Most cooking classes in Cartagena happen inside the walls, in a kitchen a few streets from the market. Ours doesn't. We're on Tierra Bomba, 25 minutes by boat from the city, and the class runs in the kitchen of our own restaurant, with the sea about thirty steps away. That changes what you cook, because it changes what turns up in the morning.
How you get to the class
By boat, and only by boat. We're on an island and there's no bridge, so a car won't get you here. Our boat leaves the Muelle de la Bodeguita in Cartagena at 10am, 11:30am and 5pm, and the crossing takes about 25 minutes. Coming back, boats leave us at 4pm and 5:30pm. If the tide is very high or the sea is unusually rough we use the dock in Bocachica village instead, about a mile away, and you finish the trip on the back of a motorbike taxi. It's a good story either way.
Book the boat when you book the class. Our boat has a limited capacity, and if you turn up unreserved and there's no space it's a long wait until the next one.
What you'll cook
Whatever is good that week. We won't publish a fixed menu, because the honest answer is that it moves with the farms and the boats. What we can tell you is the rule the kitchen works to: mostly local things, and only meat that's sustainably raised and ethically treated, including how far the animal travelled. That rule is the interesting part of the class. Cooking well here is less about technique and more about knowing what the islands actually grow and what came out of the water this morning.
If you're vegetarian or vegan, say so when you book. A lot of us have been one or the other at some point and we keep a real non-meat offering, not a sad plate of grilled vegetables. Same goes for gluten and lactose.
Bocachica Cooking & Culture: the version that leaves our gate
We run a second, different session that starts in the village rather than in our kitchen. Bocachica is our neighbour on Tierra Bomba: no running water, no paved roads, and more soul than anywhere else on this island. Go in expecting chic restaurants and bars and you'll be disappointed. Go in expecting to see how people here actually cook and eat, and it will blow your mind. This one is about the village, not about us, which is exactly why we think it's worth your afternoon.
Who runs the kitchen
Our kitchen was built by Chef Silvestre Saiz Cortazar, born and trained in Ibiza and raised in the kitchens of Bogota. Pedro Mosqueda is our Executive Chef now, and he came home to cook with what the islands grow after training under Jean-Georges. We're not modest about the food: we think we're the only real culinary destination in the islands of Cartagena, and the whole point of the class is that an island day doesn't have to end in something deep fried.
Booking it, and what it costs
Every activity we run is listed on our activities page with its duration, its price, and whether you need to pre-book it or can just arrange it when you arrive. Cooking sessions and the Bocachica session are on there. We keep that page current rather than repeating prices here, because prices here would be out of date by the time you read them.
Two things that catch people out. First, if you're not staying with us you'll need a day pass to come in, which starts at $40 including boat transfers both ways. Second, we don't have phone signal on the island, so WhatsApp is the way to reach us. We answer reservations enquiries between 9am and 9pm.
If you'd rather just eat
Entirely reasonable. The restaurant is open to people who aren't staying here, day pass included, and if you're a group of ten or more we'll set you up with a group lunch menu at $45 USD per person. We were the first beach club in Cartagena to have a wine list, so start there. You can pre-order wine through the restaurant staff, and no, you can't bring your own bottle of tequila.
One last practical note: you can't bring your own food in, and we won't cook food you've brought from somewhere else without a very good reason. We're not going to lose it over a banana in your bag.
See you on the boat.