From Market To Plate: Visit Funchal Market & Culinary Experience

Having hugely enjoyed their Food and Culture tour on our last visit we decided to try another and it didn't disappoint. Our excellent guide explained the history of Funchal's main fresh food market. We then walked around the various parts of the building itself - fruit, vegetable. meat and fish. This highlighted some of the main ingredients in the food we would later eat. We then sampled a range of local fruits. Proceeding to a local high end restaurant, we were treated to a range of specialities cooked in front of us. These excellent dishes were consumed with matching wines. An excellent half day tour. We'll happily try another of their tours on our next visit.

The culinary experience is sitting at The Chef's Table watching them cook. It was so much fun and the interaction was so joyful as they prepared our food as well as for the entire restaurant. Ana, our guide to was wonderful and informative. A great time!

So … The GOOD here is an excellent tour through the Funchal main market with explanation of history of food on the island and a tasting of local fruits. Our guide Isabel explained things very well and could answer our second and third level questions. The EXCELLENT here is a local chef’s table lunch with superb food, mostly local/local ingredients, and excellent wine pairings, with excellent and fun engagement by both the head chef and the sous chef. The DISAPPOINTING thing is that this is not in any way a local cooking class or session. This was implied or maybe even said in the description, and was simply not the case. If the first two things draw you in, by all means join this tour. If you want to learn to cook local dishes, this is not the tour for you. You might also simply choose to book lunch or dinner at the Three Houses restaurant.

The guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable and flexible to adjust to the interests of us. The food was great too! However I missed a bit of interaction on hoe the food was prepared (they only told us but did not really show). Also we had to pay extra money because they were below an minimum amount, however there was no minimum amount of people mentioned in de advertisements or in the details only a maximum of 6, this additional suprise cost did sour the experience a little.

Super tour around the market, with exotic fruit tasting, great and the meal experience at the three house restaurant with Maurice the chef, brilliant.

Great insight to local foods and how used. Excellent guide and cooking experience in hotel with entertaining chef and terrific meal and wines.

We started in the market where Ana has amazing local knowledge and explained everything perfectly. Moving onto the food it was just more than we could have expected. Chefs were so friendly and talked us through everything. Food was tasty and wine paired perfectly. Would recommend to anyone who loves food and wants to explore new flavours

Delicious and informative way to spend day in Funchal. Anna was very informative and delightful! Food at Three House delicious!

An experience we will never forget An absolutely treat to watch the chefs at work and explain what imagination goes into the process of creating such delicious and show stopping cuisine The tour of the fish and fruit market was so interesting, to gain more knowledge of how the island works in all its glory These guys definitely know how to give you that extra Foodie tour experience It’s a must if your always excited by different flavours and aromas Food heaven for the taste buds

Fantastic tour Knowledgeable host and guide Trendy modern restaurant, plenty of food, wine, would recommend friends and family to do this tour

Our market tour guide Eugenia gave us fabulous info about the market, the fish and fruits and spices. Knowledgeable and a great guide. Chef Mauricio Faria Of Three House Restaurant was personable, gave excellent step by step instructions and served us 4 divine courses accompanied by water, wine & coffee. Delicious and inspiring food. All the kitchen staff were friendly. Chef and Eugenia capped off the experience by taking us to the rooftop for a spectacular 360 view of Funchal. This experience was a highlight of our trip to Madeira.

This is a fun and savory way to immerse oneself in Madeira life. Our guide, Ana, is clearly impassioned with sharing insights, historically, culinary, socially about Madeira and its food and people. Very well organized. We never felt rushed but sampled so many delicious things and wandered around the town in a leisurely pace.

The tour round the market was excellent - very knowledgeable and friendly guide. We tried different fruits, from sour to sweet. We then sat in the kitchen and watched the chefs prepare lunch, which was impressive. Lunch was delicious - four courses with wine and coffee. Would highly recommend.

Operator cancelled, giving less than 24 hrs notice, so no time to book another suitable activity. Offered refund or to continue with event on private basis, if we paid another 80 euros! Very questionable. I would thoroughly recommend AVOIDING this particular provider. I was aware event may not go ahead if numbers insufficient, but more warning would have been fair. I would not have been able to cancel in same time frame.

This was a birthday gift from family and totally exceeded our expectations! Market tour, fruit tasting (private), followed by an AMAZING live cooking experience at the restaurant in Madeira. Chef/staff at the restaurant were just SO professional, friendly and have such a passion for the food they prepare and we learned SO MUCH. Our tour guide was SO informative and we just couldn't recommend this more..FABULOUS!

Absolutely fantastic! Our small group first explored the market, where we had the opportunity to learn about some of the cultural aspects of the groups sharing this space. We then had a fruit tasting, where we learned about some of the fruits that are unique or uniquely adapted to Madeira. Finally, we went to a nearby restaurant where the chef prepared four amazing dishes for us. He was a joy to watch, and everything was delicious. This tour exceeded my expectations, and was a wonderful and unique way to spend an afternoon in Funchal.

An excellent morning, started with a tour of the farmer's market in Funchal. Looking at the fruit and veg on sale, some unfamiliar items amongst them! After a fruit tasting in the market we moved on to a town centre restaurant. We sat at chef's table and watched as our spectacular lunch was prepared. Lunch was focused on Madeira produce with some very unusual and delicious twists. Throughly recommend this tour if you like food!

Our guide was great! She was knowledgeable about the history surrounding Madeira and the walk through of the market. After the market we experienced a wonderful food experience while the head chef (who was great) explained his dishes and process behind why he cooks the way he does. Was a great overall experience.

Our family loved this tour from start to finish. From the tour of the market and the surrounding areas, to the tasting of local fruits to the amazing cooking demonstration, our guide was knowledgeable and interesting. She gave us a great deal of insight and tips for the rest of our stay in Madeira. The cooking demonstration was fantastic and the food delicious. This tour was definitely a highlight of our trip to Madeira.

The food was delicious and the market tour was very nice. However, you can do all this on your own for a fraction of the cost. Go check our the market on your own and then eat a delicious lunch at the Three House Restaurant and you will save mega bucks. This tour was way overpriced for what you got.

Fantastic experience. A late birthday treat for my partner. Jacqueline gave a great tour of the market. The food, the chefs, the company were also 5 star. One of the highlights of our holiday.

The market tour was a great introduction to the island and Funchal in particular. We were celebrating our honeymoon and this activity felt like such a luxury experience. We had a lovely time and were so appreciative that the chef was not only accommodating of our vegetarian needs but specifically designed new plates adapted specifically to fit our needs. This will forever be a beautiful memory for us!

Absolutely fantastic tour! Guide was extremely knowledgeable about Madeira food, culture and people! We only wished we went on the tour at the beginning of our stay rather than the end!

The cooking experience was the greatest part, really enjoyable. All the informations our tour guide provides was great and includes some nice details we never have known before.

Jacqueline is great. Lots of food. The first stop alone was enough to fill us up, but then we kept going for more and more stops. She's quite charming and a good historian as well. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone.

Jacqueline was a great host - she showed us around the market and introduced us to a couple of fruits we'd never seen before (and we thought we'd seen everything!). We had a really great fruit and wine tasting in the market, after which we went for the cooking experience. It isn't hands on, but watching the chefs prepare and cook the food (which, happily, we then ate). We were able to take notes and both chefs were very helpful in explaining what they were doing, how best to tailor the ingredients etc. Well worth doing, but it is important to note that this doesn't involve doing any cooking; rather, it's a show and tell by the chefs.

The market tour was fantastic! Our guide Jacqueline was very knowledgeable of the history, flowers, fruits, sellers and spices. Loved the coffee break and chocolate recommendation, yum! The location of our cooking experience was absolutely stunning, a great spot for photos and super chill. The chef and his team, masters of craft, total food experts, super humble and more than happy to share their knowledge, food secrets and cooking tips! I’m used to getting more hands on with the cooking, this was more of a cooking demonstration - which might actually make it more appealing to a wider audience of foodies, even those who can’t cook! The food was excellent - there’s no words to describe how wonderfully tasty, exciting and pleasantly surprising all the carefully thought through flavour combinations are, I guess you just have to try it!

It was a special pleasure with Jaqueline to stroll over the market and buy the fresh ingredients for cooking. The coronation of the day we experienced when cooking in the private framework. We rarely eaten so well and feel comfortable at all times. Thanks for the experience. We will definitely come back.

You should be aware that the fruit sellers will cheat you every time. It you ask for one apple and one banana, they will put several of each in your bag and will probably charge a higher price per item than is posted, or that they told you. I had this happen on my first visit to Funchal (on a shore excursion from a cruise ship) When I told them that I did not want several apples because cruise ships do not allow fruit purchased ashore to be taken onto the ship, they laughed at me and said that I did not know what I was talking about. They refused to take extra items out of my bag until I firmly told them that I was not going to buy anything if they didn't. They then became rude and angry. On later trips to Funchal I witnessed the same fruit dealers pulling the same exact scams on tourists. Tour directors won't tell you about these crooks. You should also be aware that some of the exotic fruits that you may not be familiar with have great flavors but are bitter and only used in cooking. The dealers won't tell you this. In order to sell these bitter fruits to tourists, they have one of the fruits cut open and liquified. They will let you take a little stick to dip into the liquid and taste. The dirty trick is that they have added lots of sugar to mask the bitter taste. The dried fruit and nut dealers use similar deceptions to sell you more than you want, but they are less aggressively dishonest and will usually give in and only charge you for the amount you asked for, if you insist. On the other hand, the flower and other vendors of locally made items are not thieves and may even haggle a little over the price of the goods.

Jaqueline first guided us along Funchal's market place with its colorful flowers, fruits, herbs, fresh fish and many more. We were able to taste the different kind of passion fruits. As Jaqueline was born on Madeira, you can ask her anything about this beautiful island. She is a really nice person who wants to let you enjoy the whole experience. We bought some extra ingredients we needed during the cooking part, which was located in a nice outdoor kitchen with enough shade. Together with the chef and 2 other guests we prepared a 3 course traditional meal. Accompanied with some bolo de caco (extremely delicious garlic bread) and excellent local and Portuguese wine, we enjoyed the food we prepared together. We finished with a plate of fresh exotic fruits. I really recommend this tour if you enjoy eating, want to explore new flavors, but also when there is a little chef inside of you :-)

Very informative competent and friendly walking tour with 7 stops food in the old town of Funchal

Very friendly and smiling guide, interesting visit! She was able to answer all our questions! Group homogeneous and friendly! Delicious tastings

Delicious food! Nice to get a look in the kitchen. You shouldn't expect a workshop, another participant had that idea with us, it's really looking at life cooking. Besides the cooking experience also had a tour at the market and we were allowed to see the roof terrace. Nice to see the city like that, but it also felt a bit like a sales pitch in front of the hotel.

A wonderful morning with a great guide Ana, who first led us through the market hall, explained everything really well and then the show cooking in the Three House, simply amazing and super tasty. It was definitely worth it. We'd do it again anytime...

Rigtig god og sjov oplevelse, med en skøn guide der viste os rundt på markedet, og senere lavede charmerende kokke lækker mad til os, mens vi så på, og fik tips og tricks.

Wonderful experience with lots of information about everything that grows in Madeira and how to use/prepare it. Jaqueline is a very friendly and warm guide and both the visit to the market and the cooking experience was great fun for us. We were lucky that three out of seven participants forgot the appointment and so we were a mini-troupe with another couple. The tour was in English, which Jaqueline speaks very well! But we had not tried for a German tour beforehand as we speak fluent English. All in all a great day and if we come to Madeira again we are happy to be guests here again:-) We highly recommend this experience to all foodies. Thank you!

Wir waren nur vier Personen. Super Führung über den Markt. Die Location und der Koch war toll. Ich persönlich hätte mir nur etwas mehr Informationen über die Speisen gewünscht. Rezepte wären toll.

Krásné podívání, pastva pro turisty, ale dost předražené, jinde se dá sehnat levněji, jsou dost neodbytní.