Imagine stepping right into the busy heart of the legendary Cusco, where centuries of tradition have mastered the delicious, varied flavors of the Andes.

hile you certainly can’t go wrong here, if you really want to dive deep into the culinary scene, I highly recommend taking things into your own hands (literally) with a cooking tour.

It’s much more than simply following a recipe or two – you’re going to learn how to create believed traditional dishes with local expert chefs while listening to interesting anecdotes and plenty of cultural facts. I’ve detailed the 5 top Cusco cooking classes below.

Be sure to see our reviews of Machu Picchu Tours From Cusco.

Best Cusco Cooking Classes

	Peruvian Cooking Class and Local Market in Cusco	Cusco Cooking Classes and San Pedro Market Tour	Group Cooking Class at Marcelo Batata in Cusco
Location:	Mercado Central de San Pedro, Thupaq Amaru 477, Cusco	Plazoleta San Pedro, C. Sta. Clara 497, Cusco	C. Palacio 135, Cusco 08002, Peru
Start:	9:00 AM, 3:00 PM	9:00 AM, 3:00 PM	2:00 PM
Duration:	4 hours	4 hours	3 hours
Includes:	Cooking class, Fruit tasting, Professional Peruvian chef, Appetizer, main course, dessert, Pisco Sour and Chicha Morada	Visit to San Pedro Market, Pro Peruvian chef, all meals prepared, ingredients, soft drinks	Beverages, Professional Chef, Dinner, 2-course Dinner, Snacks, Bottled water, Alcoholic Beverages
	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking

Quick Answer: The 5 Best Rated Cusco Cooking Class For 2025

1. Peruvian Cooking Class and Local Market in Cusco
2. Cusco Cooking Classes and San Pedro Market Tour
3. Group Cooking Class at Marcelo Batata in Cusco
4. Fully Hands-On High End Peruvian Cooking Class & San Pedro Market Guided Visit
5. Market Tour & Traditional Peruvian Cooking Class in Cusco

Cusco Cooking Class Reviews

1. Peruvian Cooking Class and Local Market in Cusco

In a city brimming with rich culture and tradition, food isn’t something to just be eaten – it’s a look into quite literally centuries of perfecting recipes.

The Peruvian Cooking Class and Local Market in Cusco is an immersive experience that will not only teach you how to cook but you even feel a bit Peruvian.

However, this tour takes things a step further by actually taking you to a local market, where you’ll meet vendors selling everything from exotic fruits to Andean herbs.

Your tour start time depends on whether or not you take a lunch or dinner class, though you get to select which one works best for you and your schedule.

Meet up at the San Pedro Central Market, which is by far the biggest and most frequented in the city, with all kinds of cool products and produce to explore. It was cool to learn about their local types of veggies, like potatoes and corn that are typically used in national cuisine.

Our guide/expert chef took us through the market and explained the different ingredients to us, and what makes them so special.

It was great to learn about the way you order things here, as I really wanted to pick up some things over the rest of my trip and this made it so much easier for me. After we gathered everything, we headed back to the kitchen for our class, where we started things off with a lesson on how to make pisco sours.

After our drink, we then started our cooking class, though the meal you make does depend on whether you choose the lunch or dinner option. Each one includes a starter, multiple main dishes, as well as a dessert.

It was such a fun and educational experience and was a great way to meet other travelers as well – I can’t recommend this one enough, no matter your age or background!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

2. Cusco Cooking Classes and San Pedro Market Tour

For foodies on the hunt for an authentic and immersive experience in the bright and bustling Cusco, the Cusco Cooking Classes and San Pedro Market Tour offers a tasty adventure that sets itself apart from most typical sightseeing tours.

While sampling local dishes is a joy, this tour takes you beyond that – you’ll step into the kitchen and learn from skilled local chefs to really start to understand the local culinary traditions.

Similar to the previous tour, you get to select between 2 different start times – however, this one is either a breakfast or lunch class. Many cooking classes I noticed don’t offer a breakfast option, so I thought that was cool to have that choice if you have plans later in the day.

Start off by meeting up with your guide at the main entrance of the San Pedro Market, where you’ll head straight into the chaos and see all the incredibly variety of produce, meat, spices, and other things you can purchase here.

After gathering all the necessary ingredients, we all went as a group to the cooking studio, where we were greeted with a tasty herbal tea – a nice welcome, indeed! After everyone got comfortable and asked all the questions at the start, we began learning how to make pisco sour from our guide!

The pisco is a very unique liquor that can be considered essentially a type of unaged brandy, and the pisco sour is the national drink I recommend trying at least once!

After that, we started cooking a delicious lunch consisting of a 3-way Trout Tiradito (sliced fish in an aji Camarillo sauce with plenty of vegetables), mashua puree with chinese-peruvian-style sauteed mushrooms, quinoa tamales, and some fresh local fruit for dessert.

Every single time we finished a dish, we gathered with the rest of our group to try it, which made the pacing perfect and gave us “breaks” throughout. For the other tour option, you’ll have different dishes, but you’ll still have a ton of fun with lots of learning and eating!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

3. Group Cooking Class at Marcelo Batata in Cusco

If you’re a bit more limited on time or simply feel like you don’t need to have the market tour experience, this is a nice alternative without compromising the quality of the cooking class in any way.

The Group Cooking Class at Marcelo Batata in Cusco is as immersive as it is exciting, sharing Peru’s rich and varied food culture in a way that celebrates its heritage. This hands-on opportunity lets you cook traditional dishes with the guidance of one of the city’s most belovded chefs.

This tour only has one start time option, so you’ll begin by meeting at Marcelo Batata’s professional kitchen at 2:00 pm (or can opt to head to El Mercado, where you’ll learn about the local products if you want).

At the kitchen, you’ll learn all about the different ingredients and why certain ones are so commonly used in Peruvian cuisine (as well as their flavor profiles and what makes them so unique).

The kitchen is a more intimate one and perfect for entire families or couples who would like to avoid the more impersonal, larger cooking groups.

Our class started off with a quick introduction and then a delicious tasting of all kinds of fresh fruits from various regions of Peru, which helped us identify the different areas’ flavors and learn more about the country’s geography.

Our chef was so much fun and so welcoming and friendly, that right from the very beginning, we knew we were in for a fun adventure learning and sampling. After our fruit sampling, we learned how to make the pisco sour, which is a lot of fun and pretty simple and straightforward to make (though much more enjoyable to drink!).

Our first dish we learned to make was none other than perhaps the most “Peruvian” dish of all – ceviche! It was also quite simple, but full of flavor, and we followed it up by making the classic stir-fry, lomo saltado.

We cooked it up in a wok, which was of course a blast as we got to cook over the dramatic fire right in front of us! After it all, we not only had a newfound appreciation for Peru’s culinary history, but got to try all of our delicious work!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

4. Fully Hands-On High End Peruvian Cooking Class & San Pedro Market Guided Visit

Are you interested in learning how to cook Peruvian cuisine but are looking for something a bit more…upscale? The Fully Hands-On High-End Peruvian Cooking Class & San Pedro Market Guided Visit has just what you’re looking for, with a more “VIP” twist on local cuisine.

If you’re a history buff interested in learning about Incan culture, this tour gets bonus points for how well it integrates cultural learning into the food.

This 4-hour tour is one of the most comprehensive of its kind, starting off in the vibrant San Pedro Market, which is known for being the largest and most popular in the city. It’s a great way to take it all in – the sights, sounds, and smells of true Andean culture.

With your expert guide, you’ll navigate the stalls filled with the freshest local ingredients – from rocoto peppers to heirloom potatoes and exotic fruits.

After gathering all necessary ingredients, step into the kitchen located just 2 blocks away from the market for a truly hands-on cooking class, starting with a lesson on how to make a pisco sour.

Our chef was so interesting to listen to, always offering something fascinating about local history and the Incas, while we prepped our dishes. The exact dishes you prepare will depend on whether you select the lunch or dinner option, but everything is going to be tasty.

For the lunch option, you can expect to make classic ceviche and quinoa risotto, and for dinner you will make tiradito Nikkei and sous vide alpaca and roasted potatoes (both get a fresh fruit parfait for dessert).

If you have some hesitation toward the alpaca aspect I completely get it and believe that the lunch tour is a much better option in that case, where you’ll just focus on fish and quinoa risotto. Vegetarian options are also available with advance notice, so feel free to let your guide know this upon booking!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

5. Market Tour & Traditional Peruvian Cooking Class in Cusco

Whether you’re a seasoned cook or a culinary newbie, you’re in for a real treat and lots of learning with the Market Tour & Traditional Peruvian Cooking Class in Cusco!

If you’re looking to go out for lunch or dinner, why not take on this excursion instead – not only trying delicious dishes but creating them while gaining insight into one of the world’s most diverse food cultures? If that sounds like fun to you, don’t go anywhere because this tour has you taken care of.

This 4-hour tour, unlike the majority of tours I’ve covered on this guide, only has one start time and menu option available: lunch.

If you have morning or evening plans, however, it’s perfect for learning and immersing yourself in the local culture while learning how to whip up some tasty local dishes.

Start off at the main market, where your experience is further enriched with the company of a professional chef to guide the way and let you in on some interesting facts about Peruvian gastronomy.

After trying some of the local fruits, breads, and cheeses the area is known for, we then headed to the cooking kitchen to learn from the chef. This tour is different from any other I’ve covered, in that it’s the only entirely private tour, so it’s literally just you and your party with your guide.

This makes it much more personalized, and you get to ask all the questions and guidance you need without vying for attention.

While sipping on some coca and muña tea, we learned how to cook a starter of Rocoto Relleno, which is almost like the Peruvian (and more flavorful) version of stuffed peppers.

After that, we made the potato cake dish of Causa Rellena, which is stuffed with avocado, fish tartare, and more. Then, we took to the Wok to make the Lomo Saltado stir fry, finally sitting down to enjoy our creations with our guide!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience