After meeting with Chef Edwin in his local restaurant, located just a block away from Quito’s Basilica in the historical centre of the city, he took us by foot to the nearby Central Market. This is an easy ten-minute walk from the restaurant.

Our cooking activity started with a tour of the market where Chef is an obvious regular and a favourite with the local stall holders, who affectionately call him “Samurai”. The market itself was clean, ordered and colourful.

Edwin introduced us to the smartly-uniformed market sellers who offer everything from typical lunches such as hornado (roasted pork) to freshly made “pick me up” smoothies (we tried a green concoction with alfalfa, malt beer and naranjilla) to traditional sweets from Quito.

We then moved onto the fresh produce area filled with meats, fish, medicinal herbs, tropical fruits and vegetables. There was even a stall dedicated just to potatoes – selling over 10 varieties! Chef Edwin’s culinary knowledge is extensive and we learnt a lot from him along the way.

After purchasing coriander, parsley, prawns, strawberries, lupin seeds (known locally as chochos) and coconuts it was time to return to the restaurant, wash our hands and get our chef hats and aprons on. Our kitchen area was set up in the pretty courtyard of the restaurant.

Before we knew it, Chef had us chopping, mashing, slicing and frying, under his expert guidance we turned into a perfect team of mini chefs. He was excellent at getting us all involved, keeping us busy and teaching us new culinary skills. How best to dice a tomato, how to make decorative avocado “flowers”, how to fry freshly sliced plantain chips to make the perfect home-made “chifles”, how much rum to add to our chocolate fondue (maybe we added a bit too much?).

Our menu of Ecuadorian dishes was to be a starter of shrimp ceviche, a main of fish in coconut sauce (encocado) and a dessert of chocolate soup with tropical fruits (vegetarian menu options are available). Using super simple recipes and extra fresh ingredients, we produced a delicious and well-earned three course meal which we sat down to devour after all our hard work.

The activity, which took around four hours, was very much hands-on and interactive, fun and educational. I would very much recommended it for those looking for a great local experience, perfect for families and foodies alike.

Check out more information here: Quito Culinary Tour and Cooking Class