Oaxaca: Cooking Class & Market Tour with Chef Oscar

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Duration4h 30m

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN · ES

Mobile ticketAccepted

Oaxaca flavors come alive in the kitchen with chef Oscar guiding every step

You’ll meet chef Oscar in Oaxaca and start by shopping local markets for fresh ingredients together before heading into his kitchen to cook as a group—no set menu here, so you help decide what’s on the table. Expect hands-on lessons in tortillas, salsas, mole negro, plus lots of laughter and small surprises along the way.

4h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Oaxacan cooking class experience

Arrive at Casa Crespo kitchen
Meet chef Oscar Carrizosa
Choose dishes to cook
Learn to cook tortillas and salsas
Prepare appetizer, soup, mole, dessert, and drink
Participate actively: dice, peel, fry, season, grind
Enjoy vegetarian or special diet options

The Experience

“Try this one,” Oscar grinned, handing me a little green fruit at the market in Oaxaca. I had no clue what it was — he called it miltomate — but I popped it in my mouth anyway. Tart, almost citrusy, and somehow familiar? The stalls around us were loud with voices and clinking bottles of mezcal. Oscar knew everyone; he’d stop every few steps to chat or joke in Spanish (I caught maybe half), pointing out chilies and herbs I’d never seen back home. We picked up everything for our cooking class right there, which honestly made the kitchen feel like an extension of the city itself.

Back at Casa Crespo, sunlight slanted through the windows onto big wooden tables scattered with bowls of seeds and dried peppers. There wasn’t any set menu — we all voted on dishes together (I pushed for mole negro because, well, how could you not?). Oscar showed us how to toast spices until they popped and let us grind them by hand. My fingers smelled smoky for hours after. He laughed when I tried to pronounce “hoja santa” — I definitely butchered it — but he just smiled and kept stirring. No one stood around watching; everyone chopped or stirred or tasted something. Even the shyest person got pulled in eventually.

I didn’t expect how much singing would happen while we cooked (Oscar’s rule: if you want). Someone hummed along while flipping tortillas on the comal. The salsas were different than any I’d tried before — bright, layered, not just spicy for the sake of it. When we finally sat down together to eat what we’d made, I felt weirdly proud (and really full). There was this moment when the late afternoon breeze came through the kitchen door and everything went quiet for a second except for people chewing and nodding at each other — that still sticks with me now.

What’s included

Your day includes meeting chef Oscar at Casa Crespo in Oaxaca, a guided walk through a local market to select fresh ingredients together, all necessary ingredients provided for cooking multiple courses (including tortillas, salsas, mole negro), complimentary drinks throughout the experience, plus vegetarian or gluten-free options if needed—and you won’t have to do any dishes at all.

Good to know

Stroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Casa Crespo Cooking Class