Market Tour and Authentic Cooking Class in Merida with Transfers

This is a private market visit and home cooking class in Mérida, listed at about 420 minutes, with hotel transfers included. Your host, Sofia, picks you up from your hotel and drives you to Chuburná Market, where you tour the regional produce and buy a few ingredients for the lesson.

Then you join Sofia in her kitchen for a hands-on class in Yucatecan and Maya dishes, prepared from scratch. The dishes mentioned are sikil pak (a roasted tomato and pumpkin seed salsa), sopa de lima (a chicken soup), empanadas de chaya, and chicken or pork cochinita pibil, the slow-cooked dish marinated in achiote and sour orange and wrapped in banana leaves. You also learn to make a fiery habanero salsa and a traditional meal.

When the cooking is done, you sit down to eat the meal you helped prepare. Beer is included, along with the home-cooked food. Families in Mexico can be very sociable, so members of Sofia's family may stop by during the visit.

The operator is clear about what this is not: a professional cooking school or chef-led course. It is a chance to visit a local market and an authentic home, meet a Mérida resident and share Yucatecan culture, traditions and cuisine. The class is private, but the house also operates as a homestay, so other guests may be on the property.

Note that Sofia's home has no air conditioning and the kitchen can get hot in the warmer months. Included are the home-cooked meal, the private market tour and class, local beer, and hotel pick-up and drop-off; purchases you make at the market are not included. Prams and strollers are allowed and public transportation is nearby. Your host collects you at the concierge desk of the hotel in your booking and drops you off at the end.