Private Porto Or Farm-to-table Experience & Cooking Class

It was a joy to learn to cook authentic Portuguese food with Heitor! He welcomed us into his beautiful home, took us on a tour of the historic building and farm, then set us to work! We made an incredible 5-course meal that rates in my top 5 most delicious meals of all time. You get to choose your menu from a variety of options depending on what sounds good, which was nice. We made so much food that we left totally stuffed. All the dishes were great but the “fish a portuguesa” was particularly exceptional and featured the best tomato I’ve ever eaten in my life. I’m excited to try to recreate it at home (he emails the recipes too). Heitor also grows grapes to make his own wine, and we got to drink (lots of) his amazing vinho verde with the meal! It was delicious, easy drinking and we left a bit tipsy. The farm is located about 50 minutes outside of Porto but was easy to get to via either uber or train (we did uber one way then took the train back). I would recommend this to anyone visiting Porto who is interested in a meaningful, authentic cooking experience. Note that the class took about 5 hours total so don’t try to cram other scheduled activities on the same day.

Chef De Melo is truly remarkable—genuine, passionate, and deeply dedicated to both the art of cooking and the people he teaches. His class goes far beyond preparing a meal; he shares valuable techniques, insights, and skills that will elevate your own cooking long after the experience ends. Every detail of the evening felt magical, from the warm hospitality to the hands-on instruction and incredible food. We will cherish our time with Chef De Melo and the memories created there for years to come. He has a rare gift for making every guest feel welcome, and by the end of the experience, he feels less like an instructor and more like a true friend. Highly recommended.

Thankfully, we were able to switch our experience from the Porto venue to the Farm, where the chef (Heitor) actually lives. Such a generous host, consummate chef of European gastronomy, and a master of his own Portuguese cuisine. We spent a wonderful afternoon chopping, prepping, mixing, cooking and joking together. While waiting for the oven and stovetop Heitor’s assistant escorted us around the early 19th century (1818) farm with its old kitchen and living quarters, and a private chapel. Our 4-course meal was extraordinary, the experience was the highlight of our time in Porto.

Heitor and his asst went above and beyond. We got a tour of the farm incredible. We made 4 dishes and enjoyed a true authentic Portuguese afternoon meal. Heitor is a good soul and after meeting him once I know I have a new friend in Portugal. Best class ever

We had a lovely experience with Heitor and his team! We enjoyed getting a taste of local life in Portugal and the workings of a farm. We were taught several traditional Portuguese recipes and got our hands dirty working in the kitchen. Then, we got to sit down and enjoy the fantastic dishes we helped create along with Heitor's wine!

Heitor welcomes us into his beautiful home on a farm 30 minutes outside Porto, and with his team (Joāo and Rose) provided a truly memorable experience for us. He taught us how to cook bacalau fritters, pan fried fresh sardines, an amazing fish stew, braised chicken baked over basmati rice, and an almost custardy orange rolled cake. He used many ingredients from his own property, and everything was absolutely delicious.

This is just about the most fun I’ve ever had in a kitchen. The menu was varied and we were able to participate in the preparation of each item. Hector was so gracious to us and we are so happy that we decided to do this experience.

The cooking class with Chef Heitor was the highlight of our trip to Porto. Just a short train or taxi ride outside of Porto, we visited the family farm of the chef and learned to cook a multi-course meal with fresh produce grown on the farm. As avid cooks, the Chef taught us how to make authentic Portuguese food and introduced new techniques that will make us better cooks. What made the visit so special was the hospitality of Chef Heitor, from the moment we booked, he made the visit special. He provided details on how to easily get to the farm, arranged a taxi, and ensured that the travel was smooth. Once we got to the farm, we had a tour of his family's home, visited the family chapel, kitchen, and since it was harvest watched the process of harvesting the grapes. He welcomed us like family. The kitchen was warm and welcoming, the afternoon flew by as we learned how to make Portuguese fish stew, rice, and appetizers of cod cakes and sardines. For dessert. we made a simple orange roll cake. We then ate in the family dining room, enjoying each course we made accompanied by his own wine. We truly enjoyed our time with Chef Heitor, his assistant Christina, and will be back when we visit Porto again.

Heiter was very cordial and helpful, leading us through the preparation of a delicous Portuguese meal, which we then enjoyed. We stated with some confusion about the location, going to the Porto address, rather than to his farm outside of Porto. Once we got to the farm, the experience was most enjoyable. At the end, his assistants gave us a ride back to our hotel in Porto.

⸻ Last night, my husband, son, and I spent four wonderful hours with Heitor and Christina at Heitor’s farm—cooking, tasting, and laughing. We were taken on a tour around the farm, and later we picked the vegetables we needed for the dishes we were going to cook. We met the geese and the chickens and saw the vineyard. Cooking in the kitchen with Heitor and Christina—talking, laughing, and teasing each other—created a lovely atmosphere. It was clear that the two of them share a great relationship, which gave the whole experience a very cozy and familiar feel. The food we made was delicious, and we thoroughly enjoyed eating the dishes we had prepared ourselves. We highly recommend spending time with Heitor and Christina to learn about Portuguese cuisine and traditions. Thank you for a lovely evening!

The start was a bit rocky - because of some miscommunication. Anyway, after we smoothed the issues, Heitor took us through the steps in making the traditional Portugese meal. The four of us, including Heitor and his assistant, Christina, gave us each a task and so this turned out to be a group cooking session. After cooking a 4 course meal, we sat down to eat. Heitor accompanied the food with his estate-bottled wine - light and refreshing. Overall, it was a great cooking experience. One suggestion is that you go to the farm instead of the city - it is probably more fun.

Wasn’t on our bucket list but perhaps it should have been. Memorable experience indeed. Learned much, savored our dishes we helped prepare, shared fellowship. Highly recommend.

My 17yer old daughter and I really enjoyed this cooking experience. Heitor and Christina were awesome. The perfect balance of learning to cook the dishes and letting the experts ensure the final meal was delicious. We have been in Portugal for 5 days and this was hands down our best meal so far. 10/10 recommend.

It was a fantastic adventure. The farm is beautiful. Hector, our host was a charming man, a great chef and teacher. The food was so plentiful and delicious, the wine incredible. I highly recommend this event. You will not be disappointed and you will go away very full and satisfied.

Heitor was a very kind host and the food was delicious. We did the cooking class at his home on the farm and we got a tour, followed by cooking some traditional Portuguese dishes, and then a meal with wine. We did not feel rushed and it was overall a great experience. Heitor has a vineyard on both the farm and in Duoro Valley and we drank a few of his wines. They were delicious!

Our cooking class just outside Porto was a fantastic experience. Chef Heitor, the instructor, was incredibly engaging and knowledgeable. His assistant, Cristina, was equally interesting and helpful, making the entire experience even better. The class was designed for just one group, so it was only my wife and me, which allowed for a personalized and intimate setting. We started with a tour of the original kitchen from the 1800s and farm, learning about the fresh, local ingredients we’d be using. The hands-on cooking was engaging, and we prepared a full menu of traditional Portuguese dishes. We deeply respected Heitor’s passion for teaching and the care he put into the class. To be honest, the true highlight was just being able to spend the day with Chef Heitor. We were able to ask questions all day, and he shared his knowledge that he had accumulated over the course of his entire culinary career. He is warm, friendly, funny, and talented. We can’t wait to be back in the Porto area and take another class with him.

This was a lovely, very authentic experience! The space was clean, the hosts couldn't have been kinder, and we helped cook four Portuguese dishes my boyfriend and I would've never thought to make. Great for those wanting to learn about traditional dishes.

Our cooking class with Chef Heitor was the highlight of our trip. We took a short & inexpensive train from Porto to his beautiful farm. What a treat to experience this historic home. The tour of the grounds alone was a treat - orange trees, lemon trees, apple trees, bay leaf laurel, herbs, vineyards, hydrangeas, roses, & more. I was so envious!! We felt that we had a “true” Portuguese experience - prepping dinner (as much or as little work as you desire) under the tutelage of Heitor & Christina. We felt like we were being welcomed into the home of our good friends. Manuel was also wonderful - graciously serving us and ensuring we had plenty of delicious green wine (from Heitor’s grapes!), olive oil (from Heitor’s olives), our many dinner dishes, dessert (that we helped to make!) and red wine, of course! We sat and had the most enjoyable conversation as we finished dinner and (sadly) ended our visit. I highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting the Porto area!

This was a wonderful experience. Hector and Christina were welcoming and took the time to explain everything. From the moment we arrived to the moment we left full, satisfied, and a bit tipsy, we enjoyed the farm tour, the stories, the recipes, and the food and wine. I will certainly consider taking other friends to enjoy this experience when they visit me here in Portugal. I learned many things that I will carry into my family's kitchen. Thank you, Hector and Christina!

Heitor, our chef and Christina, are hospitable, fun and kind, and put together a great cuisine and cooking class for us. The meal was accompanied by great wine, and most everything came straight from the farm. It was exquisite, and I highly recommend this event any time!

The host was engaged explaining the food. The portions were large and the wine was paired well with the dishes. Overall a great experience good food, wine and hospitality.

Amazing cooking class with chef Heitor Melo, true to his origins in the most wholesome meal ever. Felt at home! More than wanting to go to his farm next time! For all the description and love he told us about it, no regrets on the house in Porto, but the rustic part should be something memorable!

What a fun, informative and delicious experience! Heitor de Melo is an amazing chef, who is happy to share his secrets, tips and teach us about culinary customs in Portugal. We highly recommend booking a lunch or dinner with him. Next time, we would like to have lunch with him at his farm, not far from Porto!

I made a reservation for 7:30 PM on October 21st. However, I received a message at 5:30 PM on the same day, talking about an event happening the next day. I had no idea why they were mentioning something for the next day, so I asked if the event I booked for today was canceled. The reply I got didn’t include any apology and just stated that reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance. I don’t understand why the event didn’t proceed when I clearly made the reservation and payment within the allowed time. There was no mention of a refund either. I feel like I’ve been scammed. This was a very rude and unpleasant experience. It seems like they only treat certain customers well, and I am extremely dissatisfied.

My husband and I did the Cooking Experience with Heitor in Porto. We really enjoyed hearing about and cooking and tasting the more traditional Portuguese foods. The food was very delicious. This was the perfect outing and was the perfect size for a hands on experience.

We had a great time cooking with Pedro. We are a family of 4 (all adults) and Pedro did a wonderful job in explaining to us the dishes that we cooked. We started off the cooking experience with a light sparkling wine (while the clock showed 10:30am, I am sure it was 5pm somewhere in the world :) ) and then got into the meal prep. We actually started with dessert since it needed some time to bake and then to cool. Dessert was an orange cake which was very flavorful, nice aroma and taste of orange, but not too sweet (which was good) We made Bacalhau com broa (codfish with a cornbread crust), Bacalhau a bras (codfish with shoestring potatoes and egg) and Rice and meat dish which I forget the name of (but have a picture). All these dishes were excellent, though the meat and rice dish was my favorite. It reminded me of an Indian biryani (but in biryani, the meat is cooked in the rice and in this dish the meat was cooked suspended over the rice so that juices from the meat dripped into the rice and flavored the rice) We also had multiple bottles of wine to pair with each dish which was also a nice touch. My family likes to cook, so this was really a fun experience. I would highly recommend this tour as the food was great, the experience was personalized (it was only our family in the kitchen), and Pedro was a great host and chef.

What an amazing Portuguese gastronomic and cultural experience! Our group of three drove through the beautiful country to Chef Heitor’s family farm. First a tour of the orchard, vineyard, barns and Chapel, a trip into history. Then we went into the old farm house to cook in Heitor’s kitchen using almost exclusively products grown on the farm plus some fish. To our delight we had two professional chefs and their efficient assistant cooking for us as Heitor’s longtime colleague Nuno joined us. The kitchen was alive with 5 courses being prepared at the same time. It was a constant exchange of cooking tips, history and camaraderie. We sampled green Portuguese wine, both red and white (not a typo). We then enjoyed the fruits of our, well really their, hard work with some special Portuguese wines and, of course, port as a digestive. A truly epic and unforgettable adventure with Heitor and Nuno. It far exceeded our expectations.

I had the privilege of partaking in this private Portuguese culinary experience that captivated my senses. The chef's profound knowledge of Portuguese cuisine shone through, as did the extraordinary quality of the ingredients used. This, paired with the interactive cooking and the intimate setting, created a truly memorable exploration of Portugal's culinary heritage. I wholeheartedly recommend this experience to anyone seeking a profound and delicious connection with Portugal’s culinary traditions.

The family home is such a beautiful venue, with the “vinho verde” vineyards! Absolutely loved the Chef’s approach, very attentive to detail. Recommend 10/10!

Super fun evening with friends and a true chef at our disposal. Perfect for a group of 4 women who like wine, food and some laughs along the way. The food was amazing and we learned a ton!

Excellent experience! Fabulous way to learn more about Portuguese food and culture with a professional chef and a beautiful place. This experience was one of the highlights of our trip. All the dishes we prepared were excellent, I loved visiting the farm and picking up some of the ingredients we were going to cook with. Really this cooking class is another level!