New Orleans Cooking Class and Cocktail Walking Tour
Description
Explore the rich culinary history of New Orleans on a tour that combines a cooking class with a French Quarter cocktail tour. First, learn about the basics of Louisiana cuisine from a professional chef during an entertaining demonstration, then sample classics such as jambalaya, gumbo, and pralines. When your cooking class ends you will have a few minutes to shop in the General Store before your tour guide arrives at the School to pick you up for the second part of your tour. Admire the architecture of the French Quarter as you stroll through the neighborhood, stopping in historic bars to sip the Big Easy’s most celebrated cocktails. You'll discover the flavors and culture of New Orleans during this fun and informative tour! Your cocktail tour guide will meet you outside of the cooking school by 4:15pm. Two drinks are included in the price.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Start your food and cocktail tour with a 2-hour cooking demo at the New Orleans School of Cooking. A professional chef prepares classic specialties such as jambalaya, gumbo and pralines while you watch and learn. The class is served with a side of local history that goes into the spices that are essential to Cajun and Creole flavors. The modern-day cuisine of New Orleans opens a window onto the city’s rich cultural history, with its roots in the traditions of French, Spanish, Native American and African cooking. When the class demonstration finishes, snack on generous samples of the dishes, accompanied by complimentary coffee, iced tea and beer. Be sure to take the provided recipe booklet to try making the dishes at home! Please note: Participants do not cook during the culinary demo.
After your introduction to Cajun and Creole cuisine, stroll through the historic streets of the French Quarter on a cocktail tour with an expert guide. Learn about the origins of Southern Comfort, invented in New Orleans in 1874. The classic Sazerac cocktail goes back even further to 1850! Examine the Spanish and French-inspired colonial architecture as your guide shares fascinating stories about the world-famous neighborhood, including the bars and cocktails created here. After a fun and fascinating 4-hour cooking class and cocktail tour, return to your starting point in the early evening to end your tour.
Enter the Court of Two Sisters’ Carriageway Bar through the charm gates, wrought in Spain and blessed by Queen Isabella. Now a restaurant world-famous for its jazz brunch and courtyard canopied by a 130-year-old wisteria vine, the block has maintained a lively history since 1726.
Relax in the former residence of Antoine Peychaud, the Creole apothecary who prescribed and dispensed his patented herbal Peychaud’s Bitters, which would later become the key ingredient in the Sazerac, America’s first cocktail and the official cocktail of New Orleans.
At the intersection of two cobblestone alleys in the shadows of the St. Louis Cathedral, is a legendary pirate hangout. There you’ll meet the “green fairy” known as Absinthe, the mystical herbal elixir that induced intoxicating creativity in many authors, artists, poets and musicians.
There’s nothing like soul-stirring jazz to raise your spirits. Your tour ends on a high note at Fritzel's, not your typical dive bar. This jazz pub features the who’s who of New Orleans jazz, drawing jazz aficionados from around the world. You're welcome to stay for the show, then walk to dinner at one of many fine French Quarter restaurants nearby.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Your experience will start at the New Orleans School of Cooking
- Please note: This is a demonstration class only; there is no hands-on training
- In order to help preserve the French Quarter from vehicular traffic, it is requested that you please walk, if possible, to the convenient tour departure point - just a short stroll from most downtown hotels
- Minimum age is 21 years
- Your cocktail tour guide will meet you outside of the cooking school before 4:15pm.
Reviews(119)
Very enjoyable . Cooking mixed with the history of the region. The dishes were fantastic! The cooking demonstration was easy to follow . I am anxious to make them with my friends!
We are always delighted to hear from those who venture out to learn about our cuisine and history mix.
If you are interested in learning a bit about New Orleans history and the difference between Creole and Cajun cooking this is the tour for you!
Thanks so much. We hope you also enjoyed the cocktail walking tour with history and tales of the French Quarter.
I had the best time, I flew from London and head chef was so welcoming and everyone else was amazing.
Dear Londoner - so delighted to welcome you to the states! Thank you for joining us on this unique Gray Line Tour.
Very fun learn alot about the cooking process and got to know about New Orleans city during walking cocktail tour 10/10!
What a great review of this two-part tour. Thank you for touring with Gray Line, and we hope you join us in New Orleans once again.
The chef brings much fun to learning the secrets of Creole cooking. I've made gumbo for years from a New Orleans cookbook. After this class, I am ready to approach it again with some tips to make it even better. The cocktail walking tour was laid-back with Val, the guide, offering some additional tidbits on New Orleans' drinks and drinking establishments. This is two offerings booked at once that are back-to-back. The hand-off from one to the other did not work well. I felt rushed from the cooking class as it was going slightly over, and I had no word on how I was to meet the guide for the cocktail tour.
Thank you for the input on the programs and where we can improve on communication.
The cooking demonstration was amazing food was so delicious the chef was funny and a awesome cook his partner she was so kind so loving.,
Wonderful review Sheree! We will certainly share with the Chef - be sure to try the recipe at home.
They just cancelled at the last minute. I think the partnership with the cooking school and gray line was a problem. I had no notice showed up for cooking school and it was cancelled.
We apologize for any inconvenience that this caused you. We make every effort to contact our guests in this type of situation. We hope that you will join us for another Gray Line Tour in the future so we can share our great progams.
My friends and I were here for a bachelorette trip & we had so much fun! Chef Cindy brought a lot of character to the class and taught us a lot of history of the food. Kim was our walking tour agent and we quickly started calling her our Bach mom because she was so much fun and very informative. It was really cool to see the back of some of the bars and places that we probably would not have ended up otherwise. Highly recommend this experience!
Thank you so much for your terrific review! We’re thrilled to hear that you had a great experience with our team. Your kind words mean the world to us, and we can’t wait to welcome you back again soon!
The New Orleans School of Cooking class was excellent! The instructor Michael was a wealth of information on the city, the food, and especially, the CULTURE, which we really appreciated. The gumbo was the best we'd had, the pasta William was super tasty, and the fresh pralines were amazing! We left feeling very well fed and well informed. So why the 3-star review? The cocktail walking tour was a disappointment. The description when we signed up said that there were 3 cocktails included, but in reality, there were only 2 cocktails included. We made 4 cocktail stops in total and for the money that was spent on the cocktail part of the tour, it was ridiculous to have to pay out-of-pocket for half the cocktails on the tour. Also, the guide did not wait for the entire group to assemble in front of a particular landmark before giving her narration, which was rude TBH since it wasn't that big a group. All in all, it seemed like Gray Line cobbled together 2 tours and charged too much for it. Tip: Sign up for the NOLA School of Cooking class on their website (the cost was less than half the price of this tour) and skip the cocktail "tour" altogether.
We are very sorry to hear you were dissatisfied with the cocktail tour. You should have received what was purchased, and we would have been happy to resolve the issue if you had contacted us directly. The tour manager will address your comments about the tour guide's presentation.
We loved the cooking class and learning so much about Nola spices. The store is great too. The cocktail tour was very fun.
Thank you for sharing your experience on the tour. It is our pleasure to share our history, our culture, and a good bit of fun!
