Douro Family Table: Cooking Class with Chef Joao

About the Tour

Experience a hands-on gastronomic masterclass in the Douro Valley with Chef Joao Sa Carneiro, a chef with national and international experience and a deep commitment to seasonal, organic, and zero-kilometer ingredients. Your day starts in Pinhão or with pick-up in Porto (on request). In the morning, we explore Pinhão to gather fresh ingredients for the cooking class, stopping at local suppliers for meat, sausages, and cheese. Then we continue to Castanheiro do Sul, a small village where the cooking class takes place in a traditional home setting. Chef Joao leads you through the preparation of a seasonal Douro meal, focused on flavor, quality produce, and low-waste practices. After the meal, we take a short heritage walk through the village and then visit a nearby vineyard for a guided tour and a celebratory Port wine tasting. Return to Porto around 19:00.

What’s Included

• Ingredients for the cooking class
• Cooking class with Chef Joao
• Full meal (seasonal menu) with regional wines
• Village heritage walk in Castanheiro do Sul

Tour Highlights

• Hands-on Douro cooking class led by Chef Joao Sa Carneiro
• Morning ingredient tour in Pinhao (local butcher and regional products)
• Cook and dine in a small village home in Castanheiro do Sul
• Seasonal menu: starters, main (meat/fish/vegetarian), dessert + Douro wines
• Sustainability focus: seasonal, organic where possible, zero-km, low waste
• Small groups only (min 2, max 4)
• Final vineyard visit + Porto wine tasting (Douro experience)

What’s Not Included

• Transportation between Porto and the Douro Valley (optional — contact us for pricing)
• Gratuities for the chef and host

Itinerary

1. 10:00 AM – Meet in Pinhão (or optional pick-up in Porto)
2. Ingredient Tour – Explore Pinhão, gathering meat, sausages and cheese from local suppliers
3. Cooking Class – Prepare a seasonal Douro meal with Chef Joao in a traditional village home
4. Meal – Enjoy the starters, main, and dessert you cooked, paired with regional wines
5. Heritage Walk – Short walk through Castanheiro do Sul
6. Vineyard Visit & Tasting – Guided tour and celebratory Port wine tasting
7. Return to Porto – Arrival around 19:00

Highlights

Cook alongside a genuine national and international chef. Chef Joao’s experience and commitment to zero-kilometer, low-waste cooking bring real credibility to the class.

You gather the ingredients yourself. The morning tour of Pinhão’s local suppliers connects the meal directly to its source, not a pre-packaged kit.

Cooking in a real village home. Castanheiro do Sul offers an authentic, traditional setting most cooking classes can’t match.

A complete day, not just a class. From ingredient gathering to a heritage walk and a celebratory wine tasting, this covers the full Douro experience.

Transportation

• Transportation between Porto and the Douro Valley is optional for this experience. If you would like pick-up and drop-off in Porto, please contact us,  and we will confirm availability and pricing.

Meeting point

• Pinhao, Douro Valley (exact location confirmed after booking). Start time: 10:00 am.