We had such a great time with Simone and learned a ton of great cooking techniques and tips from her...not just specifically about Brazilian cooking, but general cooking as well. It also provided a wonderful window into the local culture. Well worth the time and expense!!!

This was a very pleasant evening spent learning about Brazilian food, history & culture. Chef Simone was knowledgable and charming; she has a great sense of humor. She wove the history of Brazil throughout the class, discussed Brazilian culture and explained how and why particular foods and spices are combined in Brazilian cooking. We made 2 different, delicious cocktails (caipirinha), a great appetizer, a great sole dish with coconut milk and a delicious side dish with manioc and bananas. Chef Simone was warm and welcoming! My adult son and I went together and we both enjoyed the evening!

We did this on our last day of our visit to Rio. To be honest we wished we had done it first for two reasons. Our host/chef 'Simone' was amazing and a fantastic character. She really gives you insight into the Brazilian culture and way of life. It was as much a light fun history lesson as a food lesson, but to her point, it all links back to the food and why they eat what they eat is because of who they are. So knowing this earlier in out trip to Brazil would of given us more insight into the people and their ways. Also as she's a chef she knows all the best places to eat! So if we'd gone earlier we would of got loads of tips of not only where to eat in the city but also on great places to find art and interesting people. On top of all this, the food was excellent and although the amount of actual cooking you personally do is limited as the kitchen is small (more watching, learning and listening) it was one of the best things we did in Rio and different to the traditional stuff.