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LA Plaza Cocina — a Mexican culinary museum
LA Plaza CocinaA culinary museum of Mexico’s food history and culture

Welcome to LA Plaza Cocina

A culinary museum focused on Mexico’s food history and culture.


Los
Plan Your Visit

Upcoming Cooking Classes

2023 October

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Featured Exhibitions

Tortilla Chips for Juan Carlos 2

Recetario para la memoria

Delve into a world recipes that are shared by its family members searching and remembering their loved ones.

Starts:
May 13, 2023

Ends:
Nov 19, 2023

Cazuelas y un recatario Family Heirlooms

Cazuelas y un recetario: Family Heirlooms

Explore our semi-permanent exhibit that tells the story of our community members and their family heirlooms related to Mexican and Mexican American cuisine.

Starts:
Feb 7, 2022

Ends:
Dec 31, 2023

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Black clay pot with a traditional red Mexican drink with foam inside and a wooden grinder on top in a town in Oaxaca Mexico
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LA Cocina Interior
Cooking class Hecho con Amor: Mexican Whole Fish Cooking. Instructor: Chef Gilberto Centina, Owner of Chichen Itza and Holbox. Thursday, June 16.
Effigy Urn Seated God of the GlyphL

Cookbook of the Month

View Cookbook

Latest Blog Posts

New at LA Plaza Cocina: Free Cooking Demonstrations

LA Plaza Cocina is excited to share that this year, we will be having Free Culinary Cooking Demonstrations that will be open for the community to enjoy! Our guest chef
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Mexico’s Mesoamerican Treasure: Chocolate

The origins of chocolate are argued to be older than corn itself. Within Mexican cuisine, chocolate is a historical culinary ingredient. Chocolate comes from the fruit of the cacao tree,
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August Almanac 2022

The produce season of August brings the best of summer. With fruits showing their true seasonal colors, it’s the best time to enjoy what the season has to offer. This
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Exploring Mexico: Baja California, North and South

The Northern and Southern states of Baja California are often recognized as borderland states due to their proximity to the United States. Its influence, due to the migration of people
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The Dishes of Mesoamerica: Tamales

Tamales represent the nation’s legendary culinary endeavor with maize. Archeologically, tamales are the oldest form of Mexico’s culinary arts. Fossils of corn husks have been found in southern Mexico. This
Read More

Exploring Mexico: Aguascalientes

Aguascalientes’ culinary culture beholds a space for fruitful discoveries. Mixing their local fruits with meats and cheeses, the state takes advantage of its natural resources to develop a unique culinary
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Mexico’s Mesoamerican Treasure: Maize

Corn or Maize is a foundational staple in Mexico due to its influence on its religion, politics, and culinary culture. In the Mesoamerican world, corn was foundational in multiple ways.
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June Almanac 2022

LA Plaza Cocina is proud to share with you an Alamac every month to showcase all of the incoming seasonal fruits and vegetables. June marks the beginning of summer, when
Read More

Welcome to LA Plaza Cocina’s Blog!

From its historical origins to its migratory routes, and its modern twists on classic dishes, Mexico’s food culture goes beyond its borders and into cities such as Los Angeles, exploring
Read More

Sign up for our Newsletter and gain early access to our upcoming events and culinary programs!

Join LA Plaza Cocina's Newsletter!

Welcome to LA Plaza Cocina

LA Plaza Cocina is the first museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to Mexican and Mexican American culinary arts, located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles at El Pueblo Historical Monument. We are a living institution that honors the deep roots of Mexican cuisine while exploring its vibrant evolution in Southern California and beyond. Through our exhibitions, hands-on cooking demonstrations, and community programs, we tell the stories of the people, traditions, and ingredients that have shaped the way we eat—from ancient Mesoamerican techniques to the bustling taquerías of East Los Angeles.

Our kitchen is more than a space to cook; it is a stage where cultural memory comes alive. Here, visitors can watch master chefs prepare regional dishes, taste heritage varieties of corn and chiles, and learn about the Indigenous, Spanish, and African influences that make Mexican food one of the world's most beloved culinary traditions. Whether you are a lifelong cook, a curious food lover, or a scholar of culture, LA Plaza Cocina invites you to explore the flavors that define a bicultural identity that is uniquely Californian yet universally resonant.

Our Living Collections and Exhibitions

Our current exhibition, Recetario para la memoria, is a sweeping celebration of the handwritten recipe books passed down through generations of Mexican families. These are not mere lists of ingredients; they are intimate archives of love, migration, and survival—pages stained with oil, scribbled in the margins with family jokes, and carefully guarded as heirlooms. The exhibition displays rare cookbooks and personal recipes from the museum's growing collection, offering a rare glimpse into domestic life and the essential role women have played in preserving culinary knowledge.

In Cazuelas y un recetario: Family Heirlooms, we shift the focus to the material culture of the kitchen. A cazuela is more than a clay pot; it is the soul of the Mexican stove, seasoned by decades of use and passed down from abuelas to the next generation. This exhibition pairs these treasured cooking vessels with the handwritten recipes that accompanied them, exploring how objects and written memory travel together across borders and through time. Together, these installations reinforce our core belief that Mexican cuisine is a living heritage—one that deserves the same rigorous scholarship and public reverence as any fine art.

Plan Your Visit to the Culinary Museum

We host a year-round calendar of public programs, including guest chef series, children's cooking camps, and scholarly symposiums that connect the table to larger conversations about agriculture, history, and social justice. In our demonstration kitchen, you might watch a third-generation mole maker from Puebla or a Mixtec chef from Oaxaca who now calls Los Angeles home. Every program is designed to be hands-on, bilingual, and accessible, ensuring that the food of our communities can be celebrated by all.

To make the most of your experience, we recommend signing up for our newsletter, which grants you early access to upcoming events, culinary programs, and exhibition openings before they are announced to the general public. From seasonal Dia de los Muertos bread workshops to summer cooking intensives for teens, there is always a new flavor to discover on our menu of cultural offerings. Join us at LA Plaza Cocina and become part of a living tradition that continues to cook, taste, and remember—one dish at a time.