If you can’t stand the humidity, get into the kitchen
Food is New Orleans’ raison d’être. Those looking to go beyond gorging at any number of the city’s 1400 restaurants can gain a deeper appreciation of local specialties by taking cooking classes and learning how to prepare classic dishes like oysters Rockefeller, gumbo, and bread pudding.
Langlois Culinary Crossroads culinary school, located in a former Sicilian market, was founded by chef Amy Cirex-Sins in 2013. The name comes from Madame Langlois, the cook for a former Louisiana governor, who is considered the first Creole chef. Amy is herself an award-winning cookbook author and local radio host.
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Address 1710 Pauger Street, New Orleans, LA 70116, +1 504.934.1010, www.langloisnola.com | Hours Class schedules vary; visit website to view calendar and make online reservations| Tip In addition to cooking classes, New Orleans offers a variety of culinary tours, on which you’ll visit noted and historic restaurants to sample signature dishes. One of the more unique is a tasting tour by bike offered at Confederacy of Cruisers (www.confederacyofcruisers.com/new-orleans-culinary-bike-tour).
Langlois’ hands-on classes are limited to 20 participants so everyone gets plenty of individualized pot-side coaching. Recent sessions have featured the making of dishes such as chicken Creole with creamed-collard-greens-stuffed crepes, jambalaya garnished with chicken cracklin’, and boudin cakes made from chicken liver, rice, and a generous amount of Creole spice. Many ingredients come straight from the Langlois Crossroads Farm, located in a formerly vacant lot in the Ninth Ward.
Amy characterizes the vibe as “part cooking school, part chef’s tasting table.” Others have described the affordable classes as “spontaneous dinner part[ies] where anything can happen.” The teaching style fervently embraces the spirit of chacun à son goût (“to each their own”). So whether you prefer actively mixing ingredients and getting your hands dirty or standing to the side and scribbling copious notes, you can do as you most please.
Travel & Leisure included Langlois in their article, “Best Cooking Schools Around the World,” placing it alongside Le Cordon Bleu, Castello di Vicarello in Tuscany, and Two Bordelais in Bordeaux.
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