Costa Rica The Chela Cooking Experience

Amazing cultural experience! A fun time cooking delicious food and meeting lovely people. Everyone at el Fogon de Chela were very friendly, helpful and welcoming. The team were amazing ambassadors for the area! Thank you very much from Canada!

My daughter and I wanted to take a cooking class while vacationing in Costa Rica, and we were lucky enough to get a private experience on Christmas Day! We were thrilled that they accommodated us on a holiday. We got to pick out several dishes to cook, and she walked us through each step as we cut vegetables and cooked delicious meals. Afterwards we ate, and there was enough leftovers to feed 4 of us for dinner that night.

Chela’s place was incredible and we made one of the best meals I’ve ever had! We made gallo pinto, cerdo, patacones, arroz con pollo, and more. It was a lovely and unique experience and she was amazing.

This is a must do when in CR! Chela is so gracious and passionate about local cuisine and enthusiastically shares her grandmother’s recipes. We went with our 17 year old son and all agreed it was a highlight of our trip—not to mention a delicious meal!

My favorite thing we did on our trip! If you have the opportunity to do this cooking class, you must! Learned a lot and was such a treat getting to chat with Chela. Highly recommend!!

My family of 4 (kids are 18 and 21)) had a fantastic time learning to cook authentic food with Chela! It was interesting, fun, and delicious. It was a top experience of our time in La Fortuna!

We made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at El Fogon de Chela! Our host was welcoming, down-to-earth, and made all five of us feel useful, including our five-year-old. We enjoyed every minute, especially sharing our meal and chatting with her afterwards. It was at the top of our Costa Rica trip!

The food is delicious! The experience is unique. We learned how to make several traditional dishes over on open-fire stove. The owner, Dona Chela, hires single moms in the community so you are really helping by participating. As a family, we had a great time. Our kids were 15 & 17

My family loved the class. We chose our dishes, Chela taught and ate with us and we talked about our families. The food was the best meal we had the whole trip. Cooking with Chela is a must-do and wonderful for the whole family.

Chela is awesome! Food was delicious, location just a 15 mins ride outside of the town of La Fortuna. You cook on an outdoor stove. We went on a day that periodically rained and were protected completely from the rain. Chela loves what she does and you can taste it in your cooking. She took photos for us and shared her recipe book too. 10/10 recommend. Felt very authentic !!