Chilean food does not have the international profile of Peruvian or Mexican cuisine, which works in your favor — the restaurants and markets are full of locals, not tourists. Food tours and cooking classes have grown steadily in the last few years, concentrated in Santiago and Valparaiso.
Santiago Market Tours
The Mercado Central is where most food tours begin. The iron-and-glass market hall has been operating since 1872, and the seafood stalls are piled with species you will not recognize — picorocos (giant barnacles), locos (abalone), erizos (sea urchins sold in their shells). A guided tour explains what you are looking at and where to eat it.
La Vega Central, directly across the river, is the larger and less touristy market. This is where Santiago's chefs and home cooks shop — fruit, vegetables, dried goods, and a food court on the upper level where a massive plate of home-cooked food costs $3-4. A few operators run tours that combine both markets in a morning.
Cooking Classes
Several companies in Santiago offer hands-on classes that start with a market visit and end with a full meal. Expect to make empanadas de pino (beef, onion, egg, and olive filling), pastel de choclo (a corn and meat casserole), or fresh ceviche. Classes run $50-80 per person and last three to four hours. Chilean Kitchen and The Santiago Kitchen are two well-reviewed options.
Wine and Food Pairing
Several wineries in the Maipo and Colchagua valleys offer lunch programs that pair multi-course meals with their wines. Lapostolle in Colchagua and Matetic in Casablanca both have restaurants that treat the food as seriously as the wine. These tend to be full-day experiences — not cheap, but memorable.
Street Food
No tour needed for this — just walk. The completo (Chilean hot dog with avocado, tomato, sauerkraut, and mayo) is everywhere. Sopaipillas — fried pumpkin dough, served plain or drizzled with chancaca (raw sugar syrup) — appear on street corners when it rains. In the south, look for curanto vendors near coastal towns, and in the Atacama, roadside stalls sell humitas (steamed corn tamales).
Valparaiso Food Scene
Valparaiso has a grittier food culture than Santiago. The chorrillana — a shared plate of fries, fried onions, beef strips, and eggs — was invented here and remains a bar staple. Several walking tours combine street art and food stops on the cerros, which is a natural pairing given the layout of the city.