent job that Carlos did during the time of the tour. We are thrilled to hear that you had so much fun! Thank you for recommending us, please remember to contact us the next time you visit Playa as we would love to share more great moments with you. Warmest regards,

Takes a while, worth the wait

Amy_B, Apr 2022

It takes a while to make all of the food, but it is worth it. So enjoyed seeing the local market and learning the local cooking techniques. Everyone at the restaurant is great. If you want mariachi band...be prepared to pay $5/song. We chose not to pay for them to play.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Hello Amy_B, Thank you for sharing with us your review from your experience. We are glad to know you enjoyed your overall experience and you were also able to learn some good Mexican cooking techniques, that we hope you can use at home. Thank you for making us part of your vacations, please reach out for us when you return to Mexico, we'd love to host you once again! Warmest regards,

Bad experience!

Marsha_M, Mar 2022

Our tour was cancelled at 10 when it was suppose to start! We took a taxi to the meeting place because our hotel was not on their pickup list! They offered the class for the next day! We had already paid $40 to get there and $40 back! They said they could pick! us up the next day for another $75! We felt they should have at least offered free transport for the next day,but the answer was NO! We were not willing to pay a total of $155 for transport to go back! I have used Viator before and never had issues, but this was not good! Not sure if I will use them again!

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Dear Marsha_M, We are sorry you went through this situation. Despite our efforts too reschedule and compensate on this regard, unfortunately we never received a response from your part. Wed' love to know more about this situation; please contact us at carlos@cancunfoodtours.com Sincerely,

Cooking class

Daphine_M, Apr 2021

Our tour guide was amazing, friendly, knowledgeable. No wait time, pickup was on time. Driver very nice. Loved walking through the market. Food and drinks were wonderful! Highly recommend this tour!!!