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Host: David

Medellín, Colombia

USD
$104-$198 per person

Learn to cook a Colombian meal in a cooking class with a professional chef and his family

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

Meet David

David first learned to cook from his mother, and then went on to pursue his passion for food at culinary school. Following culinary school he ran a successful restaurant where he stayed until last year, when he decided to shift his focus to rescue and enhance traditional Colombian flavors. Now, David owns a closed-door restaurant, only available by reservation, where he offers signature dishes that celebrate local flavors. An experience with David is like visiting a friend’s family for a celebration, you will get to cook and eat with the whole family – David’s lovely mom, Gloria, his brothers Luis and Mateo, and his beautiful girlfriend.

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: (1-9 guests) David lives with his family in a beautiful home inside a gated community of Medellin that has a large backyard with a beautifully-crafted wooden patio and views of a picturesque pool. You will be welcomed by David's mom Gloria and escorted straight to the kitchen bar for a juice tasting. There are many interesting fruits native to Colombia that you may have never heard of or tried before - and some of them are even grown in David’s backyard. David will freshly squeeze 2-3 fruit juice shots for you to try; these might include lulo juice (an exotic fruit with a citrus flavor), tree tomato juice, blackberry juice or aguapanela (a sugarcane drink). While you’ll talk and get to know more about Colombian culture and culinary traditions, David will be adding some finishing touches to the meal he has prepared for you. Later, you will join David and his family for a traditional home-cooked meal using local ingredients. Your meal might include dishes such as chorizo antioqueño (sausage), morcilla (blood sausage and rice), a stew made with antioqueños beans, plaintains, chicharron (fried pork belly), or avocado and salchicha ranchera (ranchera sausage). End your meal with homemade ice cream cake drizzled with arequipe (dulce de leche) and aguardiente sherbet (anise-flavored liqueur derived from sugar cane).

Cooking experience: (1-9 guests) David offers a hands-on experience where he will teach you to make two dishes from scratch using fresh ingredients and herbs from his backyard garden. Before you start your cooking class, David will give you a small tour of his garden and will show you all the fruits, vegetables and herbs he grows. After you pluck a few herbs from his garden, you will cook along with David and his family in their large, well organized kitchen. The cooking portion of the experience will last for about hour during which you will learn to make an appetizer and a main dish. Then sit down together at their dining table to enjoy the Colombian meal you helped prepare. David is excited to share his culture through food and offer an authentic/traditional cooking class in Medellín. David can also offer vegetarian meals on request in his cooking class in Medellín.

Market visit: (1-9 guests) After you meet David, he will drive you to the local market where he buys almost all of his produce. He will share more about locally-grown ingredients and how they are used in cooking traditional Colombian dishes. David will then allow you to choose fruits and other foods you’re curious about so that you can try them and cook with them in his home. After you buy your fresh ingredients, David will drive you back to his house for your cooking class.

Notes: David can offer vegetarian meals on request.

Languages spoken: English, Spanish

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

For the adventurous traveler, David is the answer. David greeted us at our hostel by surprise and led us to his car where we began one of the greatest culinary adventures of our lives. I literally felt like Anthony Bourdain for the entire 5 hours! After giving us his story of how he got into the culinary field and owned his own high end Colombian restaurant, David began our tour by taking us to one of the biggest and more local markets of Medellin. Later we arrived at his beautiful home we were welcomed in by his mother Gloria who was already working hard preparing our meal. David joined in with his mother and started fresh pressing juices for us. As we sat down at the kitchen bar to watch this master at work, we were joined in by David’s two brothers Luis and Mateo who truly made us feel like we were a part of the family. We were also guided to the herb garden in the backyard where David let us try some of the herbs he grows and regularly uses in his cooking. There were many phases to our experience which we deeply appreciated. It was like Christmas over and over again! And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, a mention of Gloria’s cake was made to life when she insisted she bake us a cake on the spot. Happiness was an understatement at the end of David’s experience. We left with full stomachs and even fuller hearts. Culinary perfection!

Marc and Bavly, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

Traveler reviews

5.0 (2)
We are a family of 4 (two boys ages 13 and 10) and this was an awesome activity. David picked us up early (in a Mercedes nonetheless) and took us to the market. He bought the boys whatever fruit they wanted to try and then took us home to his house. David is a professional chef and he works at a school training chefs (he worked at one point in his career at Carmen and also had his own restaurant). His house is great. His mom is so friendly. We made a traditional Columbia dish that was delicious. His English was also fantastic. We had a blast!
- gte253f May 30, 2022
My experience with David was absolutely amazing to say the very least. It was incredibly easy to get to his hose via public transportation. When we arrived we were greeted by David and his girlfriend, who were both fantastic hosts. Their home was beautiful and it was such a pleasure walking around his garden and hearing about his restaurant business. We felt very welcome and at home with David, and he had lots of great stories to share. In terms of his cooking, he was flawless. He had a large bowl of fruit that he shared with us so that we could sample the local fruits in Colombia. Then we began helping him making the dessert portion of the menu. He gave us both jobs which were fun and easy to assist with. It was a joy to see his passion for cooking and have him explain why he does certain things. The two dishes he prepared for us were fantastic. The pork belly was such a treat, and the fish and rice dish was outstanding. My boyfriend states that it was the best thing he ate the entire time we were in Colombia and I agree. At the end of the meal we were absolutely stuffed and so happy! I think traveling spoon is a fantastic option for people traveling and hoping to meet new people in a foreign city. It is such a fantastic way to experience a culture and I would absolutely recommend this experience to my friends and family moving forward, and especially would recommend David!
- karac830 September 06, 2018
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David

$104-$198 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+ people
In-Home Meal
$134 $120 $104
Cooking Experience + Meal
$158 $142 $126
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
$198 $158 $142
Alcohol
$24 per person
Transportation
$56 per car
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
$134 $120 $104
Cooking Experience + Meal
$158 $142 $126
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
$198 $158 $142
Alcohol
$24 per person
Transportation
$56 per car
*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
10:00am-1:00pm 5:00pm-8:00pm
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
10:00am-2:00pm 3:30pm-7:30pm

Meet David

David first learned to cook from his mother, and then went on to pursue his passion for food at culinary school. Following culinary school he ran a successful restaurant where he stayed until last year, when he decided to shift his focus to rescue and enhance traditional Colombian flavors. Now, David owns a closed-door restaurant, only available by reservation, where he offers signature dishes that celebrate local flavors. An experience with David is like visiting a friend’s family for a celebration, you will get to cook and eat with the whole family – David’s lovely mom, Gloria, his brothers Luis and Mateo, and his beautiful girlfriend.

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: (1-9 guests) David lives with his family in a beautiful home inside a gated community of Medellin that has a large backyard with a beautifully-crafted wooden patio and views of a picturesque pool. You will be welcomed by David's mom Gloria and escorted straight to the kitchen bar for a juice tasting. There are many interesting fruits native to Colombia that you may have never heard of or tried before - and some of them are even grown in David’s backyard. David will freshly squeeze 2-3 fruit juice shots for you to try; these might include lulo juice (an exotic fruit with a citrus flavor), tree tomato juice, blackberry juice or aguapanela (a sugarcane drink). While you’ll talk and get to know more about Colombian culture and culinary traditions, David will be adding some finishing touches to the meal he has prepared for you. Later, you will join David and his family for a traditional home-cooked meal using local ingredients. Your meal might include dishes such as chorizo antioqueño (sausage), morcilla (blood sausage and rice), a stew made with antioqueños beans, plaintains, chicharron (fried pork belly), or avocado and salchicha ranchera (ranchera sausage). End your meal with homemade ice cream cake drizzled with arequipe (dulce de leche) and aguardiente sherbet (anise-flavored liqueur derived from sugar cane).

Cooking experience: (1-9 guests) David offers a hands-on experience where he will teach you to make two dishes from scratch using fresh ingredients and herbs from his backyard garden. Before you start your cooking class, David will give you a small tour of his garden and will show you all the fruits, vegetables and herbs he grows. After you pluck a few herbs from his garden, you will cook along with David and his family in their large, well organized kitchen. The cooking portion of the experience will last for about hour during which you will learn to make an appetizer and a main dish. Then sit down together at their dining table to enjoy the Colombian meal you helped prepare. David is excited to share his culture through food and offer an authentic/traditional cooking class in Medellín. David can also offer vegetarian meals on request in his cooking class in Medellín.

Market visit: (1-9 guests) After you meet David, he will drive you to the local market where he buys almost all of his produce. He will share more about locally-grown ingredients and how they are used in cooking traditional Colombian dishes. David will then allow you to choose fruits and other foods you’re curious about so that you can try them and cook with them in his home. After you buy your fresh ingredients, David will drive you back to his house for your cooking class.

Notes: David can offer vegetarian meals on request.

Languages spoken: English, Spanish

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

For the adventurous traveler, David is the answer. David greeted us at our hostel by surprise and led us to his car where we began one of the greatest culinary adventures of our lives. I literally felt like Anthony Bourdain for the entire 5 hours! After giving us his story of how he got into the culinary field and owned his own high end Colombian restaurant, David began our tour by taking us to one of the biggest and more local markets of Medellin. Later we arrived at his beautiful home we were welcomed in by his mother Gloria who was already working hard preparing our meal. David joined in with his mother and started fresh pressing juices for us. As we sat down at the kitchen bar to watch this master at work, we were joined in by David’s two brothers Luis and Mateo who truly made us feel like we were a part of the family. We were also guided to the herb garden in the backyard where David let us try some of the herbs he grows and regularly uses in his cooking. There were many phases to our experience which we deeply appreciated. It was like Christmas over and over again! And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, a mention of Gloria’s cake was made to life when she insisted she bake us a cake on the spot. Happiness was an understatement at the end of David’s experience. We left with full stomachs and even fuller hearts. Culinary perfection!

Marc and Bavly, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

Traveler reviews

5.0 (2)
We are a family of 4 (two boys ages 13 and 10) and this was an awesome activity. David picked us up early (in a Mercedes nonetheless) and took us to the market. He bought the boys whatever fruit they wanted to try and then took us home to his house. David is a professional chef and he works at a school training chefs (he worked at one point in his career at Carmen and also had his own restaurant). His house is great. His mom is so friendly. We made a traditional Columbia dish that was delicious. His English was also fantastic. We had a blast!
- gte253f May 30, 2022
My experience with David was absolutely amazing to say the very least. It was incredibly easy to get to his hose via public transportation. When we arrived we were greeted by David and his girlfriend, who were both fantastic hosts. Their home was beautiful and it was such a pleasure walking around his garden and hearing about his restaurant business. We felt very welcome and at home with David, and he had lots of great stories to share. In terms of his cooking, he was flawless. He had a large bowl of fruit that he shared with us so that we could sample the local fruits in Colombia. Then we began helping him making the dessert portion of the menu. He gave us both jobs which were fun and easy to assist with. It was a joy to see his passion for cooking and have him explain why he does certain things. The two dishes he prepared for us were fantastic. The pork belly was such a treat, and the fish and rice dish was outstanding. My boyfriend states that it was the best thing he ate the entire time we were in Colombia and I agree. At the end of the meal we were absolutely stuffed and so happy! I think traveling spoon is a fantastic option for people traveling and hoping to meet new people in a foreign city. It is such a fantastic way to experience a culture and I would absolutely recommend this experience to my friends and family moving forward, and especially would recommend David!
- karac830 September 06, 2018
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
$134 $120 $104
Cooking Experience + Meal
$158 $142 $126
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
$198 $158 $142
Alcohol
$24 per person
Transportation
$56 per car
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
$134 $120 $104
Cooking Experience + Meal
$158 $142 $126
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
$198 $158 $142
Alcohol
$24 per person
Transportation
$56 per car
*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
10:00am-1:00pm 5:00pm-8:00pm
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
10:00am-2:00pm 3:30pm-7:30pm
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.