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New Orleans School of Cooking

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Kathy
Kathy
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
3
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Editor Pick

Do NOT Miss This Experience!

  • July 5, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MilwVon from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Do NOT Miss This Experience!

I say experience and yet, have chosen to write about it as an attraction. I also noted someone had listed it as a restaurant here on IgoUgo too. Truth is, it is a restaurant . . . an attraction . . . a store . . . and an experience right in the French Quarter! Of all of the things we did during our week in New Orleans, this will be the one thing that will stand out as the highest highlight of an outstanding week there.

When I first heard about the New Orleans School of Cooking and called to make our reservation a couple of months ago, I was very disappointed to learn that they may not do the class on Fourth of July due to the holiday. Since this was the only day we had available over lunchtime to do it, I kept my fingers crossed but also had resigned myself that it might not happen. When the call came that they would be holding the program, we were both excited and happy to know we'd get to participate in it while there.

We arrived at 9:45am as instructed to sign up and pay the fees. Promptly at 10:00am they opened the main door and began calling roll. Because we had called and made our reservations so long ago, we were first on the class list so we had our choice of the seating available in the classroom.

A bit about the classroom . . . there were five or six round tables set for up to 10 people. Place settings were on a red & white checkerboard type (plastic) table cloth with a "shopping basket" in the middle with an assortment of spices and other accompaniments for the meal. There was also a syrup jar of something that he called "honey" that was a molasses based topping to be served like maple syrup.

As folks worked their way into the room, we were invited to help ourselves to coffee on the side table or iced tea or water on the tables. Our table wasn't particularly interactive or friendly, so other than the woman next to me from California, I don't really know much about the other five people at our table. Because we were at a front table, we had two empty chairs at the encouragement of the chef because they faced away from the cooking area and would have been uncomfortable for guests to watch in the mirror during the cooking demonstrations.

Once everyone was seated, we were more formally greeted by Michael our chef and instructor for the morning. He was a very friendly and folksy sort, who you could tell enjoyed talking about New Orleans, her people and the food. The former head chef at the Omni New Orleans, he said that he really enjoyed his work at the cooking school, educating people on the history and evolution of the creole and cajun dishes the area has become famous for.

As he explained about the sugar cane production in the area, freshly baked biscuits were brought out. He explained that the biscuits weren't the main attraction here, but the molasses syrup on the table was our first dining treat. I don't know, I like biscuits a lot but must admit the molasses honey syrup was very good.

Throughout the cooking demonstration and class Michael wove stories about the people and culture of New Orleans and how economic and agricultural factors affected food and the preparation of meals.

The first dish he started the prep on was the bread pudding. He did a twist, somewhat scoffing at the traditional vanilla bread pudding with raisins and nuts. For our menu, we learned to cook a pina colada type bread pudding since rum and not bourbon would be our topping to be served over the dessert. (Remember, food is based on what is around the area and here in Louisiana sugar cane rum is the hard liquor of choice.)

With the bread pudding prepared and in the oven, he then started on the gumbo. He first showed the group how to prepare the "roux" which is the base gravy in gumbo. If I didn't learn anything else, I learned that if you mess up the roux, you will not have a good gumbo. In fact, to that point he said if it's messed up, throw it out and start over!

With the roux at the right color and consistency, he combined the other ingredients and set the pot to simmering. Prepared with just the andouille sausage and chicken, his gumbo was very delicious with only the spices from the sausage adding flavor to the dish. One traditional ingredient he did not use was okra mostly because there wasn't enough cooking time to cook off the "slime" that most people find offensive.

While he was allowing the gumbo to cook down a bit, he started the jambalaya. There was far too much that was involved to explain here in this review but worry not . . . if you take the class they give you recipes for everything they prepare during your demonstration. What I will say is that when served, this was probably the best jambalaya I had eaten in a week in New Orleans . . . and we ate it in a lot of different places.

As we worked through our plate of jambalaya, he invited a guest chef to the stage to make the pralines. Pretty much straight sugar and pecans, this is a sugary treat that was originally created as a palate cleanser to be used between courses at dinner. The young lady who joined him at the stove did an outstanding job making the perfect praline proving his comment "anyone off the street can do this." LOL

As we were winding down at this point, the bread pudding was nearing completion so he was mixing up the warm rum sauce that would be served over his pineapple and coconut bread pudding concoction. Served right from the oven and drizzled with the warm sauce, this gave my belly a warm glow for the rest of the meal.

I forgot to mention that as we started our lunch of sampling, they brought out ice barrels of locally brewed Abita beer and six packs of their root beer. I enjoyed the root beer which was really good and a nice accompaniment to my meal.

I have to say again, this is one of the best tourist experiences I have ever participated in. Michael's personality really added to the time spent learning about Louisiana cooking and the dishes we were treated to. Better yet, we left with recipes that in theory should allow us to produce the same yummy results!

After the class, folks were of course encouraged to shop their general store for spices and other items of local cuisine interests. In the recipe booklet was a $3.00 off coupon for their "class pack" which includes a more extensive cookbook featuring other recipes and three spice or prepared mixes in a kit package.

The group cooking class was $27 per person and you can find $3 off coupons in many of the local tourist magazines and on the New Orleans CVB web site. At $24 per person, plus tip for the servers, you cannot beat this entertainment AND dining value!

One note of caution, the class is scheduled 10:00am to 12:30pm. Ours went until right at 1:00pm so you may not want to schedule other activities too tightly just in case you're having such a good time, your class runs long too.

Information including class and demonstration schedules, pricing, general store shopping, etc. maybe found at http://www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com/.

From journal New Orleans' French Quarter

New Orleans School of Cooking

Going to the New Orleans School of Cooking was a great treat! Chef Kevin was hilarious. We had a great time learning how to make Andoille Sausage Gumbo, Jambalaya, Bread Pudding and Pralines. Mmmmm . . . a feast!

We took the Open Lunch option. Reservations are necessary.

We arrived at 10am and enjoyed the entertainment and the knowledge of our chef. Then the beer arrived and the lunch was to die for . . . wonderful and all-inclusive, it made my taste buds dance!! You will not regret this great option -- better than any walking tour we encountered! It lasted until 1pm and was packed with fun.

Enjoy . . .

From journal The Big Easy Jazz Fest

Editor Pick

New Orleans School of Cooking

  • November 14, 2000
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Kathy from Northern Va Suburbs of DC, Virginia
PLease see website www.thelouisianageneralstore.com.
This it the website for the store and school. I took the class 2 times. The cost was 20.00 but may have gone up. It is still worth it. The class starts at 10 with coffee and we has a teacher named Kevin. He is about 6'5 and 300 lbs. Born and raised in NO. The class is fun and Kevin is really funny. He made Jambalya, Creole and Pralines. WE got to eat it and wash it down with a beer. The class is in the store so of course after the class you are encouraged to spend more money on spices and cookbooks.
I found that the French Market has a lot of the same things for lower prices. Try the Joe's stuff seasoning.
You need to make a reservation for the class as they fill up fast. You can show up and standby in case someone doesnt show and maybe they will squeeze you in.

From journal Football game at the Superdome

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