Mexican Cooking Class was a blast!

[Lynda S]

I meant to post this a few weeks ago, and got sidetracked somehow as I know there was one person out there that was wondering whether to take the Mexican Cooking Class - sorry if I missed you and you have gone!

 

The Mexican Cooking Class shore excursion that we did (2nd week of Dec) at Playa Mia was FABULOUS! We were a little hesitant because it seemed a little pricey, but we would do it in a moment again, given the chance.

 

There were very few of us booked - probably a group of about 15-20 which encompassed two, or maybe three different ships. We were on RCI's Grandeur, the ladies that were also at our cooking station were from a Carnival ship. Everyone met at the duty free shop on the pier at 10:30, where the guide put us all into taxi's for our short ride (10-15 min)

to Playa Mia. From there we were given wrist bands and whisked through the entry gate. Playa Mia is a public beach, but you have to pay an entrance fee. We of course did not, the wrist band colour that we were given entitled us to full use of the beach facilities and drinks while we were there.

 

Pepe, our chef, and Luis (assistant chef) set us all up at a cooking station - there was about 5 stations and we cooked with 4 people on each - everyone had a prep area to themselves, the gas stove element was shared between two people, and the grill in the middle was shared by all 4. A bar guy (I can't recall his name) was there just for our group - the drinks were unlimited and believe me, everytime you took a sip your drink was full - magically. It was funny to watch some of the people cooking after they had a few! The cooking stations themselves are located in a huge open air restaurant set back from the beach a bit - but with still a GREAT view of the beach.

 

We cooked grilled grouper with a mango sauce, a stuffed banana pepper that was stuffed with corn and zuchinni flowers; sopas for an appetizer (mmmm, excellent - chorizio sausage mixed with cubed potatoes and spices on top of refried beans on top of a homemade tortilla pastry shell), and a rice raisin pudding stack on tortillla's for desert. Pepe and Luis took us step by step through it all, showed us how to decorate the plates with various ingredients and then best of all, we got to sit down and eat it. With the drinks still flowing I might add! It was delicious.

 

We were then turned loose onto the beach and the facilities - they have loungers, hammocks, jet ski rentals, a tiled pool (very pretty), souvenir shopping, more unlimited drinks, a small zoo which seemed to have indigenous animals in it, a great beach and probably more things that I did not see, or cannot remember. We wished we had brought our swimsuits, we didn't know they were going to turn us loose for an hour.

 

All in all, I would HIGHLY reccomend this tour to all who are looking for something different! Playa Mia by the way is right next to Paradise Beach if one is looking for it on the map to locate it.

[lanabanana]

I'm not familiar with this excursion. Was it booked privately? What was the cost? How did you know about it? Thanks!

[dmndlil]

Lynda it sure sounds like you had a blast! What a great review. ;) My son is able to take some culinary classes in school and wants to go on to culinary school and this was the excursion he chose. I'm sure he and his dad will have a great time as both of them like to cook!

[kathy7558]

We were interested in that class, too, but it is/was not yet offered by Carnival. Their site says it will be, but wasn't last month when we were there. I couldn't find a way to book it privately, either.

 

Instead, we found a private class - just the two of us. Ours wasn't at a beach club, rather at the chef's home - Mr. Martin Valdez. It was wonderful, too! Here's my review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112185

 

If we get the chance to take the other class, we will.

 

BTW, for anyone interested in Martin's class, he'll only be in Cozumel full time until summer - then he's moving his family to the States.

[parmus]

This class seems to be on the Carnival map now for excursions. I was looking at it, but not seriously. Now, however, I think I might switch what I want to do.

 

Thanks for the review!

[ewheelock]

Lynda, thanks for the detailed information. My daughter and I will definately do this one.

[Lynda S]

Lanabanana - The cost, as I recall was about 75.00 - the reason I can't even look it up is because it was booked on the internet from home thru the RCL website - I live in Canada and they charged me in Cdn $. That was 97.00 Cdn and I think at the time they were using 28% FX, which would be appx 75.00 USD per person. I don't drink at all, and because they include unlimited drinks, I thought maybe it was a little steep for me, but really we had so much fun that I feel I got my money's worth - and I am sure my husband did as he loves his beer! (and it really was unlimited....)

The excursion was one of the ship's excursions that RCL offered, another poster has also said Carnival is now offering it.

 

Kathy, your review was fabulous, it does sound as if you had a good time! I think that you were the other person on the board at the same time as I was in Nov wondering about the class. Where did you find Martin in the end? The last I saw was Paradise Beach Tom gave you the head chef's email address from Playa Mia.

[Mary Cruiser]

I am going to book this now that I've read your review, thank you! Mary

[parmus]

I booked the Mexican Cooking class from Carnival Valor. The cost was $79.00. What a total blast! First of all they give you all the drinks you want. It's set up at Playa Mia Beach Club. If you want, you can arrange to get there early and play at the beach until your cooking time. Just don't get snockered before you hit the cook tops! Ours was at 2:30---perfect time. We cooked Sopas, Grouper for the main meal in a wonderful orange mango sauce with a pepper stuffed with corn and some other stuff. Then we did dessert. The fun part was decorating the plates. Then you get to eat your meal where they serve Mexican wines or more of the drinks you were drinking. This is all done under cover, but open air so you can see the beach and water. Check out my friend's dessert that she designed. Pretty cool.

[anidou]

I booked the Mexican Cooking class from Carnival Valor. The cost was $79.00. What a total blast! First of all they give you all the drinks you want. It's set up at Playa Mia Beach Club. If you want, you can arrange to get there early and play at the beach until your cooking time. Just don't get snockered before you hit the cook tops! Ours was at 2:30---perfect time. We cooked Sopas, Grouper for the main meal in a wonderful orange mango sauce with a pepper stuffed with corn and some other stuff. Then we did dessert. The fun part was decorating the plates. Then you get to eat your meal where they serve Mexican wines or more of the drinks you were drinking. This is all done under cover, but open air so you can see the beach and water. Check out my friend's dessert that she designed. Pretty cool.

Parmus, reading thru the boards and just got to your notes on the Mexican Cooking class from July, 2004. Haven't been able to find a way to arrange to go early and enjoy the beach, do you possibly remember as you stated it in your post, how that can be done? Would appreciate any help. THANKS!

Anita