Playa del Carmen Mexican Cooking Class

We ended with a private Mexican cooking class (on a weekday as we were the only ones signed for the group class) with Chef Alma and honestly, it was one of the best things I did with my son in a while. She's warm and easy to be around from the second you walk in, and she customized the menu for us as we are vegetarians. We kicked things off with a guava agua fresca — just fresh guavas blended with water — which was the perfect way to start. Then we got into it: chunky guacamole, and a rojo salsa where Chef Alma spent a ton of time one-on-one with my teenage son, who has literally never cooked anything in his life. She had him grilling tomatoes, garlic, and onion and turning it all into a paste for the salsa, and honestly it was great watching him get into it. From there we made cilantro rice and rolled out our own corn tortillas from scratch, which we used for chicken and cheese enchiladas. Then we sat down and ate everything we'd made — and it was genuinely delicious, really flavorful across the board. Because it ended up as a private class, it never felt rushed. Chef Alma is clearly one of the best at what she does — patient, knowledgeable, and happy to answer every random question we threw at her. Can't recommend this enough if you want a fun, hands-on afternoon that's also just a genuinely good time. We will look to book her class again our next trip to Playa.

It is a great learning experience. We enjoyed ourselves and the food. It was easy to find. We were running late due to the driver. Bring water because it does get hot in the kitchen area. Our biggest disappointment is that we never received the recipes via email. We did not take notes etc. because we were told the recipes would be emailed to us. Both my husband and I gave our emails about a month ago.

We had a marvelous time! We did Cooking Cancun last year with Alberto and Lili with our 3 sons (17-22yr old) and we had such a fun time learning and laughing with Alberto and Lili that we wanted to do it again on our visit to Playa Del Carmen this year! We were totally tickled that Alberto and Lili were our instructors again, filling in for Chef Alma for the day! We just adore Alberto and Lili! This year we brought our 3 sons (18-23 yr old) and new daughter in law. We made chicken mole- which was the best we had ever had, guacamole, red & green salsas, red rice and peppers in cream (I can’t remember the Spanish name of it)! They also greeted us with jicama juice and later in the class we had tequila for who wanted it and mocktails for those who didn’t want alcohol- very delicious! Alberto and Lili are funny and educational and we enjoyed cooking, talking, laughing, joking and dancing with them! Our taxi driver knew where the SILVA store was, easy to find, and Alberto was out front waiting for us and then guided us to where the class was - a short walk. Highly recommend, very memorable, hands on, and you get the recipes to make on your own! We hope to get with our friends Alberto and Lili and do it again!

The absolute best experience! Alberto and Lily were so fun They are mother and son and so cute together. Their English is great and they were just so welcoming. It was such delicious food. Several of us had either lived in Mexico or lived in Texas in areas where Mexican food is king and we all said the Mole was the best we had ever had. Seriously! You will not regret this experience. Loved every second of it!!

The cooking class was so fun and the food we prepared was delicious! Alberto was a gracious and entertaining host. We made Birria, multiple salsas, guacamole, homemade tortillas and rajas. I’m excited to continue making these dishes and the other recipes that were shared with us at home.

Chef Alberto and his su chef-mama were fantastic. We learned a lot and the food was incredible. They made you feel like you were visiting with family for a great gathering and food. Now on to cancun chef alberto!

This was an incredible experience! The history of the area was interesting, the cooking techniques on point and Alma's hospitality and story sharing was EPIC. LOVE LOVE LOVED it!!!! Highly recommend.

Alma and Gladys were friendly and informative. I learned how to make several salsas, along with tortillas from scratch and traditional enchiladas. Food was outstanding.

Alma was such a great host. She went over the history of the area and the cuisine before we dived into the hands on cooking portion of the activity. We had a lot of fun and can’t wait to try to make some of the dishes back home.

We had a fantastic time with Chef Alma! She was incredibly friendly and informative. She gave us background about the country and the food. She made cooking comfortable and relaxed without pressure for precision. She gave us tips and options and she shared with us the recipes. The food was absolutely delicious. Honestly the best guacamole I’ve had here. We would absolutely recommend this and would absolutely do it again on a future visit.