Salvador: Brazilian Cooking Class & Caipirinha Drinks

4.99

(142 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, I signed up for this Salvador cooking class mostly because I love cheese bread — but it turned out to be about way more than food. We walked straight into someone’s home (I was a bit nervous at first), and the smell of grilled queijo coalho hit me before anyone even said hello. Our host, Ana, handed us limes and cachaça to start mixing caipirinhas. I picked passionfruit — not sure if that’s traditional, but Ana just grinned and said “why not?”

We made brigadeiros first so they could cool off (the chocolate stuck to my fingers; I probably ate more than I rolled). While we sipped our drinks, Ana showed us how to make pão de queijo with yuka flour — she laughed when mine came out kind of lopsided. The kitchen was loud with chatter and the clatter of pans. There was this pineapple pepper jelly for the cheese that I still think about sometimes — sweet, spicy, weirdly perfect together.

The main event was moqueca — fish or prawns in coconut milk and palm oil. You get to marinate everything yourself, chopping cilantro while Ana tells stories about Salvador’s markets and her grandma’s recipes. She didn’t rush us; we just cooked and talked until the rice and farofa were ready too. At some point someone spilled guaraná on the counter and nobody cared. After eating (so much food), we finished with strong Bahia coffee and a splash of homemade liqueur. Not what I expected from a “cooking class” — it felt like being let in on something personal.