Our journey begins in Mérida, a city where colonial elegance meets vibrant local life. After settling into our boutique hotel, Hotel Hacienda Mérida, we’ll gather for a welcome drink to get acquainted before heading to our first meal together. We’ll kick off the trip with dinner at one of Mérida’s most beloved restaurants. Known for its Yucatecan fish and seafood dishes, particularly octopus cooked over hardwood fire, Micaela Mar y Lena serves exquisite small plates that fill the table and spark conversation. In this convivial setting, our culinary journey begins.

We’ll spend the morning exploring Mérida’s historic center to get a sense of the city’s past. We’ll step into a 16th-century cathedral, admire grand plazas and palaces, and stop for a taco or two along the way. In the afternoon, we’ll visit a local food market with our hosts for the day – two sisters known worldwide for their traditional Yucatán recipes. When chef René Redzepi opened NOMA in Tulum, he came to these two chefs to source recados. After picking up ingredients, we’ll head to their workshop where they’ll demonstrate the preparation of classics from their kitchen. We’ll then feast on the fruits of our labor together before wrapping up in the late afternoon. Guests will have the evening free to explore Mérida further or enjoy the amenities at our boutique hotel. We’re happy to provide dinner or nightlife recommendations upon request.

We’ll begin the day on a quest for one of Yucatán’s natural treasures – vanilla. Outside Mérida, in the jungle, we’ll visit a family-run organic farm that produces some of Mexico’s most sought-after vanilla. We’ll tour the farm, learn about the cultivation process, taste the finished product, and enjoy a countryside lunch featuring homestyle specialties. After lunch, we’ll explore another side of Yucatecan production at a historic hacienda that still produces rope from the local sisal plant, henequén, a technique with roots in Mayan tradition. Once known as “green gold,” the henequén industry made Yucatán one of the wealthiest regions in Mexico, and the haciendas it built remain a lasting legacy. We’ll tour the plantation, learn about fiber production, and relax in the historic estate before dining on regional specialties in its elegant dining room.

After an early breakfast, we’ll check out of our hotel and head to the pueblo mágico of Izamal, known for its historic convent built atop a Mayan pyramid, its colonial architecture, and its wild game tacos. We’ll start our exploration with a venison version at the market, then tour the convent and town center before visiting a boutique producer of fragrances, honey, and chocolate. A relaxed tasting will lead into lunch. For that meal, we’ll sit down for a true destination meal at Kinich, a traditional yet elegant restaurant serving some of the finest examples of Yucatecan cuisine. After a walk through the restaurant’s private garden, where much of the produce is grown, we’ll enjoy house specialties such as relleno negro, a dark, rich sauce made from recado negro paired with chicken. Once lunch wraps up, we’ll continue to Valladolid, our base for the next two nights. After checking into our boutique hotel and resting, we’ll head out in the evening for a stroll through the illuminated town center and sample local street food favorites.

Today’s focus is on Yucatecan antojitos, small plates and snacks that precede larger meals. Led by a local chef, we’ll visit the market for ingredients before heading to her home kitchen, where we’ll prepare salbutes and panuchos, tortillas stuffed, fried, and topped with Yucatecan staples. We’ll sit down to enjoy our creations together for lunch. The afternoon is free to relax, shop, or explore Valladolid’s shaded streets and plazas. In the evening, we’ll dine at El Mesón del Marqués, the best-known table in town. Set in the courtyard of a restored colonial mansion, we’ll sip cocktails under the arches and enjoy regional dishes like grilled pork poc chuc and lime soup.

Today we’ll go off the grid for a full-day immersion in the Mayan foodways of Yucatán. Though little known to outsiders, the village of Yaxunah offers it all, archaeological ruins, natural beauty, traditional agriculture, and some of the region’s finest home cooking. We’ll begin with a visit to the local seed bank, where heirloom corn varieties are preserved and used in milpa farms that still follow pre-Columbian sustainable methods. We’ll tour a nearby ruin with intricately carved pyramids before gathering for a feast of cochinita pibil, slow-roasted pork wrapped in banana leaves and cooked underground in a pib. The local cook will demonstrate each step, and together we’ll open the oven before sitting down to eat. If we’re lucky, members of Yaxunah’s world-famous women’s softball team will join us for a taco.

After breakfast, we’ll check out of our hotel in Valladolid and begin our return to Mérida, stopping in Temozón, a small town known for its smoked meats. At a beloved roadside stop, we’ll feast on house-made longaniza sausages, the pride of Temozón. Once we arrive in Mérida, we’ll check back into our hotel and have the afternoon free to rest or explore. For our final dinner together, we’ll gather at Néctar, the restaurant of chef Roberto Solís, often credited as the pioneer of the New Yucatecan Kitchen. Building on the recipes and traditions we’ve encountered throughout the week, Solís reinterprets Yucatán’s classics with contemporary technique and elegance. We’ll toast to our journey and the many flavors shared along the way.

After a week of good food and warm company, we’ll check out of our Mérida hotel with a deeper understanding of Yucatán’s ancestral kitchen. Until the next time!