This intimate culinary and cultural journey brings together Chef Jeremy Rock Smith and Chef Mario Canul of Los Dos Cooking School for a week rooted in the flavors, traditions, and stories of Yucatán.

We will explore the vibrant markets and historic streets of Mérida, taste the foods that are part of everyday life, and cook recipes shaped by generations of tradition. We will experience the region through street food vendors, traditional restaurants, and celebrated contemporary Michelin recognized kitchens. Along the way, we will visit colonial cities and ancient Mayan sites, learn about the deep cultural importance of cacao, and experience the natural beauty of the Yucatán coast.

Throughout the experience, Chef Mario will guide us through the region he knows so well, sharing the places, people, ingredients, and culinary traditions that have shaped Yucatan cuisine. His decades of local knowledge, culinary expertise, and longstanding relationships will open the door to experiences that go far beyond what most travelers would encounter on their own. Together, we will move beyond simply tasting regional dishes and begin to understand the history, culture, and people behind them.

This is more than a cooking vacation. It is a deeper and more personal way to experience one of Mexico’s most distinctive culinary regions through the people, flavors, and traditions that define it.

Your home in Mérida will be Las Brisas Mérida, a contemporary boutique hotel located in one of the city's most desirable neighborhoods. Blending modern comfort with warm Yucatán hospitality, the hotel offers spacious suites, lush gardens, a beautiful pool, and inviting outdoor spaces to relax after a day of exploring markets, cooking, and discovering the rich culture of the region.

You'll be just minutes from Paseo de Montejo, excellent restaurants, cafés, museums, and many of Mérida's most vibrant neighborhoods, making it easy to enjoy the city during your free time.

To learn more about the hotel, visit:
Las Brisas Mérida

• Explore Mérida’s vibrant markets, historic streets, and everyday food culture

• Taste the region through street food vendors, traditional restaurants, elegant haciendas, and Michelin recognized kitchens

• Cook at Los Dos Cooking School with Chef Mario Canul

• Learn the traditional art of tortilla making from local Mayan women

• Discover regional ingredients, recados, and the flavors that define Yucatecan cuisine

• Take part in a chocolate making experience with renowned chocolatiers

• Explore the history of cacao and prepare a full menu built around chocolate, including a traditional mole

• Visit Izamal, Uxmal, and other important Mayan cultural and archaeological sites

• Enjoy a tasting menu created by one of the region’s most celebrated contemporary chefs

• Travel to Celestún for mangroves, flamingos, a freshwater swimming stop, and a relaxed seafood lunch by the Gulf

• Experience the week through shared meals, cooking, conversation, and connection

Chef Jeremy Rock Smith- Chef, Author

Chef, retreat leader, and whole-foods educator with over two decades of experience guiding people toward health through delicious, seasonal cuisine. Jeremy brings warmth, wisdom, and an infectious love for food and connection.

Chef Mario Canul, a self-described “Mayan Chilango,” grew up surrounded by the flavors and traditions of Mexican cooking, learning treasured recipes from his aunts and grandmothers.

For 15 years, Mario studied, traveled, and worked alongside acclaimed chef and author David Sterling at Los Dos Cooking School, exploring the culinary traditions, markets, and regional cuisines of Yucatán and Mexico. Their work contributed to Sterling’s award-winning cookbooks, Yucatán: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition and Mercados: Recipes from the Markets of Mexico.

Today, Mario leads the kitchen at Los Dos, combining a deep respect for traditional techniques with his own creative style. Warm, knowledgeable, and an engaging storyteller, he brings Mexico’s food, history, and culture vividly to life for every guest.

Cancellation by Participant:

• Full refund of deposit if requested in writing within 30 days of purchase.

• 119–90 days before start date: Deposit is non-refundable; 75% refund of all additional payments made.

• 89–60 days before start date: Deposit is non-refundable; 50% refund of all additional payments made.

• 59 days or less before start date: No refund. • All refunds are subject to a $100 processing fee. All refunds request should be submitted through the retreat page and will be processed in 7-10 business days.

Missed Payments:

If any scheduled installment payment is missed, the Organizer reserves the right to cancel the booking. Any payments already made will be refunded according to the timeline above. Cancellation by Organizer If the Organizer cancels the retreat for reasons not related to force majeure, a full refund will be issued, including the deposit, within 30 days of notice.

Force Majeure:

The Organizer reserves the right to cancel, postpone, or modify the Retreat due to causes beyond their reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, acts of God, government restrictions, strikes, pandemics, or other circumstances making the Retreat impractical or unsafe. In such cases, refunds will be handled in accordance with the cancellation policy above, and participants are strongly encouraged to carry travel insurance.

Arrive in Mérida and settle into the hotel, take some time to rest, unpack, and get comfortable.

The remainder of the day is yours to explore the surrounding area, enjoy a quiet meal, or simply ease into the rhythm of the city before our retreat begins the following morning.

Begin the week at Los Dos Cooking School, where Chef Mario Canul will introduce you to the ingredients, history, traditions, and cultural influences that have shaped Yucatan cuisine.

From there, explore the Lucas de Gálvez and San Benito markets, the largest traditional markets in Mérida. Along the way, taste cochinita pibil tacos, observe tortillas being made from freshly nixtamalized corn dough, and learn about recados, the regional spice blends and pastes at the heart of Yucatecan cooking.

Enjoy lunch at Haciendatella, where traditional Yucatecan cuisine is presented at a refined level.

That evening, gather for dinner at Micaela Mar y Leña, recently added to the Michelin Guide 2026 and known for its creative blend of Mexican, Baja, and Yucatecan influences.

Come hungry for a guided exploration of Mérida that combines the city’s history, architecture, and everyday food culture.

As you make your way through Mérida’s major avenues, historic center, and main square, you will stop at several local food stalls to sample dishes that are part of daily life in the city.

Return to Los Dos, where local Mayan women will introduce you to the traditional art of shaping tortillas by hand. From there, continue with your first full cooking class under Mario’s guidance.

The experience concludes with a generous five course lunch served in the elegant Los Dos dining room, accompanied by wine, beer, and aguas frescas.

The evening is yours to relax or explore Mérida independently.

Travel to Izamal, a beautiful colonial city known for its golden yellow buildings, historic streets, and ancient Mayan pyramids.

Begin at a small local Mayan market, tasting regional recipes and ingredients rarely found elsewhere in Yucatán. Continue with a guided visit to Izamal’s remarkable convent and monastery, followed by a traditional calesa ride through the historic city.

At Restaurante Kinich Kak moo, watch Mayan women prepare traditional dishes before sitting down to a generous Yucatecan feast. The restaurant is located near one of Izamal’s archaeological pyramids, which guests may climb for sweeping views across the surrounding city and countryside.

Return to Mérida for dinner at Nol, recently added to the Michelin Guide 2026 and led by a talented young local chef bringing a fresh perspective to the region’s cuisine.

Today is dedicated to one of the most important and storied ingredients in Mayan culture, cacao.

Visit Ki’ Xocolatl, ranked among the top ten chocolate producers in the world and led by Belgian master chocolatier Mathieu Brees. There is a fascinating story behind how his work in Yucatán led to the cultivation of exceptional Criollo cacao and the creation of some of the region’s finest chocolate.

Follow cacao’s journey from cultivation and production to finished chocolate while learning about its deep roots in Mayan history. The experience also includes a class led by skilled chocolatiers.

Return to Los Dos for a full cooking class built around cacao and chocolate. Together, you will prepare an entire menu exploring both the sweet and savory possibilities of this remarkable ingredient, including a Yucatecan mole made with locally produced chocolate paste.

After enjoying the meal you have prepared, the evening is free.

Travel along the Ruta Puuc to Uxmal, one of the most beautiful and significant Mayan archaeological sites in Yucatán.

With the guidance of a professional expert, explore its pyramids, courtyards, intricate carvings, and ceremonial buildings while learning about the Mayan civilization that created them.

Continue to the nearby Chocolate Museum for a deeper look at cacao cultivation, history, and production within a plantation setting.

Lunch will be served at Hacienda Temozón, a beautifully restored historic property known for its elegant atmosphere and updated interpretations of classic Yucatecan cuisine.

That evening, gather at Huniik for a tasting menu dinner created by Chef Roberto Solís, whose contemporary approach to regional ingredients earned the restaurant its first Michelin star in 2026.

Leave the city behind and travel to the coastal community of Celestún.

Board small boats operated by local fishermen for a journey through the mangroves and estuary. During the winter season, the area is known for the thousands of pink flamingos that gather there.

The excursion also includes a stop at a freshwater spring hidden within the mangroves, with an opportunity to swim when conditions allow.

Afterward, enjoy a relaxed seafront lunch featuring fresh Gulf seafood, cocktails, and beverages.

The day concludes with time to take in the coastal landscape and, if timing allows, the sunset over the Gulf.

Enjoy a final breakfast before departing Mérida.

Return home with new recipes, deeper culinary knowledge, and a more meaningful connection to the people, traditions, and flavors of Yucatán.