Which Cooking Workshop in Puerto Vallarta: Mexican Dishes or Chocolate?
6 min read
For most visitors, the Bean to Bar Chocolate Workshop is the safest booking: two hours, €56.04, 4.9 stars from 52 reviews. If you would rather cook a meal than make sweets, choose the Mole Poblano Workshop: three hours, €78.31, with a market visit and a meal with the mole afterwards.
See dates and prices for the Bean to Bar Chocolate Workshop
Four workshops compared
| Workshop | Duration | From | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bean to Bar Chocolate Workshop | 2 hours | €56.04 | 4.9 from 52 reviews | Cacao history and traditional chocolate drinks |
| Mole Poblano Workshop | 3 hours | €78.31 | 4.9 from 24 reviews | A market visit and a savoury meal |
| Chocolate Truffles Workshop | 2 hours | €57.82 | 4.8 from 16 reviews | Tempering, ganache and truffles to take away |
| Market Visit & Mexican Cooking Class | 3 hours | €91.35 | 5 from 11 reviews | Hands-on Mexican cooking, any diet |
Bean to bar: the strongest all-rounder
The class is held in the centre of Puerto Vallarta. According to the listing you learn the culinary history of Mexican cacao and chocolate, make chocolate and prepare traditional chocolate drinks. It has more than twice the reviews of any other workshop here and ties with the truffle class for the lowest price. It is the wrong pick if you want lunch at the end: nothing in the description mentions a meal.
Mole: one dish, start to finish
The Mole Poblano Workshop spends three hours on a single dish. You visit a local market to choose your ingredients, make the mole, and sit down to a meal with it afterwards. For about €22 more than the chocolate classes you get a third hour and a meal at the end. It is not the class for someone who wants several recipes in one session.
See dates and prices for the Mole Poblano Workshop
Truffles or a broader Mexican class
The truffle workshop costs the same as bean-to-bar and also lasts two hours, but it covers one technique: how and why to temper chocolate, then a ganache filling, and you take the truffles you made with you. Choose it for that, not because it is cheaper; it is not.
The Market Visit & Mexican Cooking Class goes from market to kitchen and says it fits any diet, which makes it the one to consider if someone in your group has dietary needs. Its perfect rating rests on only 11 reviews and it is the most expensive of the four. The description does not list the dishes, so ask the organiser what you will cook before you pay.
See dates and prices for the Market Visit & Mexican Cooking Class
Our recommendation
Book the Bean to Bar Chocolate Workshop unless you specifically want to cook a meal. In that case take the mole workshop: it has more than twice the reviews of the broader cooking class and a programme that is easier to picture.
