Taco Tuesday with a Virtual Twist
While international travel is completely off the table, it doesn’t mean that international experiences are.
The Airbnb platform is filled with loads of different live and virtual experiences, which has no doubt boomed since Coronavirus last year. Think cooking, nature exploration, winery tours, magic classes and meditation from all around the world.
I decided to put my cooking skills to the test and booked an experience with the Aura Cocina Mexicana Team to make Mexican street tacos with a professional chef.
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This experience was one of the most popular on the platform, with currently 2800+ reviews and an average 4.98/5 rating! So, my expectations were high.
Prior to the class, all I had to do was purchase the ingredients needed to make the alambre (taco filling), red salsa, flour tortillas and some garnishes. Mexican alambre typically includes beef, bacon, capsicum, onion, melted cheese on top served with freshly made tortillas and spicy tomato salsa. The preparation outline included some cute touches of a margarita recipe and QR code for a Mexican themed Spotify playlist.
Due to the time zone difference, I nervously joined the 9:30pm Zoom meeting to await my cooking class.
I was introduced to Krystel from the team who was going to be my host and guiding me through the steps all the way from Mexico City.
Krystel instantly made it comfortable with some introductions, chat about the cuisine and what we were going to be making that day. As it was 7am there, she opted for a breakfast taco with mushrooms while I cooked along for dinner.
In any classes similar to this, I always worry because I am just so slow no matter what I am doing. I’m the person that falls behind and everyone annoyingly has to wait for them to catch up.
This experience was perfect for me as she cooked along with me at my own pace. Krystel always waited to ensure I completed all the steps she outlined before continuing on which made the process stress free.
While making our food, Krystel made the experience so personal and took away any kind of awkwardness from the situation by us getting to know each other. I was even able to learn quite a bit as she gave hints and tips such as how to prepare chilli’s and what makes them so hot. Spoiler: it isn’t the seeds which I went my whole life thinking!
My favourite part of all of it was making the tortillas from scratch which I am definitely counting as an arm workout. It was so simple and only included flour, oil, water and salt but miraculously tasted good! It was so much easier than I had anticipated and a quick process that I definitely want to do again.
After cooking all our separate components, we were able to assemble our 8 taco’s and finally eat, which tasted delicious! It was much better than the tacos I would usually prepare, but now I get the extra bonus of bragging that I made it all from scratch.
Although my tacos looked without a doubt terrible, they tasted amazing especially because of the layer of cheese that melted while covered in the pan. I accidentally went overboard with chilli flakes and made the tomato salsa a lot more spicy than I was expecting, but the lime on top balanced it perfectly.
It was such a great experience because a lot of countries haven’t been as fortunate as Australia and living normal lives like we are able to. People like Krystel and her team have found a way to connect with people under these circumstances and make money from it which is great to support.
It was a strange but great feeling getting to know someone from the opposite side of the world who was able to teach me skills. Even though it was virtual, Krystel made the steps so easy and it required minimal preparation.
Live and virtual experiences like this are such an enjoyable way to have fun times with friends, on a date night or even a one on one class. I definitely have my eye on the margarita and guacamole making class next!
Search the enormous range of experiences here, where you are bound to find something up your alley.
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