Oaxacan Cooking Class in Oaxaca City: Learn Mole & Tortillas

Cook Oaxacan mole and tortillas the way locals do, in a home kitchen with firewood and stone

A four-hour cooking class in Oaxaca City where you shop the market with your chef, select ingredients for the day's menu, and prepare traditional mole, corn dishes and tortillas using regional techniques and traditional equipment. Your chef, Enrique Montaño, shares the rituals and occasions behind Oaxacan food while you cook. Private transportation and dinner are included.

The experience

The morning starts at the market, where you and Enrique choose the ingredients for the day's menu together. You'll see dried chillies, learn what goes into Oaxacan cooking, and pick what to prepare. Back in the kitchen, you toast chillies on a comal, grind spices, and build a traditional mole from scratch, or choose another regional dish depending on what caught your eye at the market. Everything cooks in stone, mud and wood vessels over a firewood fire, the way it has been made for generations.

Tortilla-making is its own lesson: Enrique shows you the technique to work the corn dough and cook each one on the comal. You'll prepare a salad with seasonal produce and sit down to eat what you've made, with mezcal if you want it. He talks about when and how Oaxacans eat these dishes: the daily meals, the festive occasions, the traditions woven into the food. The class runs four and a half hours and wraps with the meal itself.

Transportation is private, so you travel alone or with whoever you book with, not in a group van. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions, let Enrique know when you book so he can adjust the menu. The class is offered in English or Spanish.

What’s included

• Private transportation to and from the market and kitchen.
• snacks during the class.
• the full dinner you prepare.
• instruction in Spanish or English from Enrique Montaño, an Oaxacan cook.

Before you book

Days and timesMonday to FridayDepartures at 09:00 and 10:00

Book up to12h before

AgesAdult (16 to 60 years) · Under 16: can't be booked

GroupUp to 4

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

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

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Public transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Clases de cocina tradicional de Oaxaca en cocina de humo

Is this one for you?Book this class if you want to cook alongside a local chef in a real kitchen rather than in a tourist cooking school, and if you're comfortable working with a firewood fire and traditional equipment. The small group (just you and whoever travels with you) means Enrique can adjust the menu to what you want to learn and what you find at the market that morning.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

What ingredients will we cook with at the market?

You choose them together with Enrique on the morning of the class. The market carries dried chillies, corn, seasonal produce and other staples of Oaxacan cooking. What you pick shapes the menu. You might prepare mole, a corn-based dish, or another traditional recipe depending on what's available and what appeals to you.

Do I need cooking experience to take this class?

No. Enrique teaches the techniques from the start, whether you're making mole, working tortilla dough or toasting chillies on the comal. The minimum age is 16.

What happens if I have food allergies?

Tell Enrique about allergies or restrictions when you book. He can adjust the menu and the dishes you prepare to keep you safe and still teach you the core techniques of Oaxacan cooking.

Is the class just cooking, or do we eat what we make?

You cook and then eat together. Dinner is part of the class. You sit down with the salad, mole or other dishes you've prepared, and Enrique shares stories about when and how Oaxacans eat these foods, and the rituals behind them.