Peruvian Cooking Class with Market Tour Cusco

San Pedro Market, the food heart of Cusco

San Pedro Market, a few blocks south-west of the Plaza de Armas, has been the main food market of Cusco for about a century. Under its high iron roof, long rows of stalls are piled with tropical fruits from the Amazon side of the Andes, mountains of potatoes and corn in every colour, fresh cheeses, breads baked in the shape of babies and suns, herbs and spices.

With your chef you walk the aisles, learn to recognise ingredients that you will rarely find in markets in your own country, and taste some of the fruits and the local cheese. It is the best introduction to Peruvian cuisine and a fascinating slice of daily life, as Cusco families still shop here every day. If you were planning a San Pedro Market tour anyway, this class gives you a guide who knows every stall.

Andean ingredients: potatoes, corn and chilli peppers

Peruvian cooking starts with the ingredients domesticated in the Andes thousands of years ago. Peru grows a huge variety of native potatoes, from yellow and purple to tiny knobbly highland types, together with giant-kernel white corn, quinoa and the chilli peppers that give the food its character: the fruity yellow ají amarillo and the fiery red rocoto from the valleys around Arequipa and Cusco.

Your chef explains how each ingredient is used, which potatoes are best for mashing or frying, and how to balance heat, acidity and creaminess, the secret of so many Peruvian dishes. These are skills you can take back to your own kitchen, and the chef shares tips for finding or replacing these ingredients abroad.

The starter: rocoto relleno or causa rellena

The starter is the same for the whole group and is one of two Peruvian classics. Rocoto relleno is a traditional dish from the south of Peru: a red rocoto pepper stuffed with seasoned meat, onions, peas, carrots, peanuts and raisins, covered with local cheese and baked in the oven. Causa rellena is a cold layered cake of yellow potato mashed with ají amarillo, filled with avocado, fish and creamy dressing.

Under the chef's guidance you prepare every element yourself, from cleaning the peppers to seasoning the potato. Vegetarian versions are available for both, so tell us your preferences when you book. Each dish shows a different side of Peruvian cooking, one warm and comforting, the other fresh and colourful.

The main course: lomo saltado or ceviche

For the main course each participant chooses their favourite. Lomo saltado is a stir-fry of beef tenderloin strips with onion and tomato, seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar and served with rice and crispy native potato fries, a dish born from the meeting of Chinese and Peruvian cooking. Ceviche, the national dish of Peru, is prepared here with Andean trout cured in fresh lime juice with mango, avocado, red onion, celery, ginger, corn and sweet potato.

You learn the timing that makes lomo saltado smoky and juicy and the quick marinade that keeps ceviche fresh and bright. A drink made with Peruvian fruits and honey completes the menu. Then the group sits down together to enjoy the meal, a relaxed end to the afternoon in Cusco.