Traditional Dominican Cuisine with a Charming Grandmother in Santo Domingo - Day Trip from $24

Rossy is a business administrator for a Montesorri school and lives with her daughter, a dentist. She and her husband own an organic cacao farm so her husband commutes a lot. Rossy is passionate about nature, people, reading, photography, art, dance, and growing orchids. She loves being a host so other people can know her Dominican culture and eat the delicious cuisine. When you go to the restaurants in the city they rarely serve authentic Dominican cuisine so she loves to serve it at home and share this part of Dominian culture with travelers. Venture 10 minutes outside the Zona Colonial into the beautiful residential neighborhood of Gascue and dine with a charming local. Rossy lives in a modest apartment constructed by her grandfather. The walls are lined with her daughter's art as well as traditional Dominican plates featuring the works of famous Dominican artists. Don’t miss out on the beautiful orchids that she lovingly cares for or her dimpled smile as she serves you traditional Dominican food created from recipes passed down by her mother and mother-in-law. Start off with a crunchy appetizer of casabe (yuca bread with a garlic, cilantro and cream cheese sauce) as you chat with Rossy in her living room. Then move to the dining table to enjoy an authentic sancocho (an exquisite stew of chicken, pork and a medley of root vegetables including the native Dominican tubers, ñame and yautia) served with with rice. Rossy mixes up the menu so you might get anything from asopao (a rice-based soup), to mangu (mashed plantains), to arroz con pollo (one-pot chicken and rice), to habichuelas (beans) and platano frito (fried plantains). End the meal with homemade dulce de leche or dulce de coco and coffee, or email her in advance for her special hot chocolate made from her farm-grown cacao. If you book a cooking experience, join Rossy in her kitchen to learn to cook two to three traditional Dominican dishes such as sancocho and platano frito (fried plantains). You can expect to cook for about 1-2 hours before enjoying your meal together with Rossy at her dining table. Please note that this is a modest experience but fantastic experience to see how a local lives and enjoy delicious, truly authentic home cooking. Rossy is available to host dinner experiences daily but can only offer cooking and/or lunch experiences on weekends.