Private chef cookery class experience in Santiago, Chile

After Peru we had a few nights in Santiago, Chile. I really loved this city - it was full of life. We did something really unique while we were there - we had a private cooking class with a chef called Tatan (short for Christian). He’d previously had his own restaurant in Santiago for 10 years, but the class was actually held in his home which made the whole thing feel way more relaxed than a normal cookery school.

We started strong — sitting out on his terrace with champagne and local cured meats and cheeses. Not much cooking was happening at this point, but I was already a big fan of the class.

Eventually we made it into the kitchen and started with - of course! - ceviche. After having eaten plenty of it while travelling around South America, it was great to actually learn how to make it. Loads of fresh lime, fish and chilli, and really simple ingredients that somehow taste amazing together. Tatan added his own twist by adding fresh tarragon which was a nice surprise.

Next was Pastel de Choclo, a traditional Chilean dish that I hadn’t tried before. It’s basically a savoury meat filling topped with a slightly sweet corn mixture and baked until golden. There’s also a chopped boiled egg and some sultanas lurking around in the minced meat… it sounds like a slightly strange combination, but it really works. The only way I can describe it is somewhere between a cottage pie and something completely different. It was proper comfort food.

By this point we’d done enough cooking, so dessert was left to the professionals. Tatan brought out pastries from his local bakery, which was a pretty good way to finish the night.

Cooking, eating, drinking and chatting around someone’s kitchen table was such a good way to experience Chilean food. And having a chef who’d spent 10 years running a restaurant teaching us definitely helped. He was a really cool guy and very fun to chat to about his life as a chef. If you’re ever in Santiago, look him up!

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