Puerto Viejo: Native Caribbean Cooking Class & Dinner

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.95 (108 reviews) 95% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/6

Duration2h 30m

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · ES

Mobile ticketAccepted

Puerto Viejo cooking class with local flavors, ancestral recipes and shared stories

You’ll join a small group in Puerto Viejo for an intimate native Caribbean cooking class led by a local host. Learn to prepare rice & beans with chicken using fresh coconut milk, hear stories of town history, and share dinner together as the sun fades—expect laughter, new skills, and genuine connection.

2h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Caribbean cooking and cultural insights

Select fresh local ingredients
Prepare fresh coconut milk
Cook rice and beans with chicken
Make Caribbean sauce and ripened plantains
Prepare green salad
Learn about Puerto Viejo history
Discuss Afrocaribbean culture and heritage

The Experience

I’ll be honest — I signed up for this Puerto Viejo native Caribbean cooking class mostly because I was curious what “real” rice and beans tasted like here. I didn’t expect to get coconut under my nails or laugh so much with strangers over chopping onions. Our host, Maribel, greeted us barefoot at her open-air kitchen, already stirring something that smelled sweet and earthy. She handed me a chunk of fresh coconut and showed me how to grate it for the milk — my arms still felt it the next day.

We talked about where the plantains came from (her neighbor’s tree, apparently), and she explained how this recipe had been passed down through her family for generations. There was a moment when she paused to tell us about the first Afro-Caribbean families who settled in Puerto Viejo — I could hear kids playing somewhere nearby, roosters too. The rain started halfway through but nobody minded; we just kept talking while the chicken simmered in that thick, spiced sauce. I tried saying “rice & beans” in her accent — Maribel laughed and corrected me gently (I definitely didn’t nail it).

Dinner was simple but honestly perfect: rice & beans cooked in coconut milk, chicken in a sauce that tasted like sunshine after rain, fried ripe plantains on the side. We ate together at a long table while Maribel told stories about old Puerto Viejo — not all happy ones, but real. I still think about how the air smelled like woodsmoke and herbs. If you’re looking for a private Caribbean cooking class that feels more like visiting someone’s home than a lesson… well, this is it.

What’s included

Your evening includes hands-on preparation of traditional rice & beans with chicken using fresh coconut milk and local ingredients, guided by your host Maribel. You’ll share stories of Puerto Viejo’s culture while enjoying dinner together at her home kitchen—vegetarian or vegan options can be accommodated if requested in advance.

Good to know

Stroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Josefina Morales Gallimore