Ole Mole!

Your culinary adventure begins in Mexico’s capital, Mexico City, the centre of Mexico’s melting pot culture for centuries – and cuisine is no exception. On your first full day here, you’ll enjoy a trip to the Medellin market, where you’ll taste traditionally made tortillas and pick up fresh regional ingredients. Then it’s on to Casa Jacaranda, a beautifully restored historic mansion, where you’ll learn the centuries-old secrets of Mexican cuisine with a cooking class – finishing with a three-course dinner where you’ll enjoy the fruits of your labour along with Mexican wine and mezcal. Also on the menu in the capital is a trip to Frida Kahlo’s house, a tour of the Mucho Mundo Chocolate Museum, and a day trip to the Teotihucan pre-Hispanic ruins. Your home for four nights in Mexico City is Las Alcobas, a stylish boutique hotel in the classy Polanco district.

Your journey continues in the colonial city of Puebla, a couple of hours’ drive southeast of Mexico City. Puebla is famous for the Spanish colonial-era architecture of its historic centre, which you’ll explore on a guided walking tour; the city is also, of course, famous for its cuisine. Poblano food is characterised by meat cooked tenderly in fragrant leaves, and mole poblano, a type of chilli-and-chocolate-infused sauce sometimes said to be Mexico’s national dish. In a guided tour of the traditional Mercado el Carmen you’ll try cemitas steak sandwiches, continuing on to visit Cholula, the largest pyramid base in Mesoamerica. Also during your time in Puebla you’ll enjoy another cooking class where you can learn some of the secrets of Puebla’s celebrated cuisine. You’ll spend three nights here at Casareyna, a luxurious hotel with some architectural features dating back to the 16^th century.

The final stop on your culinary journey is Oaxaca, a drive of around four and a half hours. En route you’ll stop at Tehuacan, a nature reserve and botanical garden where maize is first thought to have been cultivated. Your first evening in Oaxaca will see you getting off the tourist trail to really explore the city’s food traditions as the locals do. Beginning at a ‘hole in the wall’ mezcaleria, you’ll taste up to eight different mezcal varieties before heading to a popular nightspot for a tlayuda: a kind of Mexican pizza, with a crunchy tortilla covered in all kinds of delicious toppings. The next day, you’ll take a guided tour to a historic Zapotec village, Teotitlan de Valle, where you can shop for traditional rugs and enjoy a cookery class focused on Zapotec and Oaxacan cuisine. Back in Oaxaca for your final day, another market visit and cookery class is on offer with acclaimed local chef Alejandro Ruiz. Your home for the final three nights of your trip is Casa Oaxaca, a stylish boutique in the city centre.