Seasons of my Heart Cooking School is located on a ranch between two small villages San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, Etla, and San Felipe Tejalapam, Etla northwest of Oaxaca City in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Click here to open map

Absolutely! We do ask that you contact us well in advance with possible dates and interests of the group. Susana has done tours for groups of chefs, wedding parties, family groups, and friends of varying lengths of time within Oaxaca and also in other areas of Mexico. Private classes can also be arranged.

You can send us an email to info.seasonsofmyheart@gmail and we can help you book the class and give you other payment options.

Your day begins at 9:00 am at a specific point in the city where our driver and transportation will meet you and take you to the Etla market. You meet one of our teachers for a tour, and great tastings featuring tamales, breads, cheese and chapulines. Then it’s off to Seasons of My Heart Cooking School, for a discussion of Oaxacan cuisine with an emphasis on the food that will be prepared that day, followed by a hands-on cooking class. Around 5pm, everyone sits down to enjoy the fruits of their labor and then around 6:00 pm, the driver takes you back to town.

Yes! You may join us for the lecture and hands-on cooking class portion of the day on an existing class. You would need to provide your own transportation to Seasons of My Heart Cooking School, arriving about 1 pm. You can ride back with the rest of the group. Or, another option is the Private Day Class for less time, to fit it into your other activities!

A staff member will meet you at the market for the tour. All of our guides speak English and are highly qualified to guide you through the market as you meet the vendors and taste their wares. Chef Susana Trilling typically conducts the lecture and supervises the cooking portion. When she is not available, another member of our staff, who has been with us for over 20 years, Yolanda Giron leads the lecture and cooking portion of the class. Classes led by Yolanda are identified on the website.

No worries! We have plenty of staff on hand to help you, recipes to guide you and the lecture portion will address any tricky parts of the preparation. Your fellow students are also typically eager to help. We all work in teams and there is something to do for all levels of cooking. If you really don’t want to cook you can just hang out for the fun!

Our Wednesday classes usually feature an appetizer, soup, salad, Mole or main dish with tortillas and a dessert, featuring seasonal ingredients. They change constantly so it is possible to take more than one class and have a different menu each time. We try to accommodate dietary restrictions/requests as much as possible, but please let us know in advance.

We suggest calling one of our suggested drivers because they know exactly how to arrive at the school, which is complicated and in the country, about ½ hour outside of Oaxaca city. If you need transport we will be happy to connect you. If you are driving your own car, we can send you the map.

You will receive an email from us prior to the class a few days before. You should also get an email on the Monday before the class reconfirming the location of the meeting spot and time.

Please contact us as soon as possible at info.seasonsofmyheart@gmail.com or by phone at + 52 951 508 0469 (from the United States) or from Oaxaca at 951 508 0469.

*If you are unable to come the day of the class, please let us know and we really appreciate it!

Yes! We are open to adapting the recipes for various food allergies, but you need to tell us in advance and we´ll try to accommodate you as much as we can.

Yes you can call us at +52 951 508 04 69 and we can wait for you until the departure time, or you can take a taxi to the market, or straight to the school if it's later in the morning.

Of course, we don't have any problem receiving kids. If you want, we can arrange for a babysitter.

We have a minimum of 4 to run a class. Right now, post-Covid, we are accepting up to 12 people. In the future, we can accept up to 18 people comfortably. Private groups can be arranged in advance.

Seasons of My Heart Cooking School has a small store on-site with a variety of Seasons of My Heart products (mole paste, chocolate, jellies, sea salt & herbs), pottery, wooden handicrafts, weavings, Susana Trilling’s cookbooks, etc. Many students enjoy shopping at the store especially if ingredients for their favorite dishes are hard to find at home. Payment for purchases must be in pesos or US dollars, or credit card (VISA / MASTERCARD). Unfortunately, we are unable to accept personal checks in Oaxaca. You also may want to purchase items at the market in Etla, which would also require pesos.

Tipping the guide at the Etla market is welcome. The SOMH staff has a tip jar at the school. Any gratuity is welcome! Thank you.

Regardless of your vaccination status, we require masks at all times unless you are eating or drinking. Our staff wears masks as well. At the school, facilities to wash hands are available and hand sanitizer is used away from the school. Our vans are cleaned before and after each trip. We will want your contact information in case it is necessary to contact you in the days following your time with us.

You should receive an email confirmation every time you make a payment, typically within a week of receipt, if paying by check.

Airfare, transfers to and from the Airport, Alcoholic beverages, laundry, and phone calls.

Once you pay in full, we will share the itinerary with you.

A detailed letter with a packing list will be sent, together with the itinerary for the course a few weeks before your departure!

You can tell us how many nights you need and we can book them directly with the hotel for you. You will have to pay at the hotel at the time of check-in.

Yes, for an additional fee, they can come on the culinary tours - if there is room in the van or eat at the school at the end of the class or in restaurants with us.

Yes, you will be able to cook along with Susana, but must have your mise en place ready.

.We can arrange private classes for families, bridal parties, corporate team building, etc. Just send us an email to info.seasonsofmyheart@gmail.com and we will be happy to assist you.

Yes, you just need to tell us that you have a special request and we can give you some substitutes.

We send the recording right after the class is finished.

You will receive the list after you send the payment through the website. For the cocktails and special collaborations, you may get the recipe one week in advance.