Cook Cape Verdean Food in Santiago: Hands-On Class

Cook traditional Cape Verdean dishes and hear the stories behind them

A hands-on cooking class in Santiago, Cape Verde, where you learn to prepare authentic local dishes in a family home with chef Eloisa and her family. You'll cook two traditional recipes using fresh local ingredients and techniques passed down through generations, then eat what you've made. The class includes private transport from your accommodation, drinks, coffee and tea.

What’s included

• Private transportation from your accommodation.
• lunch.
• soda and bottled water.
• alcoholic beverages.
• coffee and tea.

Times

• Every day 09:00

Before you book

Group Private

Live guide English, Spanish, French and Portuguese

Meeting point and pickup Hotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Book up to 1d before

Ages Adult (18 to 80 years) · Youth (15 to 17 years) · Child (2 to 12 years)

Cancellation and refunds Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Good to know

Infant seats available Infants must sit on laps

Operated by RURAL TOURS

Prices and times updated 9 days ago

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The experience

How do you actually learn what Cape Verdean food tastes like? You cook it in someone's kitchen, not a restaurant kitchen, and you do it with the people who grew up eating it. This class picks you up from your accommodation and takes you to the home of Eloisa and her family in Santiago, where you'll spend the morning preparing Massa de Midju Terra and Xarém (a traditional dish combining authentic local flavors), and Cuscus de Cape Verde, a maize cuscuz made with corn flour. Both recipes use ingredients the family sources locally and techniques they've used for years. You're not watching a demonstration. You're doing the work alongside them, learning how the dishes actually come together.

The class runs four hours and moves between cooking and conversation. As you prepare the food, Eloisa and her family share the customs, stories and flavors that shape Cape Verdean culture. The experience weaves in music and dance, not as performance, but as part of how the family lives. By the end of the morning, you sit down to eat the lunch you've cooked, with soda, bottled water and your choice of alcoholic beverages included. Private transport both ways means you don't navigate the island alone, and the whole thing is led in English, Spanish, Portuguese or French, depending on what works for your group.

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (15 to 17 years); Child (2 to 12 years).

What exactly do you cook during the four hours?

You prepare Massa de Midju Terra and Xarém, a traditional Cape Verdean dish combining authentic local flavors and ingredients, and Cuscus de Cape Verde, a maize cuscuz made with corn flour. Both are recipes the family has cooked for years using fresh local ingredients.

Do you eat what you cook, or is it just a lesson?

You eat lunch together after cooking. The meal you've prepared is served with soda, bottled water and your choice of alcoholic beverages, so the cooking leads directly to sitting down as a family.

How does transport work? Do you arrange your own way there?

Private transport is included. The driver picks you up from your accommodation in Santiago and brings you back after the class ends, so you don't need to find your own way.