This Is the Most Colorful Cooking Class in Mexico City

For photographer and food obsessive Anna Petrow, the best part of a trip to Mexico City came from a word-of-mouth recommendation for a market excursion and cooking class.

MEXICO CITY — Want a super fun, local experience when you're in Mexico City? How about learning to shop like a local at the market, then cooking a big meal with chefs Beto Estúa and Jorge Fitz of Casa Jacaranda, who lead market tours and cooking classes for cooks at all levels. They took my boyfriend and I to the historic Mercado Medellín to scoop up all the fresh ingredients, introduce us to vendors, share their knowledge of Mexican agriculture, and taste-test ingredients — true cacao, Mexican coffee, dried guajillo chili peppers, and other flavors that left our taste buds tingling.

Afterwards, we strolled through the historic Roma Norte — down tiny streets with colorful houses and intricate tiles — to their stunning home filled with art, design objects, and platters upon platters of beautiful dishware. The darling duo teach their guests how to cook and entertain, CDMX-style, weaving in stories about their families and the culture behind the preparations, while walking through the making of roasted salsas, mole verde, hand-rolled tamales, and more. Menus differ for each class, based on seasonality, availability, and whatever inspires the shopping trip of the day. We drank palomas while a table was set under the jacaranda tree on the terrace. Our long and lazy lunch in the late afternoon sun was the highlight of the trip — delicious Mexican wine flowed and conversation buzzed while we helped ourselves to the fruits of our labors – and made dear new friends who made Mexico City feel like home.

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