Mexico City Market Tour & Authentic Cooking Class In Lucia's Home

I joined two other family members to take Lucia’s wonderful cooking class in September 2026. As others have mentioned, the class is held in the special professional kitchen she has for teaching in her beautiful home in Mexico City. Much of the prep work had already been done for us by Lucia’s assistant so we could concentrate on the unusual – preparing the huitlacoche corn for the quesadillas we would make, preparing the zucchini flower filling for a second set of quesadillas. We also prepared the masa tortillas for these quesadillas and some traditional sopas. We made a Oaxacan chicken mole (Almendrado Chicken) that was exceptionally tender and a was a fabulous mix of flavors with browned almonds, garlic and onion, as well as guajillo chiles. We ended with a light dessert of guavas simmered in a sweet sauce and accompanied by light cream that was one of the unusual highlights of the meal. Through the cooking – and over dinner – Lucia gave us a gastronomical history of pre-Columbian Mexico, Mexico after the Spanish, and the evolution to the present. It was clear that the meal that we cooked reflected this evolution of cooking styles and ingredients as well. We enjoyed the dinner on the outdoor patio, which feels like a mountain hideaway. It was a very special time, and we left with recipes that gave us much to think about for future Mexican meals and the techniques to make them. Lucia herself is a master of both cooking, teaching of cooking, and teaching of culinary history – as she calls it. We loved our experience.

Lucia was just amazing! One of the highlights of our trips to Mexico City. Wonderful tour of the market and then we were welcomed into her beautiful home to prepare the meal. She gave us guidance all along the way and shared so much information with us. Although we made it, it was pretty much her hand that made it and the food was just excellent. Prior to arriving, she sent us a whole list of options to choose from as well as any allergies that might affect what we made. Just a wonderful experience

We had a lovely experience shopping at the San Angel market under Lucia’s expert eye and then cooking in her incredible home. For those traveling CDMX with teens, this was a highlight of our trip. She’s a wonderful person. Highly recommend.

We had a great cooking class with Lucia. She gave us options of what to cook so we had input for our meal. We were at her home and she had a large, roomy kitchen, not to mention a beautiful backyard! Her recipes were fairly simple so we knew we could replicate them at home. Her English was perfect so we understood everything she was teaching us! Plus she was a great teacher. We have been traveling in Mexico for 4.5 months and this is our 4th cooking class we have taken in our travels and this was our favorite! Highly recommend!!

Outstanding afternoon spent with Lucia. Interesting wander through the local market followed by a very hands on experience in the kitchen. The menu was well planned and the activity ran very smoothly. A perfect insight into some traditional dishes and how to prepare them. Lucia was incredibly warm and generous. Loved the cactus dessert. A fabulous way to complete our travels in Mexico.

This was such a brilliant day. We loved cooking with Lucia, who took the time to show us around the market and introduce us to foods that we hadn’t tried before and teach us about the ingredients we would later use for cooking. Cooking in her home was wonderful, hands on but carefully guided, filled with lots of laughter amongst helpful information. It was a lovely moment away from the noise and pace of central Mexico City - the garden where we ate our creation is an oasis of calm. Would strongly recommend to anyone travelling and interested in food and culture. Thank you Lucia!

We had a wonderful day with Lucia. We me her at the market at San Angel. We shopped for the authentic ingredients for Mexican cuisine in general and specifically for the dishes we would be cooking later in our day. We met the vendors that knew Lucia and had been selling food in the market for generations. We ate tomales for a snack which were exquisite. Lucia took us too her beautiful home and together we made an authentic Mexican meal which included a variety of Mexican snacks made from scratch (quesadillas of huitlacoche, and Oaxaca cheese, sopes with beans and chorizo ), 2 Mexican salsas For the main course - poblano chiles stuffed with corn and cheese and in tomato sauce and Mexican rice followed by a lovely Mexican desserts. The day was was amazing. Lucia spoke of the history of the dishes. Lucia was lovely. I would highly recommend this to travelers looking for an authentic Mexican cooking experience.

This was great overall. A more "high end" cooking class than others I had done. Lucia's home is BEAUTIFUL and honestly a little fancy! She knew a ton and the food we cooked was delicious. We made a chicken mole with almonds. Lucia was an engaging and exciting guide for our family. The market tour was a little shorter and less in-depth than other market tours I had done, but this was OK, the experience was still totally worth it.

Lucia was an excellent host and chef! She was communicative and very flexible with my family's dietary restrictions. We enjoyed this experience and highly recommend to those that are wanting something unique in CDMX. Lucia's expertise and skills in the kitchen were incredible. We will definitely book again on our next trip.

My entire family loved this tour. We enjoyed the mercado, which was off the tourist radar. Lucia was very friendly and communicative, even before our trip started. We had fun cooking with her, and we tried a few ingredients that we had never heard of before. I highly recommend this experience!

We had an amazing cooking experience! It was super fun, informative and Lucia made sure to teach us anything we wanted to know! Her place is beautiful and the conversation never lagged. We loved her and have been talking about it since!

A truly special afternoon with Lucía – full of warmth, flavor, and heart! We had such a wonderful time with Lucía – this experience was one of the absolute highlights of our trip to Mexico City. From the very first moment, Lucía made us feel welcome and at home. Even her sweet dog Matilda gave us the warmest greeting – the cutest welcoming committee we could’ve hoped for! The visit to the local market in San Ángel was fascinating. As two German travelers with limited Spanish, we really appreciated how clearly and enthusiastically Lucía explained all the ingredients, their uses, and local traditions. Her passion for food and culture was infectious, and we felt we learned so much. At her beautiful home – especially the lovely terrace where we later shared our meal – we were blown away by how thoughtfully everything was prepared. Cooking together with Lucía was both fun and informative, and the final menu was simply delicious. Every dish was full of flavor, fresh ingredients, and love. Lucía is a fantastic host: warm, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable. We felt like guests at a friend’s home rather than participants in a tour. Thank you, Lucía, for this unforgettable and meaningful afternoon. We couldn’t have asked for more!

We had a really wonderful time with Lucia, getting introduced to the local market with its abundance of vegetables and fruits, and being welcomed into her home. During the 10 days we spent in Mexico City at the end of 2024, this was one of our two most memorable experiences. I am writing this review now, 6 months later, because I just recommended Lucia’s class to friends, and realized that I had never posted a review. Learning to cook traditional-style Mexican food with Lucia was terrific fun. And the dishes we prepared were really delicious. We could never have figured out this cooking style from a cookbook. We have tried a very limited number of dishes since returning home, but we plan to experiment more broadly. We need to learn the best sources for Mexican ingredients in the Maryland area. In the meantime, I am highly recommending Lucia’s class to friends and neighbors who are heading to Mexico City later this month. I would also say that Lucia is an extremely gracious host. I post very few reviews on Trip Advisor, so this can be considered evidence of a very high level of enthusiasm.

We spent such a lovely day with Lucia. The market tour was informative and honestly such an interesting place i might never have discovered on my own. When it came time to cook Lucia's expertise really shown. she did an amazing job of balancing our disparate skill levels and made certain everyone had an important job. When it came time to eat we all could take pleasure in our own handiwork. What a beautiful home to be welcomed into. Lucia accomodated my mother's dietary restrictions and really helped make this the most memorable experience of out trip.

Just getting to converse with Lucia and be in her gorgeous home would have been worth the expense. In addition to that, we made and shared a meal that blew our minds! The flavors of the sautéed fungus, green salsa, and mole delighted our senses. We peppered Lucia with questions all evening, and if we annoyed her, we couldn’t tell! She was so generous with her knowledge about art, history, spirituality, her expertise in gastronomy, and she made several recommendations about things to try during our visit. We had a full itinerary during our visit to Mexico City, and this experience was definitely one of the top highlights of the trip.

My friend and I had a wonderful day with Lucia. Starting in the market we learned her love of food and history. She shared great stories and information on the items she planned to have us cook with. We arrived at her beautiful home to prepare our meal. The prep was fun and we continued the conversation. By the time we sat down for our 3 course meal over looking her yard, we were hungry and proud of what we had accomplished. Lucia joined us and we talk more about travel and other parts of Mexico I look forward to visiting. She was an amazing host and teacher.

This was time well spent for our small group! Lucia was knowledgable and courteous! We enjoyed the tasty treats, the market visit, and the exciting time cooking in the kitchen! Highly recommend this experience in the beautiful and historical San Angel neighborhood.

I booked this cooking class experience with two other friends, and we had such a great time! We started the tour at an outdoor market, where we met Lucia. She gave us a tour of the market, stopping to show us different fruits and vegetables that are common in Mexican cuisine. Afterwards, we hopped in Lucia’s car and headed to her beautiful home. The views from her backyard were stunning, and it made the experience that much better! Since my group was vegetarian + pescatarian, Lucia accommodated us and curated a menu that we would enjoy. Everything that we made and ate was delicious (authentic quesadillas, arroz con leche (per our request), and the most delicious chile rellenos)! Lucia answered all of our questions and was a very good host. After we finished cooking, we headed to her backyard to enjoy our food. It was amazing! Hearing her knowledge of food and gastronomy was a great experience. She also gave us tips on what we should see in CDMX and answered questions we had about local culture, which was nice. Definitely recommend this experience!

Lucia is a wonderful hostess, cook, and teacher. She met us at the Mercado, showed us around and allowed us to sample various foods. She offered two options for the meal and we chose the almond mole. She was very organized and managed to give us all several jobs and keep track of everything. Our kids are 10 and 12 and she had them chopping, saute, making fresh quesadillas and sopes, and making flan. If you have kids the activity works better if they are more mature as it is a couple hours of cooking. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed a fantastic meal on her patio enjoying the lovely garden and view. The meal was generous: chicken mole with rice, sopes with beans and chorizo, quesadillas with zuchinni blossom or fermentes corn, salsas, caramel flan. We made everything! Thank you Lucia! We loved getting to know you!

It was truly the highlight of our trip! Strongly recommend this tour to everyone who loves food and enjoy cooking or want to learn about the cuisine in Mexico! It was our first time in Mexico/mexico city and we booked this tour since both my partner and I love food. We have a restaurant in Tokyo and we were really looking forward to getting an introduction and learning about the cuisine and the culture etc. Lucia welcomed us warmly and both walking around the market with her and her cooking class were both incredible/exciting/inspiring experiences. She even altered some of the cooking class menu and shared many ideas with us when we talked about our restaurant business after we met up, which we were so grateful for since I didn't mention any of that background info when we were booking. (Recommend communicating any request or background etc in advance via message) Thank you so much again for the amazing day, Lucia! :)

Lucía was amazing! Delicious food and great fun! (And she helped us with a minor family emergency - completely above and beyond the call of duty). We have already recommended her to other friends and family traveling to México soon.

We had a wonderful experience cooking with Lucia! She was so welcoming, warm and generous, and had delicious recipes for us to make. We are all still dreaming about the sopes and the different salsas, as well as the green mole! I'd HIGHLY recommend this class. Thank you Lucia for such a wonderful way to spend the day in CDMX!

Lucia was warm and personable, and a patient teacher. We enjoyed our tour of the market, and we found her advice and instruction to be very helpful. It was a pleasure to spend time in her beautiful home and eat the delicious meal we prepared together. Overall, a fantastic experience!

Cooking with Lucia was the highlight of our week in Mexico City! She is a fabulous host! Her beautiful kitchen was a total pleasure to be in and having lunch together on her terrace was pure delight! She has Beautiful home and made us feel welcome in every way! The food was absolutely delicious and her instructions were easy to follow. Lucia is simply The very best! Don’t lose a chance to have a wonderful learning experience and a relaxing fun day in a beautiful part of Mexico City!

The cooking lesson was a very special experience. We first met up with Lucia at the food market in San Ángel, where she explained what we were buying for our meal, but also answered questions about foods that were not familiar to us, which was interesting. Then we went to her home, and her beautiful kitchen. For every step Lucia explained what we were doing and why. This was NOT a demonstration, but rather hands on preparation and cooking of green mole, as well as homemade tortillas and sopes, and a simple cut delicious guava dessert. We then ate our delicious lunch outdoors on the patio. This day was a highlight of our trip to Mexico City and I cannot recommend this experience highly enough. We want to return to the city as 5 days wasn’t enough to see and do all that we wanted, and I will definitely return for another cooking lesson with Lucia when we do.

Our family of six did a market visit and cooking class with Lucia on December 30, 2024, What an excellent experience! Lucia is well-versed in Mexican cooking, speaks impeccable English, and is a great ambassador for Mexican cuisine. During the market visit, she taught us a lot about indigenous Mexican fruits, vegetables, and herbs. We learned so much about cooking and prepared a delicious lunch with Lucia's expert guidance. Highly recommended!

Very nice experience! We felt very welcome and Lucia was a great teacher! We would recommend to do this if you're in Mexico city.

Our time with Lucia started at a local market where we explored things that we would need to create a food experience. She shared with us the history of many of the ingredients we would use, and we were able to taste samples of spices and food made by artisans with more than 40 years’ experience. Lucia welcomed us into her home and her kitchen where we learned how to prepare authentic Mexican cuisine. Every bite was mouth watering. The bonus was the conversation that made us feel like we were with a long time friend. What a fantastic journey! If you are planning to visit Mexico City, add this to the top of your bucket list of things to do. 

We went expecting a standard cooking class, but it turned out to be more like getting invited to a friend’s house and cooking with their lovely mom. Except the mom is also an amazing expert, she studied and taught the gastronomical history of Mexico in university. We started by going through the market, where Lucia knew most of the vendors (she lived in the San Angel neighborhood all her life) and helped us taste and buy any chiles or sauces we wanted. Then we went to her home and made two different kinds of quesadillas, salsas, almendrado and dessert! Lucia was super kind and helpful teaching us how to make everything from scratch. I asked all questions I could think about Mexican cuisine, ingredients, prehispanic cooking and Spanish influences, and learned so much. 11/10 would do again, only thing I would do differently is to plan to spend more time in the neighborhood which is beautiful with all the majestic colonial era houses. Lucia also gave recommendations on what to see in the area.

The cooking class was so much fun and the dishes we made were delicious. But the best was Lucia! She is awesome!!! We learned so much about the dishes and the history behind them.

Lucia is an amazingly erudite and amiable chef. The cooking is top notch and the knowledge behind the cuisine is world class. We felt like family in her own home!

We did a Monday morning class with Lucia with a market tour. This was a great time to plan an activity as many things are closed on Mondays but the markets are better on the weekends. The cooking class was an incredible experience in Lucia’s beautiful home. She accommodated a special menu for us as adventurous cooks, vegetarian, and gluten free. Lucia is so incredibly knowledgeable about her hometown and history of Mexican food. We felt so lucky to have spent the day with her cooking a menu of tortillas, sopes, quesadillas, Huazontles, salsa molcajete, nopal salad, arroz verde, and xoconostles. We cooked everything together from scratch with local ingredients. She was very warm, inviting, and took the time to answer questions and explain techniques for example what would make a tortilla better. Evita was a delight and assisted with the class. We loved meeting Lucia’s dog Martina. I would recommend this class to anyone visiting Mexico City especially if you like to cook.

Our experience with Lucia was amazing and I would highly recommend her class to anyone considering! We started off at the market where we learned about authentic Mexican ingredients and got to sample a couple things. Once we picked up what we needed, we then headed back to Lucia’s home. It was a beautiful peaceful atmosphere with a large chef’s kitchen. She then taught us how to make multiple dishes including quesadillas, sopas, tortillas, salsas, stuffed poblano peppers, rice, and dessert. She was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and made us feel as if we were family in her home. She was also very accommodating to our needs, as I had emailed her beforehand asking to alter the menu slightly. Thanks again for a wonderful experience!! I would highly recommend booking this class!

We are so glad that we did a market tour and cooking class with Lucia. It was one of our friend's birthday's and she agreed to buy an extra cake for us. I did not know what type of cake so I said chocolate. I later regretted this and wish I had chosen tres leches which is more unique. Fortunately, Lucia made the executive decision to get a tres leches cake for us! It showed great intuition. Also, we were running late and she was very flexible with waiting for us. Then, we got to see a very local market without any tourists. She knew several of the vendors and we had the opportunity to try samples of different things. She also recommended a specific taco place that was too good to pass up. After this, we went to her house where we made mole. It was a beautiful house and she was able to answer all of our questions about food and Mexican culture.

We were so delighted with our market and cooking experience with Lucia. We started out with a market tour, and it was clear that Lucia was familiar with everyone there as we learned about market history, dried chiles, traditional remedies, and various other market wares. From there, we headed to Lucia’s home, a very clean and comfortable space with a lovely large kitchen area and charming backyard, which had an amazing view of a ravine, completely covered in trees and dwellings. It really gave us a different sense of the variety in what is CDMX, since near our hotels, it was all buildings, manicured, or treeless. We were most excited to learn to make mole, where we started with Phil taking the lead in frying the many ingredients while Lucia taught Rane to make the fresh and roasted salsas we would learn to prepare. Everything we made turned out great. She helped us to learn the details of how to create many dishes with detailed hands-on experiences. We made Mexican rice, molotes (with chorizo and potatoes), sopes, quesadillas (with cheese and huitlacoche), 2 salsas, and chicken with freshly made mole. We even had prickly pear in syrup for dessert. We got to understand the versatility of the masa across various antojitos. We snacked on those until Phil became worried that he would not be able to eat the mole over the chicken, which was stupendous. Phil can’t wait to find the time to make up a big batch. We even managed the dessert, which was a wonderful end to the meal and the experience. With the market visit, we also have a much better sense of how mole is sold fresh, and we’re hoping we might just be able to try some from one of our local Mexican grocery stores when we’re searching for other supplies to replicate our experience. While she wasn’t a coffee drinker, she was happy to accommodate our desire to have some coffee she had while we were working. We were made to feel welcome at all times and had lots of fun while learning more about the culture and the food.

Lucia was amazing! She was so nice and gave us some great cooking insight. Would recommend to anyone

Cooking with Margarita and a private market tour was unquestionably the most amazing experience my husband and my friends have ever haGbeautiful, she wAas a gracious host and a wondertfuk chef. My friends, my husband and I love it MARGARITA is just superb!

Lucía was the best, our communication was great and she tried to accommodate our requests with no fuss. The whole experience was better than expected. Everyone that visits Mexico should do this tour… highly recommended!!

Lucia was a lot of fun as a teacher. Full of knowledge! Going to the market and asking questions was very helpful! We made a lot of food which was all delicious. It always help to have the hands on experience . I can’t wait to make the green mole at home, very soon. I feel like I made a new friend. Thank you.

Lucia was a wonderful host - we met at the local market first where she showed us all the local produce and patiently answered all our questions. We then went to her home where we learned how to prepare cactus, made tortillas and quesadillas from scratch. It was an amazing experience that immersed us deeply in the local culture and experience Mexican hospitality at its fullest! Would recommend to anyone visiting Mexico City!

I have done private cooking classes and market tours around the world and Lucia is at the top of the list. Lucia is personable, knowledgeable, and very good at managing a group with varying skill levels. We made chicken and mole, fried quesadillas, and a guava dessert. We had fun, ate well, and importantly learned some key skills. I would gladly book another class. Did I mention Lucia is a wonderful person to sit and chat with when it is time to eat? Lucia, send those recipes!

The entire experience was exactly what my husband and I were looking for during our trip to Mexico City! We started the day by meeting Lucia at a local market where she took us around to local stands to explain the local produce, try fresh corn tortillas and even bought us a few sweets to take home. As we made our way into Lucia's home, she was nothing but welcoming & really made us feel comfortable as guests in her home. We had an awesome time learning how to make a traditional mole, mushroom quesadillas and even taught us how to make a flan from scratch! Lucia's beautiful backyard really set the stage for an amazing & peaceful lunch. Lucia even recommended a few activities & helped us book a spot at a local restaurant that she spoke highly of. All in all, this is exactly what an at-home cooking experiences should be!! I would recommend this experience to all of my friends and anyone looking to have a true cooking experience with a local chef!

Lucia is terrific. She met my friends and me in the market and took us on a tour. We visited various vendors and learned about typical produce. We ate tamales from a local vendor and tasted various types of Mole (traditional sauce). After the tour, Lucia drove us to her house and taught us how to prepare tortillas and chicken mole. Be prepared to spend several hours.

Simply put, our experience with Alex could not have been better. We learned so much about the neighborhood, the market, the history of both, and of course the food. Alex's apartment is beautifully appointed and comfortable. We had the best time cooking the dishes, and Alex was adept at directing us and sharing information about the meal. He is the perfect host.

Went with Ismael to a local market, where we tried different fruits and vegetables, which was really awesome. Then after a short subway ride to his house we made a soup and enchiladas and just talked about all sorts of things. It was a great way to spend a day in CDMX and definitely would recommend.

My girlfriend and me did the food tour with Ismael. He was friendly, funny and provided the most interesting facts and insights into the local cuisine. Absolutely fantastic!

Our day with Lucia was a highlight of a recent trip to Mexico City. Her deep culinary knowledge, as both an academic and lifelong resident of San Angel, meant that we learned new things all through the day. As we visited the market she's been going to all her life, we not only got to sample some new foods, but also to learn about their cultural and historical significance. Seeing San Angel was a treat we might have otherwise missed. But the real delight was the time we spent in Lucia's beautiful kitchen. She had everything planned and ready for us to work with, but the afternoon felt much more like cooking with a lovely friend than a class, especially as the three of us chatted and enjoyed the lunch we had made. And the day after we returned home, we went out and bought tomatillos to recreate the delicious salsa she'd taught us to make!

My sons and I loved our time with Alex. He took us to a market not far from his home that for Mexico City standards was easy to navigate and allowed us to sample some new and unique foods that were delicious. Once we were back at Alex's apartment he guided us through cooking a delicious vegetarian meal that my whole family enjoyed. We loved learning more about the city and it's culture through our conversations and felt welcomed as friends in his home. Highly recommend!

Alex is a personable, knowledgeable and talented cook. We had fun shopping at the nearby market for ingredients for our 6 dish dinner, tasting tropical fruit and other goodies along the way. Our private class in Alex's home was a highlight of our 1 week stay in Mexico City. We were assigned small tasks to help prepare and learn about the dishes we were making. I enjoyed learning about cooking with fresh and dried chilis. The menu was quite ambitious, preparing several appetizers, the main dish and dessert. Alex made it fun and effortless.Taking a class in someone's private home is so much better than at a cooking school. We felt a personal bond form.