Big Easy Cooking Schools

When was the last time you enjoyed a fantastic meal at a restaurant and said to yourself, “I wish I could make this at home!” Well, you can. And it’s not just making a dish with a recipe in hand, but creating an experience sprinkled with emotion – the essential ingredient needed to dish up a bit of the heart and soul of New Orleans.

Savor the Bayou, One Bite at a Time

Over the past few years as gastronomic adventures have moved from simmering on the back burners of only the most passionate of foodies, to front-and-center creative affairs on the dining room tables of mainstream culture, the popularity of culinary schools has wafted to the top. All over the country you can find a cornucopia of superb culinary schools and courses (pun intended) to satisfy your every gourmet desire. And where better to explore and enjoy them than New Orleans, home of some of the world’s finest chefs and bountiful epicurean history.

Steeped in Cajun, Creole, French and Southern history and culture, New Orleanians don’t just “make good food,” they live and breathe it. And it’s this passion that folks from all over the globe want to experience when they come to The Big Easy. So whether you can whip up a great meal while blindfolded with one arm tied behind your back, or if boiled eggs and flapjacks are about the extent of your kitchen prowess, what you’ll experience here will no doubt make an indelible mark on your culinary senses.

Edible Homework

New Orleans is home to an array of distinctive cooking schools, each offering its own unique flavor and flair—for both tourists and residents alike—that embody the true spirit and food traditions of the region. And it’s here where you can immerse yourself in everything there is to know about creating simply orgasmic dishes such as succulent Oysters Rockefeller, savory Gumbo with Andouille sausage, okra, chicken or seafood and sensational turtle, oyster or corn and crab soup.

Or, season your taste buds with tantalizing classics like Jambalaya, red beans and rice, New Orleans barbecue shrimp, crawfish or shrimp etoufeé and chicken Creole, just to name a few.  All of this is ladled up next to flavorful cornbread dressings, dirty rice or maque choux (smothered corn).

For the pièce de resistance, whip up a little Bananas Foster, bread pudding, pralines or pecan roulade. Altogether it’s a “coma gastronome” well worth its calories in roux, Sardou, brochette and meuniere!

So pull your tongue back in your mouth, grab a napkin and let’s go!

Where to Kiss the Cook

One of the most popular culinary schools in town is The New Orleans Cooking Experience. Situated in a lovely 17th century plantation house, their classes focus on authentic, traditional Creole and Cajun cuisine taught in a residential style kitchen around a comfortable teaching island. Their delightfully relaxed yet engaging classes are intimate, 10 students-max affairs highlighted by personal interaction with their world renowned chefs who infuse each recipe with the techniques, history and culture of the region.  Each class, offered in half day immersion (in 2-4 day series’) and a two class weekend cooking vacation, culminates with an intimate, seasonally inspired, four course dinner party with wine pairings, in the charming private dining room. Private cooking classes and events are also “on the menu” here.

True Louisiana epicurean flair can be found at Crescent City Cooks! Located in the Riverwalk Marketplace, this school caters to a clientele primarily made up of tourists but offers something for everyone in both group and private classes. The facility also has a café and retail outlet—the Louisiana General Store—brimming with loads of Cajun and Creole products, spices, gift baskets, cookware and other items, giving visitors a chance to bring back a bit more of the experience to their kitchens at home.

Situated in the heart of the historic French Quarter in a renovated molasses warehouse built in the early 1800s, the New Orleans School of Cooking features open demonstration, private and hands on cooking classes and team building events. The latter are customized for family reunions, corporate clients, incentive groups and others and structured around a slightly competitive yet fun and interactive “Iron Chef-esque” environment. The school’s local chefs are well known and highly accomplished in the traditions of Cajun and Creole cuisine, which creates a distinctive and exciting cooking experience when coupled with their divergent culinary experiences in the city and away from it.

Add Just a Pinch of…

This is just a dollop of the many excellent cooking schools and courses found in and around The Big Easy. And regardless which one strikes your fancy, you’re sure to take away a deeper appreciation, understanding and love for the customs, expertise and zest of one of the world’s greatest epicurean cities.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!