Traditional Cooking Class In Tamarindo

Everything takes place at AstandaDjpio's home. She is very sweet and explains a lot about Costa Rican food and traditions with a focus on healthy food!

Wonderful authentic experience in the home of an amazing local guide. Astanda was very kind and a joy to cook with. This class is very informative about Costa Rican culture and cuisine, and she helped us prepare the most delicious multi course meal. I will be dreaming about that food for a long time. It’s a must do if you’re in the Tamarindo area. Muchas gracias Astanda, la comida esta muy deliciosa y estoy contento con todo de la experienca.

Fun cooking experience with the family! Enjoyed participating in the preparations of all of the dishes we were making and learning new things - like how much water is in ginger! The green banana ceviche was our favorite recipe.

She was so welcoming and informative. We felt like family. The food was healthy and delicious. I can’t wait to go home and make agua de soaps (frog water)!

This is a terrific experience! There were 2other people there when we were there. Astanda was wonderful! She explained all about the dishes we were going to make and all about the spices, etc. she had great music playing in the background so we were all singing and laughing while preparing our food. And then, the best part, eating what we made- it was delicious!!! It was such a relaxing, fun time to make and eat healthy food! Highly recommend

We had a great time! The class is in her home so it is like eating with family. The ingredients were fresh and local. She had great Costa Rican recipes and explained health benefits of them. Some local stories as well. A good blend of her her making some dishes with our help and us making some on our own. Tito her helper was great, too!

We had a great time with Astanda! She welcomed us into her home, and we enjoyed getting to visit with her about Costa Rican culture and food. She was very gracious and made dishes using fish we had previously caught that morning on a fishing excursion, which made our tuna ceviche AMAZING! We also really enjoyed the desert we made with the fresh fruit. I will say that this is not your normal cooking class with recipes and active cooking. We spent our time chopping, but we got to watch Astanda cook in the kitchen. Our experience was also special because we were the only two people in the class, so it was a personal "homestay" feel which we really enjoyed. It went on much longer than expected, but we had some great food at the end with fun company.

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.

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!

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!