Learn to make Empanadas and Chocolate Cake in a private online class!
4.81 (42 Reviews)
Approximately 2 hours
English or Spanish
Your host Gabriela
Gabriela first learned to cook from her aunt and grandparents. Her grandparents, who were of Spanish origin and came to Argentina as teenagers escaping the war, owned a pasta shop where they produced ravioli, agnolotti, and a variety of other fresh pastas. Gabriela grew up in the La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires, famous for its artist community, and her grandparents (also artists themselves) sold pasta to all the artists of the neighborhood. A social person from a young age, Gabriela studied public translation and went on to work at Reuters for over two decades before she began teaching language (Portuguese and English) to young children. Gabriela is excited to share her passion for food with others – she says that she loves cooking and loves to teach, and Traveling Spoon is the perfect combination of both! She is the person who stops every person she sees with a map to ask how she can help, and is excited to help others learn the secrets of Argentinian cooking.
Highlights
- Learn to make empanadas and Argentinian classics
- Private, one-on-one online instruction with a Buenos Aires native
- Scheduled mutually at your convenience (host lives in Buenos Aires, GMT-3)
- Customization available for dietary restrictions or preferences
- Recipes and ingredients list will be emailed in advance of class
- Travel from your own home and learn culinary traditions of Argentina!
- To save time, it is recommended that you chop the onions, boil the potatoes and measure out the ingredients ahead of time
- Booking for a large group? Contact us at reservations@travelingspoon.com for your corporate activity.
What will you cook together
- Empanadas
- Argentinian cake with chocolate and dulce de leche
Ingredients
See Full Ingredient List
- 2 cups (1/4 kg) flour (or gluten free flour alternative)
- 1 tsp (5 g) salt
- 1/4 cup (50 g) butter (or other fat like oil, lard or shortening)
- 1/2 cup warm water (as needed)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground meat (beef, lamb or chicken)
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 potato, boiled and diced into small cubes
- 1 egg, beaten for egg wash
- 1 red bell pepper, diced (optional)
- 1 egg, hardboiled and diced (optional)
- ½ cup green olives, roughly chopped (optional)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste + 1/2 cup liquid (water, broth or white wine) OR ~1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tsp crushed garlic (optional)
- 2 tbs paprika
- 1 tbs cumin
- 1 tbs (or to taste) ground chili
- (For Vegetarian filling)
- 2 zucchinis, diced small
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (or other cheese that melts)
- ~1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tbs flour
- 1 packets chocolate biscuits/cookies (Gabriela uses Chocolinas)
- 1 bottle (13 oz) dulce de leche (or Nutella)
- 1/4 cup (50 g) butter, divided, at room temperature
- 3 tsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp coffee, brewed
- 1 bar semisweet baking chocolate
Gallery
Other Classes From This Host
Online Class Reviews
Robin
"Gabriela was lovely, upbeat, fun and patient (we had audio issues on our end) Would love to take more classes with her"
Taylor
"Gabriela was very engaging and fun to work with. Very energetic and knowledgeable, offering lots of suggestions for variations on the recipe that would keep it interesting."
Hannah
"Gabriela was a lovely host and teacher, making sure we knew the multiple fun ways of crimping empanadas and guiding us through the recipe seamlessly."
Remy
"We had an amazing time! It was lots of fun getting to learn about the history of these recipes and how they are part of the host's culture. It takes some skill to make these but Gabriela gave such great instructions that we were mini experts in no time. So yummy!"
Gabriel
"Wonderful host, wonderful class, wonderful food!"
Jonathan
"My work team greatly enjoyed learning from Gabriela. She is full of enthusiasm and expertise, and the food she instructed us to prepare was delicious. To anyone seeking an exciting (and exhausting) 2-hour cooking experience, this is a great class to book."
Karen
"We loved Gabriela from the minute class started. She is so energetic and so positive, it was so much fun learning from her. Once the world opens up again we are hoping to plan a trip to Argentina to do class in person with her!
Thank you for these online classes. It’s a wonderful way to experience a small taste of the world. "
Susan
"My grandson joined me in the Empanada class hosted by Gabriela. It was a beyond terrific experience for us both!Gabriela was fun yet very helpful in showing us how to work the dough. The recipes were excellent. I wholeheartedly recommend Gabriela and look forward to trying other Traveling Spoon online classes."
Janet
"Gabriela was terrific. I enjoyed the class tremendously. She was a very good instructor - very friendly and patient. I learned a lot and have actually made both the empanadas and the cake a second time by myself - and they were just as good. Loved the class. Thank you again Gabriela!"
Megan
"Gabriela was great! This was such a fun experience and I've been making empanadas ever since."
Leah
"Gabriela was wonderful! This class was so much fun as we created our virtual corporate holiday party around it. I had so much fun, I've already planned to take at least two more classes this year."
Alycia
"I am a terrible cook, but Gabriela made everything easy enough for me to understand and was EXTREMELY reassuring when I would mess up! She is extremely sweet and knowledgeable. I loved her class and would love to take another!"
Dani
"What a wonderful way to spend a few hours on the weekend! The host (Gabriela) is so informative and kind, and patient!! And her way of speaking is adorable. I can't say enough good things about her! I have already bought my ingredients a second time to make it again!"
Deborah
"Gabriela was an excellent chef - very knowledgeable and took the time to show us the important parts of getting empanadas right! Plus she was articulate, funny and gave us a family history that showed how important cooking is to her. We had 3 screens and she showed each of us exactly what is needed to make the perfect empanada."
Taylor
"Gabriela was so fun and super nice! As much as we would rather have the cooking class in person, she made the zoom class very natural and still tried to get to know me and my family. I would recommend this to anyone and it is super easy for beginners!"
Erin
"Gabriela was such a great hostess! We learned a ton about making empanadas (which were delicious, by the way!) and really felt like we were in her kitchen with her. We would take another class with Gabriela in a heartbeat! It really made us want to visit Argentina. Until then, our kiddos have requested empanadas (and chocotorta!) be added to our weekly rotation!"
Lisa
"We loved our empanada class. It was easy to plan, reasonably priced, and Gabriela was so engaging and fun. Most importantly, the food we cooked was really good!"
Paul
"Gabriella’s patience and instruction was perfect. She guided us through exactly what to do but also kept it flexible so that we could add a little of our own flavor."
Karen
"Was a great fun evening and a way to connect virtually with my colleagues. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for something abit different to do.
Thank you Gabriela for making it fun and tasty!"
Andrew
"Awesome class. Gaby was fun and helpful, all the food came out wonderfully! Highly recommended great experience for our team."
MIchelle
"Gabriela was so vivacious and friendly and was great at giving us step by step instructions. We had a great time making the empanadas and they turned out delicious! Highly recommend this class to everyone."
Lynsey
"Gabriela was a fun & lively host who made the class very enjoyable. Gabriela also offered extra cooking tips making it a great overall experience."
Stephen Paljieg
"Gabriella was amazing. She created a cross cultural cooking experience that my family and I will never forget. Her instructions before and during the class were perfect and the empanadas we made delicious. She easily managed the participation of my family across three different screens and even managed to entertain our granddaughter. We live in a world which unfortunately tends to accentuate differences and isolate cultures. For a few hours Gabriella bought us together over food to realize how similar and connected we all really are. We'd all like to offer her again our most profound thanks."
Avery
"Gabriela was so warm and lovely and an excellent host! Our family had a blast doing this class and the empanadas were delicious! Great event. "
Alexis Ramlall
"I thoroughly enjoyed this class! Gabriela is a sweetheart, and really makes the whole experience feel like you're learning how to cook for the first time in your mother's kitchen. She was patient and kind, and did a great job at teaching me how to follow the recipe but also the different folding techniques and what each of them mean. It was a great experience overall and I would certainly do it again! "
Sabrina DeJoannis
"Such lovely time!"
Janelle Bradley
"Gabriela’s cooking class was fantastic! It was the perfect birthday gift and the food turned out great! Gabriela was enthusiastic and helpful and made sure to answer all of our questions. We had a great experience and would definitely recommend her classes! "
Olivia B
"Gabriella was super friendly and fun! The empanadas is turned out absolutely amazing."
Richard Kohlberger
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Beverly
"Gabriela was very sweet, enthusiastic and fun! We learned a lot. She was patient. There was a bit of a language barrier but it really didn't get in the way. She was great!"
Shannon T.
"Gabriela is fun, knowledgeable and her food delicious. She led our party of six through her family's traditions and recipes, all the while laughing and patiently pausing when we had questions. We all had a great time and would certainly take another class from Gabriela. "
Janice
"It was a slow start with internet connection issues and participants not understanding how to “mute” but Gabriela’s persistence, patience, expertise and charm came through. It was an amazing class! She pointed out patiently the finer points of empanada making and answered all our questions . AMAZING!"
Susan Marki
"Gabriela was great. She spent three hours with us. She explained clearly and was happy to answer our questions. We were all able to show off and eat our empanadas together. We all loved our experience."
Kris Watson
"Gabriela was AWESOME! She was fun and energetic. It was better than I expected. "
Matt Rubashkin
"Gabriella was a wonderful host for our corporate event. Thanks so much for the fun session cooking empanadas!"
Alexa Wright
"Gabriela was a fantastic host! She was so much fun and very helpful over zoom. This was a great (and delicious) family experience that I would absolutely do again. "
Shannon Emery
"Gabriela was such a kind, warm host. Our group loved our time with her learning how to make Empanadas and Chocotorta. The food was delicious and the experience was fun and memorable. "
Lynne
"This was a really unique experience! My Mum was in Australia, I was in Canada, and we were both cooking empanadas together, assisted by our lovely instructor who was in Argentina. It was a lot of fun, and the empanadas and chocotorte were delicious."
Marijo
"My daughter and I LOVED our cooking class with Gabriela. She was great! The meal was delicious and Gabriela was very patient during the process to make sure we got it. We hope to take another class soon!"
Alex Rodriguez
"Gabriela was amazing!! I can’t state this enough! It was like she was in our kitchen with us she was so welcoming. We did this cooking class as a gift for our mother on Mother’s Day and it was perfect. Gabriela had an amazing personality and was so easy to work with, although our cooking wasn’t near the quality of hers.. but that’s a good thing!! I would recommend Gabriela to anyone looking to have some fun and learn a new recipe. "
James
"I had the best time learning how to make empanadas with Gabriela!! She popped up on screen in a chef's hat and apron with a beautiful table display of prepped ingredients. Gabriela did not cut any corners for the online experience, I couldn't believe how lovely she made the presentation. She was so friendly and welcoming, she shared stories of her family history and how she came to love cooking. I felt right at home. I had made empanadas before, but Gabriela taught me so many tips and tricks I had never tried before. The way she made the dough, the way she handled the dough, the way she closed up each empanada, and taught me different methods... it was a delight to watch her obvious expertise, and she celebrated every small win I had along the way. She also did the lesson half in English half in Spanish because I have traveled to Buenos Aires before and love speaking Spanish, so I learned some new cooking vocabulary as a bonus. Such a wonderful lesson!!"
Sally
"Gabriela is a wonderful teacher! We had a wonderful time. She was engaging, knowledgeable and fun - and we made delicious empanadas!"
Reserve Now
$40 initial guest
+ $20 each additional screen
(max 9)
HOW IT WORKS
- Submit your request and payment and receive confirmation details and recipe (typically within 48 hours)
- Meet your host online at your agreed time for your private cooking lesson!
- Free cancellation up to 48 hours before event
