Step away from the usual tourist path and into the heart of Xochimilco, where food, family, and tradition come together around the fire.
Hosted by two generations of traditional cooks, this intimate experience invites you into a family kitchen where recipes and culinary knowledge have been passed down for generations. Here, you won’t simply taste Mexican food—you’ll discover the stories, rituals, and traditions that give it meaning.
Your time together unfolds around some of the most essential elements of Mexican cooking: corn, fire, stone, and the shared table. You’ll be invited to participate, use traditional cooking tools, and experience techniques that have remained part of everyday life in Xochimilco for generations.
There is also a spiritual side to the experience. Inspired by Chantico and the symbolism of the hearth, your hosts will introduce you to traditions that connect cooking not only with nourishment, but with family, memory, and a sense of place.
Together, you’ll share a traditional meal featuring Mole Chantico, prepared from a treasured family recipe passed down for more than 100 years, served in a setting filled with the small details of a Mexican family table—from embroidered textiles to clay tableware.
More than a cooking experience, this is an opportunity to meet the women behind the recipes and experience a side of Xochimilco that most visitors never get to see.
Come curious, come hungry, and leave with a story worth taking home.
11:00 (20 min) Welcome and smoke-cleansing ritual: reception, sahumación ritual, and greeting in Nahuatl.
11:20 (15 min) Offering to the goddess Chantico.
11:35 (30 min) Charring ingredients: tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, and chile on the comal.
11:05 (20 min) Group preparation of salsa in a molcajete using the freshly charred ingredients.
12:25 (30 min) Handmade tortillas and sopecitos on a clay comal; explanation of corn and metate-grinding workshop.
12:55 (10 min) Set the table as a family: embroidered tablecloth and clay tableware.
12:05 (55 min) 4-course meal.
This cooking class takes place in a family kitchen in Xochimilco, hosted by two generations of traditional cooks.
Rather than a staged demonstration, guests take part in techniques and rituals that have remained part of everyday life in the community for generations, including a copal cleansing ritual and hands-on grinding on a traditional metate.
The experience is hosted by two generations of traditional cooks who welcome guests into their family kitchen. They share a mole recipe passed down for more than 100 years, along with the stories and traditions connected to it.
Guests share a meal featuring Mole Chantico, prepared from a family recipe with more than a century of history. The meal is served on an embroidered tablecloth with clay tableware, reflecting the details of a traditional Mexican family table.
The experience includes a copal cleansing ritual at the start and draws on the symbolism of Chantico and the hearth throughout. These elements connect the cooking process to family, memory, and a sense of place, beyond the meal itself.
Guests actively participate rather than simply observe. The experience includes grinding on a metate and using traditional cooking tools, alongside sharing the finished meal at the family table.
