Pura Vida Cooking Class (Private Tour) – Arenal/La Fortuna
Cook a traditional Costa Rican meal alongside a local chef at an organic farm, from harvest to table.
This is a private tour so it will be with only your family or group. You’ll have your own bilingual guide and the transportation will be private as well.
Discover the Farm
This cooking class takes place at the tour company’s organic farm, La Finquita, just outside downtown La Fortuna. The farm is a large property with fields, greenhouses, a restaurant, rancho, and even a pond with ducks.
Your bilingual guide will first show you the farm itself, which grows a variety of tropical fruits and vegetables. After learning some interesting facts about local crops like banana, pineapple, sugar cane, and cacao, you’ll help harvest ingredients for the meal. On our visit, we picked yucca and celery as well as herbs like oregano and cilantro.
Welcome Drink and Snack
After harvesting, you’ll head to the open-air rancho. This is a large comfortable space overlooking the thick rainforest. A wood stove and prep table are set up centrally.
Before preparing the meal, you will get to enjoy a refreshing drink with optional local rum as well as a snack. On our visit, the welcome drink was fresh maracuya (passion fruit) juice.
The snack is three types of cheese made right on the farm (plain, herb, and hot pepper). This is served with yucca and plantain chips along with different homemade sauces. Everything was delicious!
Cooking the Meal
You will then get instructions from the local chef to prepare annatto chicken. This is a traditional dish made with onion, pepper, garlic, and cilantro. It gets its signature red-orange color from annatto (known locally as achiote), a natural colorant often used in Costa Rican cooking.
Pescatarian, vegan, and vegetarian options are also available (request when booking).
Along with the chicken, you’ll prepare pico de gallo with fresh cilantro, patacones (savory fried green plantains), and homemade tortillas. Local techniques are used throughout, including wooden plantain presses and banana leaves.
After a demonstration from the local cook, you’ll even make your own tortilla from scratch using corn masa and your own two hands.
Everything is then cooked over a wood stove, giving it that authentic Tico taste.
The local chef may not speak English (she did not on our visit), but your bilingual guide will interpret as you go.
Enjoying the Meal
Once everything is ready, you’ll sit down to enjoy the delicious meal you helped create!
LogisticsÂ
This is a wonderful tour for couples, families, and groups. The experience is interactive and engaging. You’ll walk the farm, harvest ingredients, and get hands-on with the cooking. The guide engages with each person, asking questions about the crops and traditional cooking methods.
If you’re traveling with kids, it’s very family-friendly. We did it with our children (ages 10 and 6 at the time), and they loved being involved in the entire process, from chopping vegetables to smashing plantains and making tortillas.
Why Choose This Cooking Class
We have done several cooking classes in Costa Rica and this one stands out for its organization and quality. Having the bilingual guide help with language barriers, getting to harvest the ingredients, and the upscale welcome drink and artisanal snack were definitely highlights. We also appreciated that the farm is sustainable.
Tour Details:
Cost of Private Tour (only your family/group): $112 per person adults. $95 per person children ages 5-11. Rates plus 13% tax. Free for children under 5.
Offered: 8:00 a.m., 3:30 p.m.
Duration: 3-4 hours door to door from your lodging (approximate)
Location: La Finquita organic farm, just outside La Fortuna (approximately 10 minutes from downtown). Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eDLZkYKi9WNUR5xo6
Includes: Private cooking class with a local chef and bilingual guide, private round-trip transportation from your hotel or vacation rental, apron, welcome drink, snack (local cheese and chips), and a meal you prepare.
Minimum Age: None
Have a question?
Send us an email at bookings(at)
Return to La Fortuna/Arenal Tours
Two Weeks in Costa Rica, Inc. is registered with the State of Florida as a Seller of Travel. Fla. Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST41024.
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