Our hands-on cooking classes for summer 2026 are now open for booking. Small groups, farm-to-table menus shaped by what's ripe that morning, and a kitchen team who teaches as they cook.
Summer cooking classes at VIVA Quinta are now open. These are small-group, hands-on classes built around what we picked that morning. You walk through the garden first, see what's ready, taste a few things off the vine, and then come back to the Casa Protea kitchen to cook together with our team. By the end of the morning, you sit down to a meal you helped make — at the same table where the food was just plated.
Every class includes:
Class topics rotate constantly because the kitchen does. Expect to cover dishes built around what's growing and what arrived from the boats that morning — pizza from our wood-fired oven, fresh-baked breads, vegetables from the food forest, fermenting and preserving, fresh fish from São Miguel, traditional Azorean staples, and the simple farm-to-table cooking that defines our kitchen. No two classes look quite the same.
"We don't plan menus weeks ahead. The harvest tells us what we're cooking."
Classes are limited to 8 guests so everyone gets real time at the counter — not a demonstration, but actual hands-on cooking. The meal at the end is the whole point: sitting down together with food you helped make, slowly, and unhurried.
Summer schedule:
In the shoulder and winter seasons, classes still run year-round, just on fewer days per week. Check our reservations page for current availability.
The class is €175 per person and includes the garden walk, the hands-on cooking session, the multi-course meal at the end, and a few of our favorite recipes to take home.
Classes are open to both VIVA Quinta staying guests and non-staying visitors. Spots are limited and tend to go quickly once the summer season opens.
Reserve a cooking class – or subscribe to our YouTube channel to see what's coming out of the kitchen.