Costa Rica The Chela Cooking Experience
Recommended by 100% of travelers
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La Fortuna, Costa Rica
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Learn to cook some traditional Costa Rican food from a local grandmother, who knows all the secret tips. Dona Chela will help you to prepare the dishes with ingredients from her garden, which you can also wander around before and after you cook. You'll cook your food in the traditional, old school way, by using the wood-fired stove in the kitchen.
- Learn a few typical Costa Rican dishes
- Try to get all the cooking secrets from grandma
- Use local ingredients grown right there on the property
- Enjoy what you've cooked along with a natural drink
Sample Menu
Main
Typical married
Preparation of rice, fried beans, salad, Picadillo and a meat or vegetarian option. In addition to preparing the webbed tortillas.
What's Included
- DinnerTypical married with natural drink.
- Private transportation
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- El Fogón de ChelaSan Francisco, El Burrito, Peñas Blancas Provincia de Alajuela Alajuela, Provincia de Alajuela, La Fortuna, 21007, Costa Rica
From the School of San Francisco, 150 meters South Calle 702 highway to San Ramón.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for people who have the flu or cough
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Nikki_G
This was my favorite activity in La Fortuna. Chela is the owner & she does the cooking class with you. You get to learn & practice Spanish, create your own meal from her incredible recipe book & learn all her secrets & tips. No prior cooking experience needed, she helps everyone along the way & makes it so much fun & so informative. I would love to be in her kitchen weekly if i could. She uses a traditional wood burning stove & everything from beginning to end is amazing, the food too. I can't recommend this enough.
Reviews
5.0
based on 136 reviews
Angela_R, Mar 2026
A perfect experience making authentic Costa Rican food with a wonderful woman-Chela. Was relaxed and fun, got a tour of her garden after we stuffed our bellies so full! Highly recommend for adults/families/kids.
Elizabeth_M, Mar 2026
Great experience cooking with Chela! Family of 5 with 3 teens. Everyone enjoyed learning to cook traditional Costa Rican food. Immersive tour. Chela is great with the kids. She's super friendly, engaged with everyone as we cooked. Food was delicious! Highly recommend.
Seth_E, Mar 2026
This was a wonderful experience for our family (ages from 5 to 75). We had fun preparing the meal and everything was delicious. There was even an impromptu dance party that broke out! Chela is a fantastic host and teacher, and has a special ability with the kids. This was a highlight of our trip for sure!
Meagan_B, Feb 2026
Our family visited Costa Rica for two weeks, and cooking with Chela was easily one of our favorite things we did. She is so warm and inviting and made everyone feel at ease. It was so fun to pick what we wanted to cook, and then use the fresh ingredients to make dinner. We all had a blast and the food was delicious!! It was our favorite meal we had in our two weeks there. She will send any leftovers home with you to eat later as well. If you’re in the area, make sure to book this experience. You won’t regret it!
Heather_W, Jan 2026
Chela’s place was incredible and we made one of the best meals I’ve ever had! We made gallo pinto, cerdo, patacones, arroz con pollo, and more. It was a lovely and unique experience and she was amazing.
Erica_W, Dec 2025
My favorite thing we did on our trip! If you have the opportunity to do this cooking class, you must! Learned a lot and was such a treat getting to chat with Chela. Highly recommend!!
Anonymous, Nov 2025
The food is delicious! The experience is unique. We learned how to make several traditional dishes over on open-fire stove. The owner, Dona Chela, hires single moms in the community so you are really helping by participating. As a family, we had a great time. Our kids were 15 & 17
Christiane_R, Nov 2025
Chela is awesome! Food was delicious, location just a 15 mins ride outside of the town of La Fortuna. You cook on an outdoor stove. We went on a day that periodically rained and were protected completely from the rain. Chela loves what she does and you can taste it in your cooking. She took photos for us and shared her recipe book too. 10/10 recommend. Felt very authentic !!
Rubina_G, Sep 2025
Really great experience to do with family or friends. Chela was incredibly sweet, helpful, informative and the meal was absolutely delicious! Would definitely recommend especially if you’re interested in a super personal experience with a local
Ersin_S, Sep 2025
Amazing!!!! Chela is the absolute BEST!!!! Please take a cooking class with her and support her business!!! She shares not only incredible recipes passed down to her from her grandmother, but she shares her heart and soul with you, too!!! Take her cooking class.... trust me!!!!!
Wanda_G, Aug 2025
If you want an authentic taste of Costa Rican culture, then this cooking class is hands down worth every penny. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience cooking with Chela, and it was the highlight of my recent vacation to La Fortuna. The setup is incredible - an open-air kitchen with an old-world style wood-burning stove. All of the food was delicious and plentiful - and so was the wine and beer. She let us select our options for meat and vegetables, and taught us how to prepare the most scrumptious meal. She also sent us a digital recipe cookbook so that we can make the recipes at home.
More importantly, she has the best personality - told us about her life, her children, and her professional journey. I felt like I was sitting down for dinner with an old friend. I am more than happy to support. What a fantastic experience!
Danielle_F, Jul 2025
What an amazing experience. Our family of 4 (6 and 8 year old) had the most wonderful time. There were plenty of options to choose to cook, helpful hands on cooking, great ingredients, delicious food, and excellent conversations. This is a little off the main path but an experience not to miss. 10/10!
Karen_K, Jul 2025
We loved cooking with Chela! When we got there she had us pick the foods we wanted to make and she offered us some drinks. She educated us about the foods and culture. My boys even had a great time too and learned from it as well. We got to enjoy the food at the end and it was delicious!! Chela was fun to work with and we thought it was a fun and unique experience while on vacation. I highly recommend her!
Dustin_L, Jul 2025
Chela was fantastic! This was over 20 minutes from our hotel and after a busy week we debated going for a moment, I'm so glad we went! Her knowledge and her food were exactly the cultural experience we were looking for. She's cooking her grandmother's recipes that she learned as a girl while giving back to her community. I can't recommend this enough.
Jill_P, Jul 2025
This was one of the many highlights to our trip in La Fortuna. From the minute we walked in we felt like family. We were allowed to choose from her Grandmother's cookbook the items we wanted to cook. We made, chicken, rice, fritatas, empanadas, plantains and rice pudding. My two boys, ages 16 and 15 had an awesome time helping chop, stir and make the food. This was a great family experience I will remember always. If you are gluten free there are options for you as well.
Laura_C, Jul 2025
I’ve never taken a cooking class before, so I was a little skeptical about how much I would enjoy myself. I had a blast. Chela is super welcoming and everything is super well organized. It was my husband and myself, along with a family of five who we did not know. We all had pretty similar tastes, so we decided to cook family style. Everybody was super accommodating with my food intolerances, which was greatly appreciated. The experience was very family friendly, but people are working with a hot outdoor stove. (You just may want to keep that in mind depending on your children’s personalities or ages.) I highly recommend this experience. I love that we got to choose the food that we made, and the food was delicious. It’s also a great experience during the rainy season. Even though the sky opened up during our time, and we were cooking outdoors, we were completely covered. It’s a nice activity where you can stay dry!
Sara_O, Jun 2025
This was a highlight of our trip to Costa Rica. It was such a fun family learning experience! I would recommend to anyone. 10/10
Jennifer_B, Jun 2025
Chela is the best! Our family (4 -2 of which are teenagers) had an outstanding time. The food was amazing and Chela made sure we were all very involved in the process. She also shared wonderful stories about her life and Costa Rica. I highly recommend this experience.
Jen_B, Jun 2025
This cooking class was worth every penny. Our family of four, including a 16 and 18 year old, all loved it. The food was delicious, and Chela made the entire experience fun, engaging, and educational. This was an authentic Costa Rican cooking experience.
Kate_C, May 2025
This was the highlight of our trip so far, and possibly the coolest thing I've done while traveling. The food was incredible, and the recipes/skills we learned are an amazing souvenir to bring home and share with our family and friends. If you do one thing to experience Costa Rican culture, it should be this.
GraceAnn_R, Apr 2025
We truly had the BEST time cooking with Chela at her cooking class! We started by picking out what we wanted to make from her cookbook of recipes and then had a great time making a whole feast - empanadas, fritas, gallopinto, arroz con leche, and more! Chela is an incredible teacher and friend. We learned a ton from her about Costa Rican cuisine and culture while also making a delicious meal. This was the best thing we did in La Fortuna and possibly on our entire trip! A must do activity in La Fortuna!
Nikki_G, Apr 2025
This was my favorite activity in La Fortuna. Chela is the owner & she does the cooking class with you. You get to learn & practice Spanish, create your own meal from her incredible recipe book & learn all her secrets & tips. No prior cooking experience needed, she helps everyone along the way & makes it so much fun & so informative. I would love to be in her kitchen weekly if i could. She uses a traditional wood burning stove & everything from beginning to end is amazing, the food too. I can't recommend this enough.
Kristie_W, Apr 2025
This was such a wonderful experience. Our lovely host took the time to ask us what we wanted to cook so we were able to learn to prepare our favorite dishes. She was organized, efficient, and gave my 10-year-old grandson lots of encouragement. We had made so much food we invited her to join us and had lovely conversation over our delicious meal. I would highly recommend this experience!
Elizabeth_J, Apr 2025
This was our favorite tour during our trip to Costa Rica. I can’t recommend it enough. Chela is such a wonderful person. We throughly enjoyed our time with her cooking in her kitchen. Our meal was fabulous and we loved cooking recipes from her grandmother’s cookbook. Book this tour! You won’t regret it!
Luke_T, Apr 2025
The entire experience was incredible from start to finish. Chela and her team are impressive and detail oriented. They everything ready and make it so easy and fun. Our meal was delicious and the kids were willing to try it since they helped make it. I recommend to everyone in the Fortuna area.
Christina_B, Mar 2025
Chela was amazing! So much fun and enjoyed learning her cooking! 5 stars for Chela! Unfortunately when I purchased and reserved it said " private" class and it was not. This was based on Viator description.
Jenna_S, Mar 2025
Chela was a great cooking instructor! We were able to choose which dishes / protein we wanted to cook. Chela also was a great photographer, taking photos during our class which make the memories last a lifetime!
dmrwal, Feb 2025
Great food, engaging host, wonderful evening. Well worth the money. Would definitely recommend. 6 out of 5 Stars.
Jennifer_M, Feb 2025
Don't hesitate, book. Chela was amazing, the food was amazing, the experience was amazing. We took our 7 year old and our 13 year old and they both loved it!! Best meal in Costa Rica hands down.
Douglas_M, Feb 2025
This was so much fun! Went with my wife. There was 7 of us in total in the group. Made an amazing fish dinner with the group. The host was excellent. I even made it back for lunch later in the week!
Likely to Sell Out
From $60.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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