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VIEW PHOTOS
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Host: Mariana and Geraldine

Mexico City, Mexico

USD
$38-$84 per person

Authentic and contemporary Mexican food with award-winning chefs

Host offerings
  • House
  • Professional cook
  • Pets
  • Vegetarian
  • Alcohol
  • Transportation
  • Cooking class
  • Market visit
  • Food tour

Meet Mariana and Geraldine

Mariana and Geraldine are professional chefs and food stylists who have worked for over 18 years in culinary development for magazines, television, radio and social networks. Both of them learned to cook at home when they were young and then went on studying to become chefs. Later they specialized in food styling from a culinary institute in New York. Geraldine has a sweet tooth while Mariana is all about the salty and spicy flavors, so they make the perfect pair for any traveler. They met in university and since then have been on a culinary journey together to share their love, passion and extensive food knowledge with others. They are incredibly proud of Mexican food and wish to share and preserve its traditions through their cooking.

Mariana and Geraldine are also award winning cookbook authors, and their book, a reference book and inspiration for lovers of good food, was awarded second place at the 2014 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. It consists of a set of sweet and savory recipes that everyone can develop easily and quickly, pleasing to the eye and delicious to the palate!

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

In-home meal: (2-10 guests) The experience will take place at Geraldine’s beautiful family home in the upscale neighborhood of San Angel. After you sip on your welcome drink and hear their stories about their work as food stylists and the history of Mexican cuisine, you will join them at the dining table for a meal. The dining table is placed in the garden area, a wonderful green oasis. Mariana and Geraldine will prepare traditional Mexican cuisine for you with a creative modern twist. You might try dishes such as cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork dish), sopes (savory corn cakes), quesadillas, chiles en nogada (stuffed poblano chilis), pork tenderloin with tamarind sauce and Mexican rice. Your meal will end with one of their many delicious desserts like tres leches cake, caramel flan or arroz con leche (sweet rice pudding). Tea and coffee are available on request.

Cooking experience: (2-10 guests) Join Mariana and Geraldine in their kitchen for a hands-on Mexico City cooking class, where you will learn to make 2-3 of the dishes you will be eating later. You can expect to be cooking for 1-2 hours before you share the meal you helped prepare over conversation with your host. You might learn to make Mexican sopes with chorizo and chicken, quesadillas stuffed with zucchini flowers and fresh Oaxaca cheese, or spicy salsa and fresh guacamole.

A note, Mariana and Geraldine can teach you to prepare the complete menu or just a few dishes, depending on the time you have. So please let them know your preference while booking. Mariana and Geraldine are excited to share their culture through food and offer an authentic/traditional cooking class in Mexico city. They can also accommodate vegetarian diet in their Mexican cooking class.

Market visit: (2-10 guests) Mariana and Geraldine will take you to Melchor Muzquiz market, walking distance from their home, for a Mexico City market tour. At the market you can get everything from meats, flowers, fruits, vegetables, spices and chiles to prepared food and clothes. Spend 30-45 minutes exploring the market together and picking out some vegetables that you might cook with before returning home to begin your cooking experience.

On Saturdays, there is another local arts and crafts market, Bazar del Sábado, that is within walking distance from their home. If you are booking an experience on a Saturday and would like to explore a beautiful handcraft and artisan market, in addition to or instead of the vegetable market, please note your preferences during the booking process.

Notes: Your hosts can offer beer or tequila at an additional cost, so please let them know your preference while booking.

Languages spoken: English

PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW
A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.

Mariana and Geraldine are professional chefs and food stylists who openly share their culinary expertise and knowledge. Our experience was taken from their recently published cook book where we shopped for ingredients at the local market and prepared dishes together in a well organised and beautifully curated cooking class in their home kitchen. Mariana and Geraldine make cooking effortless, fun and interesting. They share their passion of food openly and delivered a beautiful meal in their garden, a treat that is hard to find in Mexico City. It was an honour to be side by side in the kitchen with both women who are clearly great professionals in the kitchen. We would have this experience again with Mariana and Geraldine so we could tap into their knowledge and enthusiasm. Tip: buy their cookbook if you can. It is full of authentic, local recipes that you can make at home!

Nicola, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

Traveler reviews

5.0 (10)
Our family of five (three young adult daughters and parents) had such an enjoyable experience with Geraldine and Mariana! The market tour was relaxed and informative, and their home and neighborhood were beautiful, I wish we had arrived earlier to do some shopping because the stores and boutiques were very enticing! The class was mostly demonstrations but we received very clear and helpful ideas about how to make the dishes at home. We did participate in Sopa and tortillas making! The meal in the garden was easy and delicious. We talked about local topics, and their cookbooks and left with more insight about things to do and eat for the rest of our stay! Really fun and authentic experience - do not hesitate to book this class with these very accomplished and knowledgeable chefs!
- Gretchen June 24, 2023
Our hosts, Mariana and Geraldine could not have been more knowledgeable and nicer. The food market was fun, and we had an enjoyable time cooking, and then, of course sitting down to dinner. Given we were traveling with our somewhat picky teenager, I asked that they limit the menu to pretty straightforward foods. They did, and we made a rice dish, salsa, cochinita pibil, and tostadas. The hands on part was somewhat limited but it was a joy to be in their kitchen. The neighborhood is lovely, so give yourself time to walk around in advance. I only wish that written out recipes would have been given out.
- VTCAP March 25, 2022
Our family with five cooks had a wonderful market tour, cooking lesson, fun and friendly conversations, and a bueno meal, beautifully presented. Mariana was fantastic, and her staff were great. The event took place at Geraldine's spectacular home, one of the prettiest in one of the prettiest sections of Cuidad de Mexico, San Ángel. We dined in the serene and beautiful backyard, a rarity in the city. The sixth member of our group and our young granddaughter and Mariana's impressive friend Alfonso joined us for a relaxing and scrumptious meal of multiple courses and libations. All in all, a most wonderful day, and a memory for a lifetime.Mariana is a professional cook and food preparer for photo shoots and magazines. You'll be lucky if you get one of the few slots she has available for these events.
- mkbergman April 28, 2019
We did the market tour, cooking class and lunch with Mariana in her partner We Geraldine's home. It was myself, my husband and our 13 year old daughter. It was so much fun and the highlight of our trip! The market was a short walk and was great. Cooking with Mariana was a lot of fun, she is kind and interesting. Geraldine's home and garden are a lovely setting for a delicious lunch. We will do it again next time we visit.. don't hesitate to book!
- JuliaJAK1967 April 10, 2019
We had a great experience with Marianna (Geraldine had an emergency and did not arrive until dessert). The evening was as promised. Marianna took us to the St. Angel Market which was a very local market - no tourists- to buy some of the ingredients for our dinner. She gave a brief tour of the neighborhood, which is beautiful, and we arrived back at Geraldine’s home to cook and eat. She gave excellent directions for preparing the meal which she had tailored to our vegetarian needs. When it was finally time for dinner, we all sat outside in the beautiful walled backyard and enjoyed our meal. Marianna and Geraldine are interesting and engaging hosts and this experience was a highlight of our time in Mexico City.
- ezs February 20, 2019
Mariana and Geraldine were amazing hosts. We learned so much. We met at Geraldine's incredible home in San Angel and walked to the local market to procure ingredients for our cooking class. We made a delicious meal that we ate in the garden patio. Couldn't have been a better experience!
- D9087RTbenr November 22, 2018
Mariana and Geraldine were fabulous hosts! The garden setting was beautiful and the meal was delicious. Our group of five chose the meal only option, as we didn't have time for the cooking or market components. We still learnt a lot about Mexican cuisine. They were able to cater for a range of food preferences and allergies (vegetarian, gluten free etc). We loved our time with Mariana and Geraldine and would definitely recommend this experience to anyone going to mexico city. It was definitely a highlight of our trip.
- Trea11 April 19, 2018
We had a wonderful time with Mariana and Geraldine. We explored a nearby market in San Angel, sampled some foods while picking up our ingredients, made a wonderful meal that we enjoyed in Mariana and Geraldine's beautiful backyard. Great time with wonderful people.
- brettyoung7 March 19, 2018
Mariana and Geraldine were fantastic hosts! We started off with a market tour, where we sampled fresh tortillas and purchased some fruit we had never had before. We walked past a magazine stand of food magazines and most of the photos on the covers were styled by Mariana and Geraldine - very cool to hear about their experience as food stylists and how important healthy, good food is to both of them. We then went back to their beautiful home, prepared a delicious salsa, home-made tortillas and made quesadillas and sopas with 3 different fillings; each very unique. Dinner was eaten outside in the back garden; we chatted about food, culture, and Mariana and Geraldine showed us their award-winning cookbook! We highly recommend Mariana and Geraldine as hosts and thank them both for a memorable evening!
- Doug and Lindsey November 22, 2017
The four in our group had an outstanding afternoon with Mariana and Geraldine at Geraldine's beautiful home and garden in the San Angel area of Mexico City. Cooking Chiles en Nogada was great fun with all of us chopping the many ingredients and taking our turns at stirring the evolving filling for the chiles. Mariana and Geraldine had us taste the filling along the way to better understand how each new ingredient contributed to the taste. We had already spent a week in Mexico City and had eaten Chiles en Nogada at two restaurants. What Mariana and Geraldine taught us was THE BEST with wonderful flavor. Ending the afternoon sitting with our chefs in the garden, eating the wonderful lunch, and talking food and restaurants ended our amazing experience with Traveling Spoon.
- MaryL64 October 18, 2017
Read More
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Mariana and Geraldine

$38-$84 USD

per person
100% VETTED
Learn more
  • 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back
  • Credit card is not charged until the host confirms your booking
  • Private experience
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ ppl
In-Home Meal
 Not offered $46 $38
Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $74 $60
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $84 $68
Alcohol
 $16 per person
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 people 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 Not offered $46 $38
Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $74 $60
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $84 $68
Alcohol
 $16 per person
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
Experience Timings
 Lunch Dinner
In-Home Meal
 12:00pm-2:00pm 7:00pm-9:00pm
Cooking Experience+ Meal
 11:00am-2:00pm 5:00pm-8:00pm
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
 10:30am-3:30pm 4:30pm-9:30pm

Meet Mariana and Geraldine

Mariana and Geraldine are professional chefs and food stylists who have worked for over 18 years in culinary development for magazines, television, radio and social networks. Both of them learned to cook at home when they were young and then went on studying to become chefs. Later they specialized in food styling from a culinary institute in New York. Geraldine has a sweet tooth while Mariana is all about the salty and spicy flavors, so they make the perfect pair for any traveler. They met in university and since then have been on a culinary journey together to share their love, passion and extensive food knowledge with others. They are incredibly proud of Mexican food and wish to share and preserve its traditions through their cooking.

Mariana and Geraldine are also award winning cookbook authors, and their book, a reference book and inspiration for lovers of good food, was awarded second place at the 2014 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. It consists of a set of sweet and savory recipes that everyone can develop easily and quickly, pleasing to the eye and delicious to the palate!

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

In-home meal: (2-10 guests) The experience will take place at Geraldine’s beautiful family home in the upscale neighborhood of San Angel. After you sip on your welcome drink and hear their stories about their work as food stylists and the history of Mexican cuisine, you will join them at the dining table for a meal. The dining table is placed in the garden area, a wonderful green oasis. Mariana and Geraldine will prepare traditional Mexican cuisine for you with a creative modern twist. You might try dishes such as cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork dish), sopes (savory corn cakes), quesadillas, chiles en nogada (stuffed poblano chilis), pork tenderloin with tamarind sauce and Mexican rice. Your meal will end with one of their many delicious desserts like tres leches cake, caramel flan or arroz con leche (sweet rice pudding). Tea and coffee are available on request.

Cooking experience: (2-10 guests) Join Mariana and Geraldine in their kitchen for a hands-on Mexico City cooking class, where you will learn to make 2-3 of the dishes you will be eating later. You can expect to be cooking for 1-2 hours before you share the meal you helped prepare over conversation with your host. You might learn to make Mexican sopes with chorizo and chicken, quesadillas stuffed with zucchini flowers and fresh Oaxaca cheese, or spicy salsa and fresh guacamole.

A note, Mariana and Geraldine can teach you to prepare the complete menu or just a few dishes, depending on the time you have. So please let them know your preference while booking. Mariana and Geraldine are excited to share their culture through food and offer an authentic/traditional cooking class in Mexico city. They can also accommodate vegetarian diet in their Mexican cooking class.

Market visit: (2-10 guests) Mariana and Geraldine will take you to Melchor Muzquiz market, walking distance from their home, for a Mexico City market tour. At the market you can get everything from meats, flowers, fruits, vegetables, spices and chiles to prepared food and clothes. Spend 30-45 minutes exploring the market together and picking out some vegetables that you might cook with before returning home to begin your cooking experience.

On Saturdays, there is another local arts and crafts market, Bazar del Sábado, that is within walking distance from their home. If you are booking an experience on a Saturday and would like to explore a beautiful handcraft and artisan market, in addition to or instead of the vegetable market, please note your preferences during the booking process.

Notes: Your hosts can offer beer or tequila at an additional cost, so please let them know your preference while booking.

Languages spoken: English

PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW
A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.

Mariana and Geraldine are professional chefs and food stylists who openly share their culinary expertise and knowledge. Our experience was taken from their recently published cook book where we shopped for ingredients at the local market and prepared dishes together in a well organised and beautifully curated cooking class in their home kitchen. Mariana and Geraldine make cooking effortless, fun and interesting. They share their passion of food openly and delivered a beautiful meal in their garden, a treat that is hard to find in Mexico City. It was an honour to be side by side in the kitchen with both women who are clearly great professionals in the kitchen. We would have this experience again with Mariana and Geraldine so we could tap into their knowledge and enthusiasm. Tip: buy their cookbook if you can. It is full of authentic, local recipes that you can make at home!

Nicola, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

Traveler reviews

5.0 (10)
Our family of five (three young adult daughters and parents) had such an enjoyable experience with Geraldine and Mariana! The market tour was relaxed and informative, and their home and neighborhood were beautiful, I wish we had arrived earlier to do some shopping because the stores and boutiques were very enticing! The class was mostly demonstrations but we received very clear and helpful ideas about how to make the dishes at home. We did participate in Sopa and tortillas making! The meal in the garden was easy and delicious. We talked about local topics, and their cookbooks and left with more insight about things to do and eat for the rest of our stay! Really fun and authentic experience - do not hesitate to book this class with these very accomplished and knowledgeable chefs!
- Gretchen June 24, 2023
Our hosts, Mariana and Geraldine could not have been more knowledgeable and nicer. The food market was fun, and we had an enjoyable time cooking, and then, of course sitting down to dinner. Given we were traveling with our somewhat picky teenager, I asked that they limit the menu to pretty straightforward foods. They did, and we made a rice dish, salsa, cochinita pibil, and tostadas. The hands on part was somewhat limited but it was a joy to be in their kitchen. The neighborhood is lovely, so give yourself time to walk around in advance. I only wish that written out recipes would have been given out.
- VTCAP March 25, 2022
Our family with five cooks had a wonderful market tour, cooking lesson, fun and friendly conversations, and a bueno meal, beautifully presented. Mariana was fantastic, and her staff were great. The event took place at Geraldine's spectacular home, one of the prettiest in one of the prettiest sections of Cuidad de Mexico, San Ángel. We dined in the serene and beautiful backyard, a rarity in the city. The sixth member of our group and our young granddaughter and Mariana's impressive friend Alfonso joined us for a relaxing and scrumptious meal of multiple courses and libations. All in all, a most wonderful day, and a memory for a lifetime.Mariana is a professional cook and food preparer for photo shoots and magazines. You'll be lucky if you get one of the few slots she has available for these events.
- mkbergman April 28, 2019
We did the market tour, cooking class and lunch with Mariana in her partner We Geraldine's home. It was myself, my husband and our 13 year old daughter. It was so much fun and the highlight of our trip! The market was a short walk and was great. Cooking with Mariana was a lot of fun, she is kind and interesting. Geraldine's home and garden are a lovely setting for a delicious lunch. We will do it again next time we visit.. don't hesitate to book!
- JuliaJAK1967 April 10, 2019
We had a great experience with Marianna (Geraldine had an emergency and did not arrive until dessert). The evening was as promised. Marianna took us to the St. Angel Market which was a very local market - no tourists- to buy some of the ingredients for our dinner. She gave a brief tour of the neighborhood, which is beautiful, and we arrived back at Geraldine’s home to cook and eat. She gave excellent directions for preparing the meal which she had tailored to our vegetarian needs. When it was finally time for dinner, we all sat outside in the beautiful walled backyard and enjoyed our meal. Marianna and Geraldine are interesting and engaging hosts and this experience was a highlight of our time in Mexico City.
- ezs February 20, 2019
Mariana and Geraldine were amazing hosts. We learned so much. We met at Geraldine's incredible home in San Angel and walked to the local market to procure ingredients for our cooking class. We made a delicious meal that we ate in the garden patio. Couldn't have been a better experience!
- D9087RTbenr November 22, 2018
Mariana and Geraldine were fabulous hosts! The garden setting was beautiful and the meal was delicious. Our group of five chose the meal only option, as we didn't have time for the cooking or market components. We still learnt a lot about Mexican cuisine. They were able to cater for a range of food preferences and allergies (vegetarian, gluten free etc). We loved our time with Mariana and Geraldine and would definitely recommend this experience to anyone going to mexico city. It was definitely a highlight of our trip.
- Trea11 April 19, 2018
We had a wonderful time with Mariana and Geraldine. We explored a nearby market in San Angel, sampled some foods while picking up our ingredients, made a wonderful meal that we enjoyed in Mariana and Geraldine's beautiful backyard. Great time with wonderful people.
- brettyoung7 March 19, 2018
Mariana and Geraldine were fantastic hosts! We started off with a market tour, where we sampled fresh tortillas and purchased some fruit we had never had before. We walked past a magazine stand of food magazines and most of the photos on the covers were styled by Mariana and Geraldine - very cool to hear about their experience as food stylists and how important healthy, good food is to both of them. We then went back to their beautiful home, prepared a delicious salsa, home-made tortillas and made quesadillas and sopas with 3 different fillings; each very unique. Dinner was eaten outside in the back garden; we chatted about food, culture, and Mariana and Geraldine showed us their award-winning cookbook! We highly recommend Mariana and Geraldine as hosts and thank them both for a memorable evening!
- Doug and Lindsey November 22, 2017
The four in our group had an outstanding afternoon with Mariana and Geraldine at Geraldine's beautiful home and garden in the San Angel area of Mexico City. Cooking Chiles en Nogada was great fun with all of us chopping the many ingredients and taking our turns at stirring the evolving filling for the chiles. Mariana and Geraldine had us taste the filling along the way to better understand how each new ingredient contributed to the taste. We had already spent a week in Mexico City and had eaten Chiles en Nogada at two restaurants. What Mariana and Geraldine taught us was THE BEST with wonderful flavor. Ending the afternoon sitting with our chefs in the garden, eating the wonderful lunch, and talking food and restaurants ended our amazing experience with Traveling Spoon.
- MaryL64 October 18, 2017
Read More
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ ppl
In-Home Meal
 Not offered $46 $38
Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $74 $60
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $84 $68
Alcohol
 $16 per person
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 people 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 Not offered $46 $38
Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $74 $60
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $84 $68
Alcohol
 $16 per person
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
Experience Timings
 Lunch Dinner
In-Home Meal
 12:00pm-2:00pm 7:00pm-9:00pm
Cooking Experience+ Meal
 11:00am-2:00pm 5:00pm-8:00pm
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
 10:30am-3:30pm 4:30pm-9:30pm
ABOUT TRAVELING SPOON

Traveling Spoon connects you with meaningful culinary experiences, from private cooking lessons to homecooked meals in people's homes. Enjoy an immersive cultural experience that gives you a glimpse into the local way of life.

FAQ

    You can cancel your reservation up until 48 hours before your experience for a full refund minus a 3% processing fee. Experiences within 48 hours are not refundable.

    If you have a question for your host, you can include a note in the field "Write a note to your host" during the booking process. Once your booking is confirmed, you will be emailed your host's direct contact information and you will also be able to message the host through your profile. You can always cancel your booking and receive a full refund 48 hours or more before your experience. If you have other questions you can also email us at reservations@travelingspoon.com.

    Most of our hosts are able to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies, including vegetarian and gluten free options. For vegetarian travelers, we have an icon on each host profile to indicate whether that host can also offer a fully vegetarian menu. There is a section in the booking form to note any allergies or dietary restrictions which will be sent directly to your host.

    Some hosts offer alcohol as an optional add-on for travelers who are of legal drinking age. Pricing for alcohol is visible on the host profile page and includes one to two glasses of wine, beer or local alcohol.

    Have a flight or other tour planned and can’t make the timing provided? If the timing listed on the host’s profile doesn’t work for you, our hosts can often accommodate timing changes. Because all of our experiences are private our hosts are happy to tailor experiences to meet your travel needs. Simply note your request in the booking process.

    Your card will not be charged until your host accepts your booking. Typically hosts respond to bookings within 72 hours. In the event your host is unavailable on your selected date and your host rejects your booking your credit card will not be charged.

    Your host's detailed contact information, including their phone number, address, and direction notes, will all be provided immediately upon successful confirmation of your experience (after your hosts accepts your booking and your credit card is successfully processed). This information will be emailed to you to the email address you used to sign up, and will also be visible on your Traveling Spoon profile.

    All prices are noted per person prices unless otherwise specified. Transportation is typically charged on a per car basis. Children aged 5-11 are 50% off, and infants aged 0-4 are free. Hosts set their own prices and Traveling Spoon marks up the experiences; on average hosts receive over 70% of the price paid by the traveler.

    100% of Traveling Spoon experiences are private! Just you and your host and host’s family.

    Hosts typically respond to booking inquiries within 72 hours. If for some reason you have not heard from your host or if you have any questions you can always contact us at reservations@travelingspoon.com.

    Your safety and security are our top priority. To ensure this, Traveling Spoon personally vets 100% of all hosts, including an in-person host visit, to ensure each host and experience meets our strict quality requirements.

    Some hosts offer transportation as an optional add-on for travelers. Typically this is round trip transportation with pick up and drop off at your hotel. Pricing is quoted per car. Specific instructions for transportation will be provided in your confirmation details when your booking is confirmed.

    Many of our hosts accommodate solo travelers. You can see if a host accepts solo travelers by looking at the traveler range found next to the experience descriptions on the host profile (indicated by the numbers in parentheses next to "In-home meal", "Cooking experience" and "Market visit").

    Most of our Traveling Spoon experiences are incredibly family friendly and can accommodate infants and children. If a host is unable to accommodate children that will be noted in the “Notes” section of their profile. Our child pricing policy is children aged 5-11 are 50% off, and infants aged 0-4 are free.