One of my favorite passions is cooking and I love cooking classes! While visiting Cozumel we had the opportunity to visit Playa Mia Grand Beach Park and participate in a really fun cooking class. The chef had a great sense of humor and kept us entertained through the entire class.
Before we put on our aprons and hats, the chef taught us how to wash our hands properly – and as covid has taught us, we all sang our ABC’s to make sure we were ready to begin. It was a lovely cooking kitchen decorated in bright Mexican colors and murals. The doors and windows were all open and you could see the turquoise water of the Caribbean while we cooked. Just delightful! We began the class with the choice of many fun and tropical cocktails – I chose a refreshing paloma – I love the citrus of the grapefruit juice. There were about 16 of us – four to each island with a gas cooktop where we worked in pairs. Luckily for us all the prep work had been done beforehand so we immediately started cooking. We began by browning plantains in butter and cinnamon and then prepared a chocolate sauce which would be served over them. I love starting with dessert first! The chef was really patient and paid close attention to each of us to make sure we were going to love our plantains. The best part was you got to enjoy the chocolate sauce you prepared if there was any leftover and I will never let chocolate go to waste!
He gave us a lesson in a presentation where we each decorated a plate for our plantains with chocolate sauce and then added white cream to create swirls and designs. It was much easier than I had anticipated. I definitely want to give it a try at home.
We cooked fresh red snapper with a little olive oil and seasonings, along with onions and celery. We placed the red snapper in tin foil to create a packet which the chef steamed while we proceeded to make our meal. We made a shrimp appetizer with a tomato sauce which we placed in a tortilla which we made. We took a ball of dough, pressed it with the tortilla press, cooked the tortilla on the cooktop and then pinched the edges to create a small bowl to hold the shrimp.
And of course we added some cream sauce and thinly sliced lettuce on top to give it some pizzazz!
For the great finale we all sat down together in a room which overlooked the white sands of the beach and the beautiful waters of the Caribbean and enjoyed the meal we had created. This class was a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend taking this class if you find yourself in Cozumel and I am looking forward to attempting to recreate this meal at home!
