Cooking in argentina
Criolla Cooking School- Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
March 15, 2025
I booked a cooking class at Criolla Cooking School long before I knew what the night before could possibly entail. The class was a 3 hour food and culture experience where they paired drinks with the food we were actively making. The class began promptly at 12:00pm and we stumbled in at 12:03. When I say stumbled, I mean it. My husband and I spent our first day in Buenos Aires doing the Teatro Colon Tour along with a ceramic and wine night with two friends. This was followed by a "Let’s grab one drink at this cool speak easy…” 6 hours later we returned to our boutique hotel having more Fernet and Coke’s than we typically have in an entire year. It was 5:30am and we needed to be ready in 6 hours for our class.
Being hungover (which truly never happens for me) for a 3 hour food and drink pairing was a battle I didn’t know I had to fight.
Mushroom Prep
The walls might have been spinning for me, but the experience was absolutely incredible. The group consisted of 8 people from Germany, Chile, Brazil, Tawian, Nigeria, two Californians and 1 Argentine (my husband). We were all a bit quiet at first but as soon as the drinks were flowing people started to open up. I don’t want to give “liquid courage” the credit because I think it was more timing and the participation; nonetheless we all started the travel chatter. To me, travel chatter is a distinct type of chit chat along the lines of “where are you from” “how long are you here for” “where are you visiting in Argentina” “Is it your first time” “Have you been to a Tango show yet” “What about Mendoza?” Every place has it’s own travel chatter lingo dependent on the typical things us tourists find ourselves doing. I hate small talk, but I love the travel chatter.
Ingredients for Chipá
Chipá Ingredients:
200 gr Mandioca Starch
120 gr Gouda Cheese or Similar 80 gr Parmesano
20 gr Butter
2 gr Sugar
5 gr Salt
1 Egg
1 gr Baking Powder
60 ml aprox Milk
We made the chipá first followed by empanada dough from scratch, empanada filling (mushroom and steak) and last but not least, flan with dulce de leche. Alongside each of these courses we had wine from Mendoza, two white wines and two red Malbecs. My husband and I barely tasted the drinks but we took small pours and even smaller sips to be polite.
By the end of the 3 hours none of us could be quiet. We had 8 new best friends in Argentina and very full stomachs. A siesta was around the corner and I couldn’t wait.
I can not recommend doing cooking classes in your travel destinations enough. I don’t even like to cook at home but these interactive, microcosm experiences of the country with food are essential. I just recommend that you don’t drink the night before and show up hungry.
