Casa Crespo

Did the cooking class with chef Oscar this morning. We enjoyed it very much! Oscar is clearly a skilled chef. During the market tour he decided to add some extra small meals/salsa's based on stuff the group pointed out they liked.

We had a fantastic time with Chef Oscar at a Sunday morning market tour and cooking class at Casa Crespo! It was our first day in Oaxaca, it was my wife’s birthday (mine was coming later in the week) and we couldn’t have spent the morning and early afternoon in a nicer and more enjoyable manner. The group decided on a menu, then headed to the market for a tour and to pick up essentials, then we returned and Chef Oscar (and his very professional team), guided us through a delicious meal, which we prepared and enjoyed. At the end was a special birthday dessert for us, which made the day even more memorable. And as a bonus, all the recipes we made were e-mailed to us immediately so that we can attempt to re-create them at home. This was a great experience, which I would absolutely recommend for anyone interested in Oaxacan cuisine. Thanks again, Chef Oscar… we very much enjoyed our time with you.

Loved the class on prehispanic cuisine! He said people don't sign up for this one as much as tacos but I don't get why. This is Oaxaca! I made a green mole sauce, tortillas with squash flowers in them, a soup, and some salsa. I had a hard time finding a class that doesn't include a tour for the market, so I was happy to find this one. They have another that does include it but I had no desire to walk around in a tour group in a packed market. Seems annoying. Highly recommend!

We had a private cooking class here and it was excellent. Oscar has a lot of knowledge and is very generous in sharing it. We enjoyed the fruits of our labour immensely - highly recommend this class. Can't wait to receive the recipes so I can attempt to recreate these tastes at home!

Once in a lifetime experience for me. There were 8 others on the day I took the class. Oscar, the host speaks English well. He explained everything properly and was funny as well. We went to the market, bought local organic ingredients. Spent about 4.5 hours in total and the cost might keep changing but I would say it is totally worth it. Oscar can also accommodate the recipes if you are vegetarian/vegan. We made 4 types of salsas,3 types of tortillas, Tamales, Mole with Chicken, Soup, Ice cream and Al Pastor.

Amazing experience with chef Oscar and his assistant . The day started off with a simple breakfast of bread and coffee or chocolate . Then off to the market to buy the ingredients for the special lunch. Oscar took his time explaining every detail and was very patient with us. After we went back to the kitchen and started cooking. Oscar and his assistant were absolutely wonderful . Every step was explained in detail to us which we truly appreciated. After all the food was cooked . We were sat a table in the patio , the table was very elegant and beautiful! The meal was absolutely delicious. Honestly could not have asked for a better afternoon. Worth every cent! Would certainly consider Casa Crespo a must do when in Oaxaca!

My wife and I are so happy that we went to Oscar’s cooking class at Casa Crespo! It was are favorite experience in Oaxaca. It was a class of about 12 people. It started with all of us sitting around a table and discussing the possible menu and voting on what we wanted to eat and drink. Oscar was sure to ask if anyone had any food allergies and restrictions. He knows how to make dishes without cheese or fish or meat for those who can’t eat those things, and then still not affect the same dishes for those who do want to eat those items. After we made our decision, he led us on a walking tour to the market, stopping at 2 historic spots along the way to tell us the story of them. When we got to the market, I was so happy that Oscar told us we could not enter without a mask. I learned from a local doctor the day before that Oaxaca was absolutely decimated by COVID brought from tourists who continued to travel Willy Nilly throughout the height of the pandemic without precautions or care for the local community. You have to remember this is a community with a lot of indigenous roots so they have already been basically wiped out before by outsiders, we have to make sure we don’t do that again to these wonderful people. So yes of course we were more than glad to wear a mask inside the market because that’s the only sensible thing to do. While inside, Oscar described fruits and vegetables and meat at the various stands and the history of them in the region. He has very extensive knowledge of all of these things and we learned a lot. Then we walked back to Casa Crespo and started the cooking. He explained that he usually has class inside the kitchen but since there were so many of us we were going to do it outside. This was great for us since outdoors is safer for COVID purposes anyway and it was a beautiful weather day. Oscar was fantastic about getting everyone involved in the chopping, cutting, grinding, blending, heating, cooking, stirring, pouring, etc. It was a lot of fun. And when it was all complete, it was time to eat. Oscar had some wonderful people working with him that played and served the food we made. Everything was, of course, fantastic! After we left, we were happy and surprised to see that Oscar had emailed us the recipes for everything we cooked that day. How great! We recommend this experience to anyone traveling through Oaxaca!

Such a fun experience and the food was wonderful. We did the Prehispanic cuisine course where we learned how to cook four different dishes and a couple different tortillas. Chef Oscar walked us through each recipe and explained the historical background for the food and culture, which helps you appreciate the food even more. I was pleasantly surprised to have free beer and meszal tastings included as part of the class. After we finished the cooking portion of the class Chef Oscar promptly emailed us the recipes and printed up nice cooking certificates with our names. Note: if you've already checked out the local markets then Chef Oscar's 2 hour evening classes are probably the best value for a cooking class in Oaxaca at only $40. Chef Oscar does also offer and a highly rated (on TripAdvisor) class with a market tour for $65.