After a welcome drink and snack and tour of Maria’s garden and home, start your cooking class. Your experience can either be hands on or a demonstration, so please note which you would prefer when making your booking. During your cooking class in Ponta Delgada learn how to make a traditional Azorean meal featuring seasonal ingredients. You will learn how to make a soup such as a traditional fish soup, followed by two main dishes of a fish and meat dish. Then end your experience learning to make a dessert like rice pudding or passion fruit mousse (featuring passion fruit from Maria’s garden when in season!). Maria’s recipes have been passed down through her mom and grandmother and Maria is passionate about showcasing her family and island’s culinary history with guests. After cooking, sit down together to enjoy your traditional Azorean family-style meal, which will be served either at the grape-vine covered terrace, in summer months, or at Maria’s dining table in colder months. End your meal with a selection of coffee, tea and homemade liqueurs. If there is a specific dish you want to learn to make, like octopus, please note this during your booking. Maria will be happy to accommodate your requests!
Join Maria in her farm house in a small village surrounded by her wild orchard. Start your experience with a welcome drink of local white wine or red wine from neighbors or local juice, while you snack on appetizers that might include a selection of local cheeses and pork pate. Maria loves using local ingredients and featuring the products made by her neighbors on the island. After your welcome snack, enjoy a tour of Maria’s home and garden, before your sit down at the dining table to enjoy your traditional Azorean meal, served family style. In summer months, weather depending, you might eat outside on the terrace surrounded by grape vines, and in winter months you will enjoy your meal inside in Maria’s open dining area. End your experience with a selection of coffee or tea, as well as a presentation of Maria’s homemade liqueur and moonshine.
Meet Maria at the main village market in Ponta Delgade, which runs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings. Maria will provide a private market tour of this traditional town open-air market. Start with a tour of the vegetable and fish stalls, and then move on to the spice stalls and honey seller where you can sample local honey. You will pick up fresh meat and fish for your cooking lesson, and also stop at the cheese store where you will select a few favorites to enjoy later. After your market tour, which will last about 60-90 minutes, return by car to Maria’s home, located a short 10-minute drive away, to enjoy your cooking lesson and meal.
On days Maria is unavailable, her equally wonderful team, Deborah and Andreia, will host your experience. Please note the market tour experience is only available on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings when the market runs. This experience is located in Maria's home in a small village about 10-15 minutes north of central Ponta Delgada, easily accessible via taxi or rental car.
The cost of alcohol is included in the price of your experience.
This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
Coffee or tea and homemade liqueurMain: Fish or meat dish Dessert: Rice pudding or passion fruit mousse Welcome drink: Local white wine or red wineAppetizers: Selection of local cheeses and pork pateSoup: Fish soup Maria grew up in the Azores in a small village of 10,000 people. Her parents were farmers, as were her grandparents who had a large farm that exported produce from garlic to oranges to watermelon to Portugal. After studying social work and practicing family therapy for years in Portugal, Maria moved back to the Azores to find a more peaceful life that connected her with her lifelong passion of food. She bought house on a small plot of land with an orchard where she grows figs, apples, pears, almonds, oranges and more. Living in the subtropical climate of the Azores, Maria also is able to grow a variety of tropical fruits including papaya, guava and lychee. Maria is passionate about meeting and learning from new people and is excited to invite people from around the world into her home to enjoy fresh, seasonal Azorean cooking.
"Maria met us at the market and showed us things we never would have seen or understood. While we were buying produce, she would often say “we’ll pick that in my yard!” , and we did!
We got back to Maria’s home and toured her extensive garden, the came in and got to work.
We made a soup (Caldo Verde), a dish whose name I don’t remember, and a dessert (tarta de natas).
Since this cooking class was just my husband and me, we definitely got personal treatment.
The food was delicious and Maria was very knowledgeable and friendly. I would absolutely recommend this class to anyone I know who travels to São Miguel.
Thank you, Maria!"
"Learning about local foods and the culture.
Maria shared a lot of information with us and was very responsive to all of our questions."
"Our family spent an afternoon online with Maria in Ponta Delgada, Azores. Maria is personable, fun and full of interesting details and stories about the Azores. Our beef stew and roasted fish was delicious, with easy-to-find ingredients and clear instructions. I would never have thought to put a cinnamon stick in to simmer with beef stew, and now I don't think I'll make it any other way!"
