Cookin' Playa · Cookin' Cancun
Two Riviera Maya kitchens: Chef Alma's home-style Playa del Carmen class, and Chef Alberto's six-seat table in Cancún.
Classes in Playa del Carmen & Cancún
Playa del Carmen & Cancún
Three hours in Chef Alma Gonzalez's Playa del Carmen kitchen, cooking her family's home recipes from scratch — tortillas, salsas, sides and a different main every class day — then eating together.
FromMX$1,900per person
Playa del Carmen & Cancún
Three and a half hours at Chef Alberto's home in Cancún, cooking a different Mexican main every day plus comal tortillas, molcajete salsa and guacamole, then eating the feast with local drinks.
FromMX$1,900per person
Playa del Carmen & Cancún
Two hours on the one skill that holds Mexican cooking together: nixtamalisation, masa, and pressing tortillas by hand on the comal in Playa del Carmen.
On requestper person
The Riviera Maya has two Cookin' kitchens, and they feel different. In Playa del Carmen, Chef Alma Gonzalez cooks her family's home recipes in a kitchen that guests describe as feeling like home the moment they walk in. In Cancún, Chef Alberto cooks at his own table for no more than six guests, with a comal, a molcajete and a different main course every day.
Alma's class runs three hours, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:00. There is no market walk — you arrive and cook — but you leave with more than a recipe: she explains the history behind the dishes, why nixtamalisation matters, how charring a chile changes a salsa. Every class includes handmade tortillas, two salsas, two side dishes and a main: tamales on Monday, taquitos dorados on Wednesday, enchiladas on Friday. The kitchen has held a Tripadvisor Badge of Excellence year after year.
Alberto's class runs three and a half hours, daily except Sunday, at 11:00 or 17:30. The main changes with the day — barbecue and quesabirrias, steak and pastor tacos, chicken with mole, red and green tamales, cochinita pibil — and every class covers comal tortillas, molcajete salsa, guacamole, totopos and rajas poblanas, eaten with local Mexican drinks.
Both kitchens are small and family-run, which is the point: you are cooking with someone who lives there, not watching a demonstration in a hotel ballroom. If you are staying on the Riviera Maya and want something shorter, the two-hour tortilla workshop in Playa del Carmen is a focused session on masa and the comal.
Cookin' Playa · Cookin' Cancun is part of the Cookin' family — five kitchens, one family, since 2012.
Reviews
“An absolute highlight of our trip to Playa del Carmen. Alma was incredibly warm, welcoming, and engaging, and she created such a fun, relaxed atmosphere that we immediately felt at home. We laughed, connected, learned about the history and culture of the region.”
“Alma made the experience especially memorable, and you can tell how much passion she has for sharing her knowledge and bringing people together. We would wholeheartedly recommend Cookin' Playa!”
“Excellent food cooking class and market experience. There was only two of us on the tour and my wife got to learn to cook her favorite dish. Would recommend this company.”
Good to know
Choose Playa del Carmen with Chef Alma for a relaxed three-hour home-style class with the family. Choose Cancún with Chef Alberto for a very small evening or morning group of up to six, with a different main every day.
No. The Playa del Carmen and Cancún classes cook in the chef's kitchen. Market tours are part of the Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo classes.
Yes, for 4 to 10 guests, Monday to Friday, with a three-course menu agreed in advance.
Cook with us
Book a seat at Chefs Alma & Alberto's table. Small groups, taught in English and Spanish, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before · +52 322 171 7854
