Costa Rica Cooking Class in Quepos: Learn Local Techniques

Cook a traditional Costa Rican meal using ingredients you've just learned to identify

A three-hour cooking class in Quepos where you hike through botanical gardens to discover cacao, vanilla, and medicinal plants, then return to a local home to learn cutting, dressing, mixing and cooking techniques while preparing a traditional casado lunch. The class includes pickup, a live English-speaking guide, and is welcoming to children from age 4.

The experience

The morning starts with a guided walk through 3 acres of botanical gardens surrounding the kitchen. Your guide points out cacao plants, vanilla vines, and the medical herbs garden (the plants that shape Costa Rican cooking), and explains their history and culinary uses. This is not a detached tour of a garden. You're learning what grows here because you'll be cooking with it within the hour.

Back at the local home kitchen, the actual cooking begins. Your guide walks you through each step: how to cut, dress, and mix ingredients using techniques rooted in Costa Rican tradition. You're not watching a demonstration. You're doing the work, learning the combinations of native flavors and textures that make up a casado, the country's everyday lunch. The meal you finish cooking is the one you eat, and it's designed to work for children and vegan diets too.

Pickup is included, and a live guide speaks English throughout. The whole experience runs three hours. Coffee or tea comes with the meal, and the sugarcane mill is part of the grounds you'll see during the botanical section.

What’s included

• Pickup from your Quepos location.
• a three-hour guided experience with a live English-speaking guide.
• access to the 3-acre botanical gardens and medicinal plants section.
• the vanilla plantation and cacao plantation.
• the sugarcane mill.
• step-by-step instruction in cutting, dressing, mixing and cooking techniques.
• a prepared casado lunch (children and vegan versions available).
• coffee or tea with the meal.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 11:00

AgesAdult (12 and older) · Child (9 to 11 years) · Infant (4 to 8 years) · Under 4: can't be booked

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish

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

Cancellation and refundsNo refund if you cancel.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48 h

Prices and times updated 3 days ago

Good to know

Wheelchair accessibleStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Jungle Night Tour Manuel Antonio

Is this one for you?You do the cooking yourself under step-by-step instruction, so this suits anyone who wants to learn hands-on rather than watch a chef work. The fixed three-hour format means the botanical walk, the kitchen instruction, and lunch all fit into one morning or afternoon without rushing.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (9 to 11 years); Infant (4 to 8 years). Children under 4 can't be included in the booking.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. No refund if you cancel.

What exactly is a casado, and why does it matter to learn how to cook it?

A casado is the traditional Costa Rican lunch: a plate built around rice, beans, plantains, salad, and a protein, assembled with specific cutting and seasoning techniques that vary by region and family. Learning to make one teaches you the foundation of local home cooking, not restaurant food.

Do I need cooking experience to join this class?

No. The guide teaches you step-by-step from the beginning, starting with how to cut and dress ingredients. The class is built for people who want to learn, not for people who already know.

Can I bring my four-year-old, and will there be something for them to do?

Yes, children from age 4 are welcome. The botanical garden walk is short and designed to be accessible, and the cooking portion includes tasks kids can help with. The meal is prepared child-friendly, and infants can come in a stroller.

How does the botanical garden part connect to the cooking?

The garden walk teaches you which plants the kitchen uses and why they matter to Costa Rican food culture. You see cacao, vanilla, and medicinal herbs growing, learn their uses, then use some of them in the meal you cook, so the ingredients are not abstract.

What time does pickup happen, and where does it start?

Pickup is included and arranged for your location in Quepos. The exact time is confirmed when you book. The class itself runs three hours from the time you arrive at the kitchen.