Basque Cooking Experience: Market Tour & Hands-On Class English

Couldn’t speak more highly of the class. Carlos was fantastic, super informative and has a lot of love for what he does and that’s obvious in the delivery of the class content. Personally, our favourite part was the market tour, meeting the fishmongers & butchers and learning a lot about fish, meat and the history of the San Sebastián market.

As someone who works in the travel industry, I probably have higher expectations than most when it comes to tours and experiences. This exceeded every one of them. What I loved most was that this wasn't just a cooking class—it was an introduction to Basque culture through its food. Starting with the visit to the local market made all the difference. Carlos didn't simply point at ingredients; he explained why they matter, how locals choose them, and the stories behind Basque cuisine. Back in the kitchen, everything was relaxed, hands-on, and genuinely fun. The recipes were approachable, the wines were excellent, and somehow complete strangers ended up feeling like friends around the table by the end of the afternoon. We've done food tours and cooking classes all over Europe, and this is right at the top of our list. If you're visiting San Sebastián and want something beyond another pintxo crawl, book this. You'll leave with new skills, wonderful memories, and a much deeper appreciation of Basque food and hospitality. We enjoyed it 10,000%. Thank you, Carlos and the team, for creating such a special experience.

Amazing experience, highly recommended! Carlos is a super educated chef yet humble. He is there to make sure you have the best possible experience.

Carlos and team provided a great hands on cooking experience for our Backroads group. Starting at the local market to purchase the fish and meat, Carlos explained what he was getting and what to look for when doing it at home. Once we got to the studio, he provide great tips on how to properly prepare our meal leading to enjoying the fruits of our labors, Kookin Donosti created a fun learning experience that I highly recommend to add to your visit to San Sebastian.

Highly recommend!! Class was extremely hands on with everyone chopping / cooking, and had a fair amount of exploration (markets!) and learning (basque delicacies, history, etc). The venue was also clean, bright, and well decorated, which made for a fun ambiance. Thank you Carlos!!

Absolutely fantastic experience! I can’t recommend this enough 🙂 The market visit was very interesting and Carlos was so knowledgeable. The kitchen itself is gorgeous and the space is comfortable. The class itself was so much fun with a relaxed pace and Carlos and Juli were very helpful so I didn’t get overwhelmed. I was the only vegetarian in the class and they had a completely different menu for me which was much appreciated. And of course… the food was amazing! Very highly recommended!

Outstanding- take this class, you won’t regret it! Our guide and teacher Carlos, was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. He taught us about the food and history of the market, cooking techniques and set us all up for success with the dishes we prepared. The whole tour from the beginning to end was carefully crafted, so we could enjoy the experience. We also met many great people who shared, so much information with us on things we should do. Take this your first day in San Sebastián if possible!

Carlos was a very good teacher, very relaxed and friendly, and very knowledgeable. The kitchen space was very nice. And the food we came out with was incredible. I can't fault Kookin at all!

Everything was great, a very enriching experience that we will undoubtedly repeat.

Carlos and the cooking class was wonderful. We had a large range of ages in our family that attended from 4 to 75. Everyone enjoyed the visit to the market and learning about where the ingredients came from and cooking them. Carlos was very patient and accommodating with our large group. It was definitely a highlight of the trip!