7 Best New Orleans Cooking Classes (2025 Reviews)

New Orleans cooking class experiences are as soulful as the city itself.
From fragrant roux to fiery jambalaya, these immersive sessions serve up history, flavor, and fun.

Whether you’re a seasoned foodie or just looking to stir the pot, you’ll find hands-on Cajun and Creole adventures waiting in every corner of the Big Easy.

For the perfect pairing, explore our 7 Best New Orleans Cocktail Tours — or dive deeper into the flavors with our full list of 7 Best New Orleans Cooking Classes.

You’ll find our curated roundup of top-rated options — including demo kitchens, cocktail pairings, and full-on feasts.
Below are the 3 top cooking classes in New Orleans, and then reviews on the best 7.

Cooking Classes New Orleans

Compare Top Tours: New Orleans Demonstration Cooking Class with Meal, New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal, and Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans

New Orleans Demonstration Cooking Class with Meal	New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal	Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans
Duration: 2.5 hours	Duration: 2.5 hours	Duration: 2 hours
Pickup: Not included	Pickup: Not included	Pickup: Not included
Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours	Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours	Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours
Includes: 3-course meal, demonstration, iced tea, coffee	Includes: Hands-on cooking, full meal, soft drinks	Includes: Cooking class, food tasting, recipe booklet
Watch pro chefs at work and savor the full Louisiana flavor	Get hands-on and create your own New Orleans classics	Master the art of a perfect roux in a cozy small-group setting
👉 Reserve Your Spot!	👉 Reserve Your Spot!	👉 Reserve Your Spot!

Cooking Class New Orleans

• Tour 1: New Orleans Demonstration Cooking Class with Meal
• Tour 2: New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal
• Tour 3: Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans
• Tour 4: New Orleans: Cajun and Creole Cooking Class
• Tour 5: Hands-on Cajun Traditions Cooking Class
• Tour 6: New Orleans: Cooking Class & Cocktail Walking Tour
• Tour 7: New Orleans: Food Walking Tour & Cooking Class Experience

Creole Cooking Class New Orleans (2025 Reviews)

Tour 1: New Orleans Demonstration Cooking Class with Meal

🟥 Meeting Point: 524 St. Louis Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 (New Orleans School of Cooking)
🟥 Departure Time: 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM (check calendar for availability)
🟥 Duration: 2.5 hours
🟥 Guide: Live English-speaking chef instructor
🟥 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours in advance
🟥 Includes: Cooking demonstration, 3-course Creole meal, iced tea, coffee, recipes

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a demonstration-style class, I mean, would it feel too passive? But then, stepping into the old French Quarter building, greeted by the scent of onions sizzling in butter and the warmth of Southern hospitality, I was immediately charmed.

Our chef, who was part comedian, part culinary historian, wove together personal stories, food traditions, and just enough sass to keep us laughing.

We didn’t lift a spoon, yet somehow felt fully immersed.

As the gumbo simmered, we learned about the Holy Trinity (onion, bell pepper, celery, not the religious kind) and the secrets behind a proper roux.

The three-course meal that followed? Pure Louisiana soul: creamy corn and crab bisque, smoky jambalaya, and a praline dessert so rich I almost swooned.

What I loved most was the way New Orleans Demonstration Cooking Class with Meal balanced learning and leisure.

You come away full belly, heart, and mind.

Perfect for those who prefer to watch the magic unfold with a glass of iced tea in hand, without breaking a sweat.

Tour 2: New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal

🟥 Meeting Point: 524 St. Louis Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 (New Orleans School of Cooking)
🟥 Departure Time: 10:00 AM (check calendar for availability)
🟥 Duration: 2.5 hours
🟥 Guide: Live English-speaking chef instructor
🟥 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours in advance
🟥 Includes: Hands-on cooking experience, full 3-course meal, soft drinks, recipes

It’s one thing to watch gumbo being made — it’s another to stir the pot yourself.

This hands-on experience pulls you into the heartbeat of Louisiana cooking, spatula-first.

After a warm welcome, we tied on our aprons and got straight into the good stuff: prepping fresh ingredients, learning knife skills, and building flavor from the base up.

Even the notoriously tricky roux felt doable with our guide’s tips and gentle nudges.

There were smiles, spills, and that joyful clatter of strangers becoming kitchen comrades.

By the time our shrimp creole hit the plate, I was genuinely proud.
We’d worked for that flavor. And the reward?

A long table of travelers-turned-cooks, breaking cornbread together and swapping stories over pralines and punch.

We decided on the New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal because we wanted more than a demo, and it delivered.

Perfect if you want to roll up your sleeves, laugh a little, and leave with both recipes and memories.

Tour 3: Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans

🟥 Meeting Point: 519 Wilkinson Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
🟥 Departure Time: 10:00 AM (check calendar for availability)
🟥 Duration: 2 hours
🟥 Guide: Live English-speaking chef
🟥 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours in advance
🟥 Includes: Hands-on cooking class, local chef instruction, food tasting, recipe booklet

This class felt less like a tourist experience and more like being invited into someone’s personal kitchen, someone funny, opinionated, and deeply proud of Cajun food.

The room was small, which made it feel intimate and a little chaotic in the best way.
We focused on the foundation of Cajun cooking: the roux.

Our chef had us watch the color shift like magic from blonde to peanut butter to deep chocolate, as stories flowed about grandmothers who could judge doneness by smell alone.

There was flour on my hands, spice in the air, and a kind of buzz that happens when everyone’s genuinely into it.
Not a polished class, more like a joyful mess of cooking, learning, and laughing.

The tasting afterward? Simple, hearty, and honest.

We wanted to understand the soul of Cajun food — and we did.

With the Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans, this class is for people who don’t mind getting their hands dirty and their hearts full.

Tour 4: New Orleans: Cajun and Creole Cooking Class

🟥 Meeting Point: 524 St. Louis Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 (New Orleans School of Cooking)
🟥 Departure Time: 2:00 PM (check calendar for availability)
🟥 Duration: 2.5 hours
🟥 Guide: Live chef instructor (English-speaking)
🟥 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours in advance
🟥 Includes: Live cooking demonstration, traditional Cajun and Creole dishes, 3-course meal, recipes to take home

There’s something deeply satisfying about watching someone who loves what they do, especially when what they do is cook Louisiana’s most iconic dishes right in front of you.

This class felt like a love letter to the region’s culinary traditions.
As the chef stirred, seasoned, and spun stories of bayous and backyards, we sat riveted eyes on the pot, noses in the steam, forks at the ready.

There were no gimmicks, just the good stuff: jambalaya, etouffee, pralines that made you close your eyes.
You could feel generations of knowledge bubbling up in every pot.

I appreciated that it wasn’t rushed.
We had time to sip, taste, and ask lots of questions.
And the chef? Warm, unpretentious, and a natural teacher.

The New Orleans: Cajun and Creole Cooking Class was more than a good intro to the cooking culture of New Orleans, as it ended up being one of the most flavorful afternoons we’ve ever had.

Perfect if you’re curious, hungry, and want a front-row seat to Creole soul food at its finest.

Tour 5: Hands-on Cajun Traditions Cooking Class

🟥 Meeting Point: 519 Wilkinson Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
🟥 Departure Time: 10:00 AM (confirm exact dates on calendar)
🟥 Duration: 2.5 hours
🟥 Guide: English-speaking local chef
🟥 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours in advance
🟥 Includes: Hands-on cooking, small group experience, food tasting, printed recipes

If you’ve ever wanted to get past the tourist gloss and into the gritty, glorious heart of Cajun cooking, this is the class.

It wasn’t fancy.
It wasn’t polished.
And it was absolutely perfect.

Set in a small, open kitchen near the French Quarter, the group was capped tight, just a handful of us, all aproned up and giggling like old friends by the end of the first onion chop.
The chef, part instructor, part storyteller, didn’t just tell us how to cook, but why things were done that way.
Where the spice comes in.
Why the roux should never be rushed.
And how every dish carried a story.

I loved the mess of it, the flour on the counter, the sizzling pans, the moments of hesitation followed by laughter.
The Hands-on Cajun Traditions Cooking Class turned out to be one of the most personal, learning and grounded things we did in New Orleans.

If you’re looking for authenticity, small group energy, and the kind of food that warms you twice, once going in, and once in memory, don’t miss this one.

Tour 6: New Orleans: Cooking Class & Cocktail Walking Tour

🟥 Meeting Point: 519 Wilkinson Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
🟥 Departure Time: 3:00 PM (check calendar for up-to-date availability)
🟥 Duration: 4 hours
🟥 Guide: Live English-speaking culinary and cocktail guide
🟥 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours in advance
🟥 Includes: Cocktail walking tour, hands-on cooking class, tastings, printed recipes

This one’s part foodie adventure, part tipsy stroll, and entirely New Orleans.

We met just before sunset and were handed a drink before we’d even started cooking, always a promising sign.
After a short wander through the Quarter, sipping and chatting with our guide (who was more storyteller than tour leader), we ended up in a cozy kitchen space that felt more like someone’s home than a classroom.

We chopped. We stirred. We laughed at ourselves and maybe even flirted a little with the rum punch.
There’s a sweet rhythm to a cooking class where everyone’s a bit loosened up the nerves fade, and what’s left is connection.

The food was fantastic, of course classic, bold, soulful, but it was the whole vibe that lingered.

Deciding on the New Orleans: Cooking Class & Cocktail Walking Tour was because we wanted something different, not just to cook, but to experience the spirit of the city.

If you like your gumbo with a side of bourbon and laughter echoing down cobblestone streets, this is your kind of tour.

Tour 7: New Orleans: Food Walking Tour & Cooking Class Experience

🟥 Meeting Point: 519 Wilkinson Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
🟥 Departure Time: 10:00 AM (confirm schedule on booking calendar)
🟥 Duration: 4 hours
🟥 Guide: Live, English-speaking food and culture expert
🟥 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours in advance
🟥 Includes: Guided walking tour, hands-on cooking class, local tastings, digital recipes

This one’s for the travelers who want it all: a bite-sized history tour, a flavorful walk, and a full-on Cajun-Creole cooking session to finish.

We began in the Quarter, weaving through hidden alleys and well-worn café corners, tasting everything from hot sauce to candied pecans.
Our guide was a walking encyclopedia of flavor and folklore, part historian, part hype man, and had us laughing and learning the whole way.

Then we cooked.
Not watched — cooked.

Inside a bright kitchen tucked just off the street, we chopped, seasoned, and tasted our way through gumbo and more.
There’s something grounding about putting your hands to work after a walk, like the city’s story continues through your fingertips.

We chose the New Orleans: Food Walking Tour & Cooking Class Experience because we didn’t want to choose between a tour and a class, and luckily, we didn’t have to.

A great fit for first-timers or food lovers who want a bit of context with their cornbread.

FAQs (7 Best New Orleans Cooking Classes (2025 Reviews)

Each question is directly based on the tours reviewed above, with a focus on location, food, timing, child policies, physical access, and inclusions.

What’s the difference between a demonstration class and a hands-on cooking class?
Demonstration classes (like Tour 1 and Tour 4) allow guests to watch expert chefs prepare the dishes while enjoying a full meal. Hands-on classes (like Tours 2, 3, and 5) invite participants to actively cook each dish themselves under guided instruction.

Where do most New Orleans cooking classes take place?
The majority of classes are hosted at either the New Orleans School of Cooking on St. Louis Street or the smaller, more intimate kitchen studio on Wilkinson Street, both centrally located in the French Quarter.

Are these classes suitable for kids or families?
While most tours are adult-focused due to the equipment and setting, some classes (especially Tours 1 and 4) are family-friendly and welcome older children accompanied by adults. Always check age restrictions during booking.

How long do these New Orleans cooking classes last?
Classes typically run between 2 and 4 hours. Demonstration-style sessions average 2.5 hours, while combo tours with walking components (like Tours 6 and 7) last around 4 hours.

Is alcohol included in the cooking or walking tours?
Yes, some tours include cocktails or tastings. Tour 6 specifically blends a cocktail walking tour with a cooking session, offering both drinks and food throughout the experience.

Do the classes accommodate dietary restrictions?
While some instructors can accommodate specific dietary needs with advance notice, most classes focus on traditional Cajun and Creole recipes, which often include shellfish, meat, and gluten. Contact the tour provider before booking.

Are recipes included to take home?
Yes! Every tour includes either printed or digital recipe cards, so you can recreate the flavors of New Orleans in your own kitchen after the experience.

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