I’m all about a travel cooking class to experience local cuisine. Call me a “foody,” but I want everything I eat or experience related to food to be interesting and unique. That means full of the best flavors, and worth my time (and calories!). I love a great meal out; it doesn’t have to be expensive, but the quality should be excellent. I also have a passion for cooking. In recent years, I have pushed myself to learn new techniques and experiment with different ethnic cuisines. My group of tennis friends has similar interests, and we’ve hosted “game nights” for years. Our seasonal and ethnic menus generate fun discussions while cooking, culminating in board or card games late into the night (there might also be some vino involved!).
Recent Travel Cooking Class Experiences
In recent years, I’ve participated in more cooking classes while traveling, creating some of my favorite memories. On a recent siblings-only trip, while dining at Verde Mesa, a farm-to-table restaurant in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, I had an epiphany. I shared with Christina and Jeremy that I realized many of my happiest moments recently (and photos!) came from local cooking classes. I learned new techniques, prepped unique ingredients, and, of course, ate the amazing results! Last November, a group of us experienced a cooking class at Lunatico in Cartagena, Colombia. We celebrated my friend Rebecca’s 60th birthday with friends and family, enjoying exquisite Colombian food! Last summer, my sister Christina and I got hands-on during an authentic Greek cooking class at Cookin Athens while on a Viking cruise that started in Athens, Greece. Again, the experience and the food did not disappoint!
Cooking Experience in San Juan, Puerto Rico
In March, my siblings and I signed up for a cooking class in San Juan, Puerto Rico, hosted by a local chef, Viviana. To be honest, I was a little worried – it would either be amazing or pure misery, depending on our chef’s personality, since it was just the three of us in her home. However, the class turned out to be the highlight of our trip! My brother even declared it his best experience this year, and he travels all the time! Our travel agent recommended this two-hour private cooking class through Traveling Spoon, which was a new experience for us, but it definitely won’t be our last. Viviana welcomed us into her home and provided a delicious menu of local dishes that we helped prepare, while she sprinkled in bits and pieces of the historical influences on Puerto Rican cuisine. We delved into local seasonings, how to flavor oils, multiple ways to prepare plantains, and even got to bring home some spices!
After prepping the food, we sat down at Viviana’s dining room table to chat and enjoy the fruits of our morning’s labor. The conversation was relaxed and fun, as we learned about her catering business for the local Puerto Rican film industry and discussed suggested beaches and restaurant options for our remaining time in San Juan. It was the best lunch of our entire trip! Viviana shared her recipes with us, which will be the menu for one of our upcoming “game nights.”
Menu for Our Traveling Spoon Cooking Class (menus can vary):
- tostones (smashed, fried plantains)
- mofongo (plantains, pork cracklings, and garlic)
- fried sweet plantains (mostly black with some yellow plantains)
- sofrito (cooking base for meats, beans, and more)
- Arroz con habichuelas (stewed beans with Caribbean pumpkin)
- plantain dumplings (grated green plantains)
- Arroz con Pollo (sofrito with chicken)
Sofrito – Puerto Rican Cooking Base
Sofrito is a flavorful base used in many Puerto Rican dishes, with layers and layers of seasonings and umami. Viviana had us start by using achiote to make a red-colored oil. We then chopped onions, Cubanelle peppers, and aji dulce (small sweet peppers). After pounding garlic into a paste in the pilón, we added a large amount to the sofrito. We also chopped culantro (long-leaf cilantro) and added it along with olives and cumin. We let it simmer for a while and used this as the base for our chicken dish, as well as the beans with Caribbean pumpkin and plantain dumplings. Every bite was so full of flavor, I’ve never tasted anything this divine!
Plantains, and More Plantains!
It surprised us how many dishes in Puerto Rican cuisine contain plantains! Viviana pulled out so many for us to use in various ways. Plantains are in the banana family, starchy fruits eaten at different levels of ripeness, from green to yellow to black. The green ones are perfect when grated and turned into dumplings for the bean soup. The black ones are sweet when fried and sprinkled with cheese. Surprisingly, Puerto Rican food is not spicy, despite the use of many peppers and other flavorings. The flavors in the dishes are layered in a magical way, creating the most divine flavors!
Travel Cooking Class Details – San Juan
- Time Commitment: 1.5 – 3 hours (we were probably there closer to 3.5 hours for a cooking experience)
- Cost: $105 – $199 per person (our cooking class was $199 each when we booked)
- Number of Guests: 1-10, depending on which class is selected
- Dietary Accommodations: vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, or gluten-free upon request
- In-Home Meal: experience an authentic Puerto Rican meal (not a cooking experience) for 1-14 guests
- Some Traveling Spoon experiences offer an optional market experience add-on, where you can explore a nearby market with your host (1-2 hours)
- Traveling Spoon offers a couple of chef options, but we highly recommend Viviana!
Authentic Recipe Collections
I love it when a travel cooking class offers you the recipes for the dishes you prepared. Each of the classes I’ve attended, whether in Greece, Colombia, or Puerto Rico, has given me a collection of recipes to try at home. I actually used some of the recipes from our Greek class, specifically the Greek salad pictured above, for my Mediterranean-themed supper club menu recently, and they were a hit! Who knew that an authentic Greek salad doesn’t have lettuce, it’s only peppers, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, feta, onion, and olive oil! I’m planning to make Vivana’s coquito drink this winter for my family. It’s a mixture of coconut milk and cream, condensed milk, and white rum that’s flavored with cinnamon. It’s so delicious and smooth, it could sneak up on you way too easily!
If you aren’t heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico anytime soon, Traveling Spoon has cooking classes all around the world. Regardless of your cooking skills, immersing yourself in local customs, flavors, and culture can be exciting and broaden your perspective. I definitely plan to explore Traveling Spoon options in other countries!
If you are in San Juan, don’t miss out on our favorite experience, and sign up for a Traveling Spoon cooking class with Viviana, either for lunch or dinner. Tell her you heard about it from a sibling group who visited her – I bet she remembers us!
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