Traditional Cooking
Barbacoa
The economic and cultural hub of the Sierra Sur, the Miahuatlán area is a biodiversity hotspot. It boasts an immense variety of mezcal producing agaves endemic to the area, resulting in some of the most complex and rare mezcales in all of Mexico. The region's cuisine creates a perfect complement to its traditional drink resulting in regional specialities like shobatá, chichilo, or barbacoa de chivo, or goat roasted in an earth oven. Barbacoa de chivo might as well be the official party food of December in the southern mountains of Oaxaca. Goat or lamb barbacoa is served to a crowd of anywhere from 15 to 1,000 guests in celebration of an end-of-year baptism, wedding, or quinceañera. During this experience we will immerse ourselves in the culture of mezcal country, preparing a traditional earth oven barbacoa with a maestro mezcalero and his family.
We will leave Oaxaca City and head to Miahuatlán where will learn how to slaughter and butcher the goat from our teachers, local mezcal producers. On Day 1 we begin the preparations for the barbacoa: prepping the oven, chopping vegetables for the consome, and nixtamalizing dried corn for freshly made tortillas. On Day 2 we arise early to heat the oven and make tortillas. Once we put the animal in the oven we will head over to a mezcal producer´s home and sample mezcal made on site. Day 2 ends with a group feast and enjoying the countryside in the heart of mezcal country.
2026 dates: Sat-Mon, March 21-23 2027 dates: Sat-Mon, Feb 13-15
Sat-Mon, Nov 14-16 Sat-Mon, March 20-22
Sat-Mon, Dec 12-14
Itinerary: 3 days, 2 nights
Price per person: $800 USD/15,000 MXN Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca city (2 hours each way)
7 meals
Two nights stay: 2 nights accommodations at Rancho Los Nahuales (double occupancy)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Activities planned:
Two days of traditional cooking classes, including learning how to butcher a goat with a maestro mezcalero, how to prepare and cook with a barbacoa oven, the nixtmalization of heirloom corn, and how to make tortillas by hand
Visit to 2 traditional mezcal palenques where will learn about the history in the region and production from a mezcal producing family
Tasting of traditional mezcal at the palenques. A chance to buy mezcal directly from the producer (price not included), our help packing in for travel
Dishes learned:
Tortillas (blandas)
Barbacoa de chivo
Consomé
Blood sausage
Salsa for the barbacoa
Nixtamalization using cal (calcium hydroxide)
Skills learned:
How to grind nixtamalized corn with an electric stone mill works (molino)
Have an understanding of how to form tortillas with a press and by hand
How to build and heat a traditional barbacoa oven
How to butcher a goat
Maíz Criollo & Nixtamalization
This intensive workshop is geared towards chefs and serious cooks who want to learn in depth about heirloom corn and its uses in Oaxacan gastronomy. During our cooking classes we focus on nixtamalization and two grinding techniques in two different communities where we will be cooking with regional varieties of heirloom corn. We will also visit local markets, learning about the food system and the role corn plays in everyday life and diet.
In Teotitlán del Valle we will learn to do a quicker nixtamalization process to make tostadas de maíz quebrajada, ground by hand on the stone mill (metate) and make three textures of tortillas: blandas, tlayudas, and tostadas. We will also prepare the pre-Hispanic drink tejate, whose main ingredients of corn and cacao are some of the most important in the region. We´ll also learn to make a traditional dish amarillo (often referred to as yellow mole) which is thickened with heirloom corn masa. During this class we will work with four types of heirloom corn grown on site by our teacher who is a traditional cook, natural dyer, and weaver.
In Miahuatlán we cook on a traditional mezcal farm with a team of cocineras tradicionales, where heirloom corn, beans and squash are grown alongside agaves for small scale mezcal production. We will cook a dish that features dried corn (següeza, cracked corn mole) and nixtamalized corn masa (tamales). Here we will learn the long form of nixtamalization (letting our nixtamal soak overnight), perfect our tortilla-making skills, and learn about the five different types of atole in the region and choose which to prepare.
2026 dates: Sat-Weds, Sept 19-23 2027 dates: Sat-Weds, Sept 12-22
Itinerary: 5 days, 4 nights
Price per person: $1,335 USD/24,440MXN Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation service (English/Spanish)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (40 minutes each way to Teotitlán, 2 hours each way to Miahuatlán)
Cost of all mentioned activities over the course of 4 days, 5 nights (3 fulls days of classes)
4 night stay: 3 nights accommodation at El Diablo & La Sandia (or equivelant accomodations) and 1 night accommodation at Rancho Los Nahuales
8 meals featuring corn
Drinking water and light snacks
Take home kit of essential tools for tortilla making
Donation to future community youth center
Donation to women’s cooperative annual project
Activities planned:
Three days of intensive cooking classes with cocineras tradicionales in Teotitlán and Miahuatlán
Hike to visit the cave where the oldest piece of corn in the world has been carbon dated
Visit to a local market learning about the local food systems
Visit a traditional mezcal palenque to learn about the traditional agriculture system (milpa) and taste up to 20 unique mezcals made on site
Dishes learned:
Tortillas: blandas, tlayudas, and tostadas
Main and side dishes: yellow mole, tamales, segueza, espeso de guías
Drinks: tejate, atole
Skills learned:
Short-form and long-form nixtamalization techniques with cal (calcium hydroxide) and ash used by cocineras tradicionales in Teotitlán and Miahuatlán
How to grind nixtamalized corn by hand on a metate (stone mill) and how an electric stone mill works (molino)
How to create different tortilla textures based on grinding technique and heat control (blandas, tlayudas, and tostadas) on a clay comal over a wood burning fire
Have an understanding of how to form tortillas with a press and by hand
How to work with dried corn, nixtamalized corn, and fresh corn
Mole Workshop
Mole, the most emblematic dish of Oaxaca. Depending on who you talk to mole is prehispanic, mole is post hispanic, there are three moles, there are seven moles; mole is thickened with bread, mole always has chocolate; you should only toast mole ingredients, you should fry mole ingredients; Oaxacans invented mole, Poblanos invented mole; and so on and so forth. In this intensive workshop we explore myths and truths, taste and prepare well known moles as well as moles rarely tasted outside of Oaxaca. We prepare the classic mole negro (also known as mole dulce, sweet mole) essential for Day of the Dead and other important ocassions like funerals. We´ll also prepare everyday moles such as yellow, green, and criollo as well as the more complex and rare moles like següeza, chichilo, and mole de castilla as well as tamales made with mole.
2026 dates: Thurs-Tues, June 18-23 2027 dates: Thurs-Tues, Feb 11-16
Fri-Weds, Oct 23-28 Sat-Thurs, Oct 23-28
Itinerary: 6 days, 5 nights
Price per person: $1,525 USD/27,500 MXN Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation service (English/Spanish)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca city
Cost of all programmed activities over the course of the workshop
10 meals
Five nights stay: 4 nights accommodations at El Diablo y La Sandía (or equivelant accomodations) and 1 night accommodation at Rancho Los Nahuales (double occupancy)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Donation to women's cooperative annual project
Activities planned:
Intensive cooking classes in Teotitlán, Mitla, and Miahuatlán
Visit a traditional mezcal palenque to learn about the traditional agriculture system (milpa) and taste up to 20 unique mezcals made on site
Natural dyes and weaving demonstrations
Visits to local markets to get an understanding of the local food system and try local produce
Visit to the Mitla ruins
Visit to the Tule tree
Dishes learned:
Mole negro (mole dulce) and tamales de mole negro
Següeza
Mole de castilla
Amarillo and tamales de amarillo
Mole criollo
Verde
Chichilo
Tortillas
Skills learned:
Identify and work with more than 10 types of chiles
Grind mole ingredients on a metate, traditional stone mill and with an electric mill, molino
Thicken mole with bread and masa
Cook mole over gas and wood burning fire
How to use different leaves for making mole tamales (corn husks, leaf from the corn stalk, and banana leaf)
Nixtmalization process
Traditional medicine and healing are used throughout rural Oaxacan communities to treat anything from the common cold to more grave conditions like a susto, in which it’s believed that your soul leaves your body due to a frightening experience. As little as 15 years ago western medicine was not accessible in many rural areas of Oaxaca. As our hosts in Teotitlán explain, everyone ́s grandmother became their de facto doctor. When a child had a dry cough or a wet cough your grandmother knew which tea was appropriate to prepare and when a child had a fever they needed to be rubbed in mezcal and wrapped in blankets to sweat it out. Although there is now a health clinic in the community, many families still rely on the traditional methods for curing headaches, stress, and bad dreams. A combination of traditional massage, spiritual cleansing, herbs in teas or applied topically, as well as steam baths (temezcal) are used regularly in the community in combination with western medicine. During this workshop we will learn about the use of traditional medicine in the community with the first women´s cooperative of Teotitlán, as well as experience a limpia, Zapotec massage, and temezcal.
2026 dates: Fri-Mon, Feb 13-16 2027 dates: Fri-Mon, Jan 15-18
Fri-Mon, July 3-6 Fri-Mon, Nov 12-15
Itinerary: 4 days, 3 nights
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Cost per person: $1,500, 28,200 MXN
Activities planned:
Hands-on class with the Vida Nueva women's cooperative learning about the plants of the region used in spiritual healing, traditional medicine, and natural dyes
Learn about and participate in a limpia, Zapotec massage, and temezcal
Hike to a sacred mountain in the community lead by cooperative members
Beeswax candles workshop, learning about the candles made in the community for different spiritual and religious ceremonies
Group meals made using heirloom corn and local herbs from the region prepared by cocineras tradicionales
A traditional mezcal tasting of our family´s small batch local mezcals, learning about mezcal´s role in traditional healing in Oaxaca
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (English/Spanish)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (40 min each way)
Cost of all programmed activities over the course of the trip
9 meals
Tasting of traditional mezcal from local producers
3 night stay at La Cúpula hotel (double occupancy) or accommodations of equivalent quality in Teotitlán
Drinking water and light snacks
Temezcal (traditional steam bath), limpia, and Zapotec massage
Donation to women´s cooperative annual community service project
Mezcal
Mezcal Camp
2026 dates: Fri-Mon, May 22-25 2027 dates: Fri-Mon, May 28-31
Weds-Sat, Nov 25-28 Weds-Sat, Nov 24-27
Itinerary: 4 days, 3 nights
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Cost per person: $1,500 USD/28,200 MXN
Activities planned:
Visit to 2 traditional mezcal palenques, learning about the process and history of the mezcal of the region directly from the producing families who have been distilling their mezcal in copper for 4 generation
Learn about the 2 different types of stills used in the region
Learn about and see the biodiversity of different types of agaves used to make mezcal
Tasting of traditional mezcal made on site at each palenque
Prepare and light oven for agave roast
Participate in loading an agave oven with a maestro mezcalero and crew, farm breakfast with the team
While learning about the various parts of the mezcal production we will participate in various parts of the process such as agave harvesting, mashing, and distilling
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (2 hours each way)
Visit to three traditional mezcal palenque, learning about the process and history of the mezcal of the region directly from the producing families who have been distilling their mezcal in copper for 4 generations
A chance to purchase mezcal directly from the producers (price not included), our help packing it for travel
10 meals
3 nights stay at Rancho Los Nahuales (double occupancy)
Tasting kit of mezcals from producers we visited for you to take home (1 per person)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Tapada de horno
2026 dates: Fri-Sun, Feb 27-March 1 2027 dates: Fri-Sun, Feb 26-28
Fri-Sun, March 27-29 Fri-Sun, March 26-28
Itinerary: 3 days, 2 nights
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Cost per person: $700 USD/13,160 MXN
Activities planned:
Visit to 2 traditional mezcal palenques, learning about the process and history of the mezcal of the region directly from the producing families who have been distilling their mezcal in copper for 4 generations
Learn about and see the biodiversity of different types of agaves used to make mezcal
Tasting of traditional mezcal made on site at each palenque
Prepare and light oven for agave roast at night
Participate in loading an agave oven at dawn with a maestro mezcalero and crew, farm breakfast with the team
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (2 hours each way)
A chance to purchase mezcal directly from the producers (price not included), our help packing it for travel
7 meals
2 nights stay at Rancho Los Nahuales (double occupancy)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Copper & Clay
2026 dates: Sat-Sun March 14-15 2027 dates: Sat-Sun March 13-14
Sat-Sun April 18-19 Sat-Sun April 17-18
Sat-Sun Oct 10-11
Itinerary: 2 days, 1 night
Cost per person: $500 USD/9,400 MXN Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Activities planned:
Tour of 2 mezcal palenques producing clay pot distilled mezcal
Tour of an agave nursery or agave fields and palenque which produces small batch clay pot distilled mezcal. We learn about the mezcal production process from seed to bottle with the family who makes this small batch mezcal. The palenque is owned and operated by a family that has been making mezcal for 4 generations and has a focus on sustainable agriculture and maintaining local traditional production methods.
Visit to a second palenque in the home of a traditional mezcal producer working with his sons to make micro batches of mezcal minero for local consumption
Visit to 2 traditional mezcal palenques distilling in copper, learning about the process and history of the mezcal of the region directly from the producing families
Tasting of mezcal made on site at each palenque
Lunch at Ocotlán market of regional dishes such as mole, empanadas de amarillo, tejate, and enchiladas
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (2 hours each way)
5 meals
A chance to purchase mezcal directly from the producers (price not included), our help packing it for travel
1 night stay at Rancho Los Nahuales (double occupancy)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Place Based
Lo mejor de Mitla
Known in Zapotec culture as the place where souls pass from this life to the next (lyobaa), Mitla is home to world renown ruins boasting beautiful desgins. It might be equally as famous for its chocolate de agua blanca (white water hot chocolate); drinking it is truly an otherworldly experience! An hour to the east of Oaxaca, we explore Mitla´s regional gastronomy as well as visit with an antiques dealer who has a vast knowledge of the region's history as well as a large collection of mezcal storing vessels-black clay cántaros and glass damajuanas and garrafones. Mitla is also home to a rich weaving tradition in which artisans practice diverse techniques to create cotton blouses and shawls as well as wool sashes. We also explore weaving on both back strap and pedal looms.
Itinerary: 6 days, 5 nights
2026 dates: Sat-Thurs, April 4-9
Groups: 5 minimum, 10 maximum
Cost per person: $1,525 USD/27,500 MXN
Activities planned:
Chocolate making workshop with a cocinera tradicional, learning how to make Mitla´s famouse white water hot chocolate
Hike and visit to Hierve del Agua
Traditional cooking class of regional dishes with a cocinera tradicional
Visit to the Mitla ruins learning about the history and culture of the oldest continual Zapotec community
Visit to the home of a local historian and antique´s dealer, learning about community government and history through his experience participating in the usos y costumbres traditional government system
Visit to the Tule tree
Limpia & temezcal with a local healer
Visit to the Tlacolula Sunday market learning about the food systems and crafts of the region
Visit to a traditional weaving family in Mitla working with wool, cotton, natural dyes, both backstrap and pedal looms
Free time to enjoy the pool at our hotel
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (1 hours each way)
13 meals
2 nights stay at Alcalá and 3 nights stay at Casa Lyooba (double occupancy)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to women´s weaving cooperative annual project
Benito Juarez Adventure
Welcome to the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca! While only an hour away Oaxaca´s city center, here you´ll immerse yourself in high altitude pine forests. Climbing up to 3,000 meters above sea level, we´ll see some of the best views of the Oaxaca and Tlacolula valleys while breathing in the crisp mountain air. The first town in Oaxaca to participate in the ecotourism movement, Benito Juárez has over 30 years of experience in showing guests all the region has to offer. We have the opportunity to learn from several local families about their history, culture, nature, organic agriculture, and traditional cuisine. We work with both a local eco-tourism guide and a family that makes wood fired oven bread made using locally grown wheat. We enjoy the region's dishes such as amarillo de setas, chichillo, and atole colorado.
2026 dates: Sun-Wed, March 22-25
Sun-Weds, Dec 27-30
Itinerary: 4 days, 3 nights
Cost per person: $ USD/ MXN Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Activities planned:
Seasonal
Wild Mushroom Foraging in the Sierra Sur
We are excited to offer this overnight mushroom foraging and cooking experience in the southern moutains of Oaxaca! We lucky to be working with local mycologists as well as hongeros-community members with a vast knowledge of local mushrooms, and traditional cooks who will learn all about the mushrooms of the region with. Join us for our group trip to the Sierra Sur for a weekend of immersing ourselves in the beautiful landscape of the high pine forests where wild mushrooms flourish during the summer months in Oaxaca. In past years we´ve found over 150 unique varietals of mushrooms and had the pleasure of cooking dishes like yellow mole with mushrooms, mushroom soup with epazote, and locally grown potatoes with mushrroms.
2026 dates: Fri-Mon, July 24-27 2026 dates: Fri-Mon, July 23-26
Fri-Mon, Aug 7-10 Fri-Mon, Aug 6-9
Fri-Mon, Aug 21-24 Fri-Mon, Aug 20-23
Itinerary: 4 days, 3 nights
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Cost per person: $1,500 USD/28,200 MXN
Activities planned:
Talks by a local mycologist teaching us about the local mushrooms of the region and Oaxaca and their uses
A guided walk in the high altitude (2440 m/8000 ft above sea level) pine forests of the region where we will collect different kinds of mushrooms with the mycologist and local guide from the community
Create an identification table to learn about the varieties of mushrooms we collect, their scientific classifications, and their uses
A cooking class with a cocinera tradicional learning local dishes like amarillo or hongos a la mexicana that use edible mushrooms
Learn how to make traditional mountain bread in a wood fired oven
Group meals featuring edible mushrooms of the region
Traditional mezcal tasting
Temezcal
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (English/Spanish)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (3 hours each way)
Cost of all programmed activities over the course of the trip
10 meals (most featuring edible mushrooms)
3 night stay at Puesta del Sol cabins (double occupancy) or accommodations of equivalent quality
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to local elementary school for much needed school supplies
*Option to add a stay at Rancho Los Nahuales mezcal farm or take trasportation to the beach after the experience (additional cost).
Chapulines
Join us for chapulines season! We venture out in the into the agave and corn fields surrounding Rancho Los Nahuales and search for grasshoppers. We hand select them and bring them back to the ranch to learn how to process them and cook them with a cocinera tradicional, and finally feast on Oaxaca´s favorite snack! The rumor is that if you eat chapulines in Oaxaca you’ll keep coming back. Check out
2026 dates: Fri-Sun, Oct 19-20
Itinerary: 2 days, 1 night
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Cost per person: $400 USD/7,520 MXN
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English). Pick up and drop off from your hotel or vacation rental (Centro, Jalatlaco, Xochimilico, Reforma, San Felipe)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (2 hours each way)
Breakfast at the Ocotlán market of regional dishes
Tour of the Ocotlán weekly Friday market. Some historians estimate that this weekly market has been happening in this town for the last 5,000-7,000 years. Today the weekly market continues to be an important economic and cultural hub of the Ocotlan valley. Many vendors come from the surrounding areas only on Fridays to sell organic vegetables, native chilies, aguamiel, smoked fish from the coast, and handmade crafts such as embroidered blouses, clay chilimoleras, and rope made of agave fibers. Sample of local delicacies such as boiled camotes with local honey and jamoncillo, a coconut and brown sugar dessert
Visit to a traditional mezcal palenque, learning about the process and history of the mezcal of the region directly from the producing families who have been distilling their mezcal in copper for 4 generations
Learn about and see the biodiversity of different types of agaves used to make mezcal
Tasting of traditional mezcal made on site
A chance to purchase mezcal directly from the producers (price not included), our help packing it for travel
Farm to table unch of local delicacies prepared by a cocinera tradicional
Dinner and optional bonfire at Racnho los Nahuales
Early morning rise to learn to collect chapulines
Farm to table breakfast at Rancho los Nahuales
Learn to prepare chapulines salt with a cocinera traditional, take home some of the chapulines we prepare
Cooking class at a mezcal ranch which grows agaves as well heirloom varieties of corn, squash, and beans. Our teacher will show us how to make regional dishes with ingredients grown on site such as següeza, amarillo, and hand made tortillas
Enjoying the lunch we cook accompanied by a selction of traditional mezcal mad on site
Head by to Oaxaca city after lunch
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Inviting the Souls
Description
2026 dates: Weds-Fri, Oct 14-16 2027 dates: Thurs-Sat, Oct 14-16
Itinerary: 3 days, 2 nights
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Cost per person:
Includes:
Day of the Dead
Description
2026 dates: SOLD OUT 2027 dates: Thurs-Weds, Oct 28-Nov 3
Itinerary: 6 days, 5 nights
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Cost per person:
Includes:
Please review our Overnight Workshops Cancellation policy before booking.