One-Day Culinary Excursions

One-Day Culinary Excursion

If you don’t have time for a multi-day cooking trip, don’t worry. You can still participate in a one-day culinary excursion. Pica Peru offers these trips as both half- and full-day tours-and both include hands-on cooking classes with professional chefs. You will meet your chef in the morning, and then depending on your interests, visit a market, before heading to a kitchen to make a multicourse meal. All Pica Peru classes teach classic Peruvian cuisine-like yuquitas a la huancaina, lomo saltado, and tacu tacu. Classes are available daily, year around. Individuals as well as groups of two or more are welcome to participate. When you are ready to book a trip, please contact us directly.

Lesson with Chef Gonzalo

Although a native of Peru, chef Gonzalo learned to cook in Spain. In Barcelona and San Sebastian, he worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants, but eventually, his love of food took him to Thailand, Singapore, and even Australia. Chef Gonzalo returned to Peru in the 1990s to open a duck delicatessen business, but his culinary passions quickly led him back to the kitchen.  He helped Peru’s top restaurants and hotels (La Gloria, JW Marriott, Mountain Lodges of Peru ) launch their gourmet dining rooms-and eventually he connected with Pica Peru.

As a guide and guest chef with Pica Peru, chef Gonzalo leads a full-day excursion through Lima’s markets and eventually out to a lovely countryside restaurant for a cooking class. The day with chef Gonzalo begins at Las Delicias, a corner café that makes a mean juice of native Peruvian fruits (almond-y lucuma and fragrant chirimoya). From there, Gonzalo leads Pica Peru travelers to the San Isidro market, where he explains Peru’s abundance of seafood, mountain grains, and Amazonian fruits. Then, chef Gonzalo takes the group to La Gloria del Campo, an open-air restaurant, 30 minutes south of the city. A pisco sour awaits, and the activity begins. Chopping, dicing, and sautéing, Pica Peru travelers make a three-course meal to enjoy at the end of the class.

Chef Gonzalo’s day-long excursions run from 9 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m. and are available Monday through Friday for a minimum of two people. The class costs $150 per person and includes transportation to and from La Gloria del Campo, a pisco sour, and a three-course meal, as well as a book of recipes, a cooking glossary, and a tip-sheet on finding Peruvian ingredients abroad.

Note: Chef Gonzalo has a small and cozy bed and breakfast near the center of Miraflores. If you are interested in staying there (or learning more), please contact info@peruculinaryvacations.com.

Lesson with Chef Carlos

Chef Carlos is an accomplished cook, to say the least. He has owned restaurants in Lima, Caracas, and Miami-and he currently works as an instructor at three of Lima’s most important cooking schools. But his Pica Peru class isn’t about his life in the professional kitchen. Instead, chef Carlos invites Pica Peru travelers back to his apartment in San Isidro for a personalized lesson.

Pica Peru travelers arrange to meet Carlos at the market, from there they will head back to his home for a warm greeting on the terrace. In the cooking class that follows, Pica Peru travelers prepare a three-course meal which they enjoy over lunch or dinner.

Chef Carlos’ classes are available daily for a minimum of two people. All classes include transportation from the market to the class, a three-course meal, as well as a welcome drink, a book of recipes, a cooking glossary, and a tip-sheet on finding Peruvian ingredients abroad. Trip costs $150 per person.