Mexican Food Cooking Class

I had the pleasure and the challenge to go one on one with Chef Ileana and lived to tell the tale! This ain't no sip wine while the chef slaves class. Oh no! Totally hands on from the wonderful foray through the local market to procure your ingredients- both exotic and mundane -through to savoring your creations many hours later. Our kitchen was housed in a circa 1913 apartment of grand proportion and design. Intended originally to house railway workers these must be highly coveted today. Ileana clearly can adjust her class to any level cook and I appreciated that she used me as a proper sous-chef and had me slicing, dicing, and roasting right along side her. Our menu was ambitious- 2 moles ! 2 salsas, rajas, various tortilla based creations and the piece de resistance- cacao tamales. For over 3 hours longer than usual we worked and I learned that to have the authentic taste, one most blacken ingredients almost beyond belief. But the flavors! So concentrated and unique. The lady knows her stuff! So, be sure to let her know what level of cooking you are comfortable with right up front, wear comfy shoes and avoid white blouses! I cannot wait to try out the recipes she sent via e-mail. And, oh, she has terrific tips for exploring other local markets, too.

The class was amazing! We had so much fun at the market and then made sweet tamales and tilapia tacos, it was all SO DELICIOUS! My only semi complaint is that I was told the recipes would be emailed to me after the class but I never received them:/ still, I would highly recommended this class!!!

Very accommodating my request for vegetarian menu wasn't forwarded - made two wonderful soups, two more vegetable dishes, salsa, tortillas - for an enormous and delicious meal. I've loved trying these recipes at home and appreciated the opportunity to learn about so many different ingredients.