Sugarcane drinks can be healthy!! - The spot can be hard to find. Pay close attention to the directions, if you’re taking a cab, maybe have the driver call the host. The meal and our host were excellent. We learned a lot about Costa Rica produce and history. Many good stories. A delicious and entertaining evening.

Learning culture through food- the fusion of Costa rican - Jamaican heritage was interesting and informative - I’ve done quite a few cooking classes in my home country, the United States, and abroad including a five star hotel in Italy and world renown culinary institutes. This class may be humble but I learned more about the food and culture of the area than I typically have in the fancy classes. I highly recommend. When I arrived it was not what I expected - don’t let it deter you, it is an experience of a lifetime!

A definite must do when in Tamarindo1 - Asanda is an amazing human, and she welcomed us into her home with love and kindness. We made a traditional drink with ginger, lime and cane sugar that I love so much I just made it at home! We also made many other traditional Costa Rican foods all while singing songs, learning about Costa Rica culture, history, values and more. I cannot stress enough how wonderful of an experience we had. She was also fantastic at checking in on the day of our class and made sure we had proper directions to her location. On our next trip to Tamarindo we plan to book another class. Thank you, Asanda!

Book It! - This was an incredibly unique and fun experience. The host was so much fun and told us a lot of interesting stories about living in Costa Rica. The food was amazing and I'd highly recommend this experience.

A unique experience! - This was a very unique and amazing experience! So much information and great explanations of traditions and culture is shared. We made the most delicious meal. If there is a particular dish you want to make, you can request ahead of time, but we left it up to them. Chef Astanda shared her home with us and answered all of our questions. You will use your hands to prepare and taste the food just like you would in your own home. Each dish was made with the freshest ingredients and,most importantly, with love. Finding the place was a bit tricky especially since our phones did not have service in this area. I would recommend having directions downloaded so you can use offline maps if needed. Also this was a four hour experience, so be prepared to spend the evening. We wouldn't have wanted it any other way!

Delicious! - We had a great time in our cooking class! We made such delicious food using simple ingredients and the fact that we were being taught by a local was fantastic! Highly recommend!

Lovely In-Home Cooking Class - Three of us attended this class and had a wonderful time! The chef was a bit late, but an assistant got us started prepping until her arrival. All three people were extremely friendly and talkative explaining the foods we were making and the history of Costa Rica. The food was beautiful and delicious. It was a very authentic experience.

4 hrs of JUST chopping - Disappointing Experience - I’m sharing this review to help others understand what this experience truly entails. First, the session lasted 4 hours, not the 2–2.5 hours listed. But even more disheartening, despite being positioned as a cooking class, we spent the *entire time* chopping vegetables and doing prep work, not actively cooking. We didn’t cook any dish from start to finish ourselves, so the format felt more like being sous chefs rather than learning how to prepare the recipes. It also isn’t a knife-skills class, as the knives were serrated or dull with worn-down tips. On the positive side, this is a warm cultural immersion experience. Astanda is kind, welcoming, and clearly passionate about food and sharing her background. Being invited into her home was a special element, and we enjoyed meeting the other attendees. However, I didn’t feel I learned very much, partly because a significant portion of time was spent in general conversation (including topics like COVID), which extended the length but didn’t contribute to learning. We arrived at 5 PM and didn’t eat until 9 PM, which may be difficult for families or travelers with young kids. The food had mixed reviews in our group. The slow-cooked beans were excellent, but the chicken and rice were cold and bland, and we mostly assembled rather than cooked them. Also, many images in the listing appear to be stock photos rather than pictures of the actual experience, which felt misleading. It’s also impossible to find the location with NO signage. The worst part however is the cost—$600 for our family—felt very high given the limited hands-on instruction, long duration, and uneven meal quality. I left feeling the experience did not match the price point. Worth maybe $20 including groceries, but my time was worth infinitely more Ideas for Improvement Clarify expectations in the listing!! Make it clear that this is a cultural culinary experience with prep participation rather than a hands-on cooking class where guests cook full dishes. Increase hands-on cooking instruction Allow guests to actually cook at least one full dish themselves. Even small technique lessons (e.g., proper knife skills, seasoning, heat control) would add value. Provide more real photos of the space and food Replacing stock images with accurate photos would help set realistic expectations and build trust. Improve timing and pacing Serving food earlier—or structuring prep so guests aren’t hungry for four hours—would greatly enhance the experience Upgrade tools and equipment Sharper knives and more functional prep tools would make the experience feel more professional and educational. Align price with value delivered Either lower the cost or expand the educational component to better match a premium price point. I appreciate the intention and hospitality behind the experience, but as currently designed, it felt misaligned with the expectations of a true cooking class and the premium price. I was left feeling taken advantage of, and I would not recommend this experience.

Honest Review - Not a Real Cooking Class - 5/21/2025 Attended this “cooking” class and immediately found it to be not as advertised. It was incredibly hard to find location, David had to stand on the street to wave us down. The other couple were 20 minutes late because they couldn’t find it, it was behind a business down an alleyway. This is not by public transportation. As a person with mobility issues, nor is it handicap/wheelchair friendly. Ground is uneven and house is not wheelchair friendly due to tight spaces. The house (not a business) does not appear clean. We were asked to wash our hands in a bathroom next to their toothbrushes (2) and the family shower. The kitchen appears cleaner, which is why I decided to stay. With this being said, the group of 4 was shocked that the host had us putting scoops of food in our hands and eating out of them, then without washing our hands chopping fruits/veggies for our group meal. We never cooked anything. We chopped fruit/veggies only and never saw the food cooked nor did we receive a recipe. We made a fruit dessert of tiny chopped fruits full of sugar, green banana ceviche, frog water, chopped veggies for the rice dish. Everything else they will say we made was not made by us, it just appeared. This was a long drawn out unnecessary 4 hrs that we kept hoping would get better. The other couple was also visibly frustrated. The host was disrespectful to the other party and disrespectful to our country. The host harassed another member of my group in order to bully them for giving them a honest review. I wasn’t going to leave a review but I would feel guilty if I didn’t warn future customers of this disaster they call a cooking class.

UNSANITARY SCAM - I do not write reviews, but as a backpacker who has been to cooking classes in many countries, I must admit I was scammed. We were in someone's unkept home down an unsafe alleyway with a lack of sanitation. We did not cook any recipes listed, and the pictures are not from this experience. The "chef" was rude to another guest (not in my group) who booked the blue zone experience, which was no different than the regular. I am appalled that this has high reviews, which led to me being scammed. I was uncomfortable but felt like I couldn't leave for nearly four hours. DO NOT BOOK!