The Mardi Gras School of Cooking

The other reviews covered everything I would want to say so I’ll just add in some tips. Follow instructions — you’ll be amazed that your roux is that beautiful. Ask questions because both chefs are so knowledgeable and love what they do. Remember you are in a home not Le Cordon Bleu and you are still a guest so enjoy spending time on the porch with your hosts and classmates. When you visit a place like New Orleans you can go to restaurants and more formal cooking schools but this is really an opportunity to experience the food culture firsthand. And yes we would love to go back and take another class!

If you’re looking for a truly unique cooking experience in New Orleans, this is it. Chef Bond opens his personal kitchen for an interactive experience that’s fun and informative. We made Cajun gumbo, creole crawfish étouffée and chocolate bread pudding with Mocha brandy sauce. We prepared everything with Chef Bond’s guidance and then sat down to promptly over eat! The flavors were top notch, the wine flowed freely and it was a great way to create a lasting memory of New Orleans. I would highly recommend this experience!

This was not the activity i was looking forward too in New Orleans with Bourbon St. just outside the hotel door, but it turned out to be the best!!! We drove here but later found out it was just a short walking distance from the Ferry landing. I did not expect to have the fun we had. Chef Richard and Robin were awesome. I highly recommend this to anyone!

This was a great experience. It is in Chef Bond’s home, so it’s comfortable and relaxed. Also not as «sterile» as a professional kitchen, and much more like cooking as you would at home– which is what we are going to be doing after all! We spent lots of time with Chef Richard and his assistant John who helped keep us on track and did all of the heavier cleaning. Chef had us do all of the chopping and cooking, he showed us some pretty cool tricks and guided us through the cooking techniques with a sense of humor and a firm hand ;) At the end he also complimented our finished products so i think we did ok! We took the introductory Roux Class and made Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Crawfish Étouffée, and bread pudding with mocha brandy sauce. I will say that it was the best food we ate on our visit to New Orleans and I can’t wait to try all of the new techniques we learned with my family now that I’m home. Best thing we did on our visit! Thanks Chef!

Chef Bond and John are just wonderful people all round. They’re all class. I took this cooking class and Chef was so professional. He was really kind and I love that he doesn’t take bad behavior or people not following instructions, just like a good teacher should. I’ll definitely come back just to see them.

Chief Bond and John are amazing! I am a horrible cook and don’t know how to do anything in the kitchen but this class has taught me so much. It was such a lovely environment in the comfort of his home. He walked us through every step of each recipe and was funny and also very nice. John was so sweet and attentive and the pair of them are great. I would definitely do this again in a heart beat.

Great experience and the hospitality was awesome. We had a group of 4 which was perfect for what the menu was. We did everything from chop to eat. Want to go back now. Algiers is a wonderful quiet area.

Words can’t describe the fun I had!!! Chef was so sweet, and so knowledgeable! Thank you for such a great time, and great food & conversation!!! And to get to talk to JFK who was from my hometown of Worth, IL! Just amazing! Thank you and yes I will be back to pick your brain once again Chef!

There are experiences on vacation you will always remember as «the best thing we did», cooking with Chef Bond was that moment for us in New Orleans. My teenager and I spent a day learning to cook and bonding over the art of a good Roux. And if you are wondering if the teenager liked it, well he LOVED it! He felt like it was cooking school, a geography lesson and a history lesson all in one. The environment is authentic New Orleans and the hands on instruction and participation is encouraging and a fun and unique experience. The food was amazing! I highly recommend Mardi Gras Cooking School and Chef Bond! This cooking experience is an absolute must on your to do list in NOLA! Bön apetit, y’all!

I NO LONGER FEAR THE ROUX!!! Thank you, thank you, Chef Bond!!!
This was our favorite activity of New Orleans. Absolutely a blast.
As other reviews note, the hands-​on cooking classes take place in Chef Richard Bond’s personal home in the Algier’s Point neighborhood of New Orleans, directly across the Mississippi River from the French Quarter.
We took a 5 minute ferry ride across the river. Fare is $ 2 each. Bring exact change or you are welcome to overpay with bigger bills. The ferry ran every ½ hour.
His home is a pleasant 2 block walk from the ferry station. If you have a car — which I never recommend in the French Quarter — you can drive the bridge instead of taking the ferry.
Class was 3 ½ or 4 hours — I’m not exactly sure because we enjoyed Chef’s generously flowing wine so much… :-)
It was definitely hands on. We did everything — cleaned and chopped vegetables, made two different kinds of roux, cooked gumbo and étouffée, made chocolate bread pudding and mocha whiskey sauce — we did everything. Chef emailed us the recipes and other helpful info.
Class took place around a large center island in his residential kitchen. There was plenty of room for 5 of us, and he accepts no more than 6 in a class. You have to take turns, but hopefully you’ll have pleasant classmates like we did. They made the experience fun. There is plenty of room if everyone has a little patience and shares a little. If your mother didn’t teach you to share, book and pay for a private class. No problem, but it is fine with 5 or 6 people.
Chef Bond is a very good teacher, and talked at length about the differences between Creole and Cajun food and cooking styles.
Chef Bond’s cooking bona fides are the real deal — he studied in Florence, Italy and Le Cordon Bleu in NYC. He recently appeared on the television show Chopped.
We are both accomplished cooks, and both learned a lot and totally loved the class. At least one of our classmates wasn’t quite as comfortable with a knife or frying pan, and she seemed to enjoy the class just as much.
The wine… was very tasty and generously flowing. No, the wine didn’t start until the chopping ended
and the knives were put away. As Chef said, «we’re making gumbo, not thumbo!»
The food… was simply outstanding. I have consumed a lot of bread pudding and gumbo in my life, and plenty of étouffée. I can HONESTLY say that Chef Bond’s recipes for all three are my favorites ever. His gumbo and étouffée are not overly heavy, as many are, and his bread pudding was simply outstanding and delicious. The best. I’m so happy to have cooked all of these dishes, and to take home his fantastic recipes. As is said, I no longer fear the roux.
He does other, more advanced classes, or you can select the entire menu when advance booking your class.
The experience was worth every penny. Chef Bond is funny and delightful, and a great teacher. His helper John is a funny and very nice man.
We give Mardi Gras School of Cooking our highest endorsement and recommendation.
We hope you’ll love it, as we did.

Chef Richard is a great chef, cook and teacher. My wife and I recently took his class while visiting New Orleans for a bit of fun and relaxation. My wife is a personal chef and has always wanted to learn the art of making a great gumbo as well as learn some techniques for southern style cooking. You will learn the patience for making a Cajun roux for a gumbo and then a Creole roux for a Shrimp Creole or a Crawfish Etouffe. Remember… patience is the key!
The day starts with a ride across the Mississippi (which is the easiest) and a walk in Algiers Point. When you arrive, the class takes place in Chef Richard’s home where he is prepped and ready with aprons in hand. His assistant John (A.K.A. ‘JFK’) has worked hard to get all the prep done and ready to assist where needed. Be prepared to get a hands-​on experience from making the bread pudding, to cutting the vegetables for the various dishes, to cutting the meats, to making the roux and finally making the final dishes. So do not go thinking you will just sit and watch! My wife and I definitely learned a lot and had fun at the same time!
Chef Richard opens his house to his guests and if you allow, his dog Gumbo (a dachshund) will hang out and you will see a truly beautiful home. The best part of the whole experience is eating. You will try each dish with a bit of wine and if lucky, you will experience a bit of southern hospitality with a neighbor stopping in to try the dish as well.
There are few disclaimers…
— If you are looking to cook but on a ‘diet’, leave the diet at home for the day or the vacation. Good southern cooking uses butter, vegetable oil and did I mention butter. You are going to learn how to cook a few great southern dishes and get a baseline to figure out how to modify once you get home so don’t hassle with the diet and go there to learn! You can hit the gym the next day if needed!
— If you have an allergy, let the chef know ahead of time. You will eat and prepare onions, garlic, green peppers, red peppers, butter, vegetable oil, chicken, sausage, crawfish, scallions, parsley, bread, chocolate, eggs, milk and finally rice. Example: If you need gluten free, ask!
— This is Chef Richard’s house and he has a dog. He will keep the dog in the other room if you have an aversion to animals.
Overall the experience was great! This is not your typical class and you get a full ‘hands-​on’ experience in a kitchen that resembles yours with a chef who is truly enjoying what he does. If you want to learn a bit of New Orleans cooking, then I highly recommend a trip across the river to take this class with Chef Richard!

We really had a great time and the food was excellent! The hands on made a big difference! We took the sauces class and learned some great inside tips! We enjoyed the company and the relaxed atmosphere! It was well worth the trip! We will definitely do it again! The only thing we didn’t know was that we could have driven to the location rather than take the Ferry which definitely would have been our preference. But we will know better next time!

Chef Bond’s cooking school is a fantastic experience. The cooking is truly hands on, and the food is absolutely delicious — we will definitely do our best to recreate his recipes at home. Chef Bond is a seasoned chef who is generous in sharing his expertise and is also a charming host, welcoming students in his 150-​year old home. A must for all foodies visiting New Orleans.

I MUST say, this was a really great experience and I will definitely do this again! The bread pudding was excellent… I love that it was a hands. We started off making the bread pudding to put in the oven, then we moved onto chopping all ingredients for the gumbo and étouffée. Once everything was chopped, we were taught how to make roux and started making our gumbo and crawfish étouffée. After everything was done, we plated our food and all sat down together and enjoyed our wonderfully cooked meal with some wine!

Our hands-​on cooking class at Chef Richard Bond’s Mardi Gras School of Cooking was the highlight of our long weekend in New Orleans, and possibly the best meal of the trip.
I’m a reasonable cook, but I’ve always been totally intimidated by Cajun and Creole roux (the basis of gumbo and étouffée). I thought they were difficult, time-​consuming, easy to mess up, and just not for me. No more!
We took the ferry to the charming neighborhood of Algiers (never would have done that otherwise) and were met by Richard’s assistant Patrick for the 5 minute walk to Richard’s 140-​year old house. We were the only two students this time, but I think he will teach up to 6.
After a brief introduction to New Orleans cooking, and a discussion of the plans for the day, we set out to make chocolate bread pudding. (It takes the longest to cook.) For a precise person like me, it took a little getting used to measuring by eye, and mixing by hand, but it was actually lots of fun. (Richard provides detailed recipes with precise measurements, but he wants you to learn how flexible and forgiving these dishes are.) Stale bread, eggs, milk, butter, sugar, mini chips, mixed together and into the oven, while we went on to the main courses.
Richard talked to us about Cajun and Creole roux, had us chop the Cajun «trinity» (onions, celery and green pepper) then sent both of us to the stove to each make the Cajun roux for our gumbo, giving us detailed coaching while we cooked. I always thought it took a half hour or more to make a dark roux. With Richard’s method, I did it in about 10 minutes. The neat thing is that, even in a class of six, everyone gets to make the roux, since this is the key to so much New Orleans cooking. After that, the ingredients went together easily and the chicken and sausage gumbo simmered while we went on to the étouffée.
Richard and Patrick had already prepared the crayfish and broth, so I confidently moved on to making the (lighter) roux. Then everything went into the pan to simmer.
The gumbo was (almost) as good as the gumbo I’d had the previous night at Cochon, and the étouffée was tastier (if slightly less refined) than the one we had the next day at Galatoire’s. And while I make a pretty mean bread pudding, Richard’s was absolutely amazing. (And with mocha brandy sauce to boot.)
As I said, we are experienced cooks, but the instruction from Richard and Patrick was so clear, detailed and patient, that I am absolutely confident that anyone, even a complete beginner, would be equally successful. We certainly learned a lot, and had a blast.
Beyond that, we got to spend three fascinating and entertaining hours listening to Richard’s stories, his cooking lore, restaurant recommendations and more, and had an absolutely fantastic meal.
We can’t recommend this class highly enough. We’ll be back for more on our next trip.

Taking Chef Bonds cooking class was by far one of the best decisions we made all trip! It was not only educational, fun, but super delicious too! It was my sister, best friend, and myself and we had the absolute best time. We’ve been recreating the recipes we made which brings us back to the amazing experience we had! A unique and fun experience that I would highly recommend to anyone!

The day started with some confusion as the ferry schedule had just changed and didn’t run until an hour later than we thought. Suggestion: check the ferry schedule before you go! The five of us caught a cab and found Chef Bond’s house without too much incident.
Once we arrived, we found a warm welcome and champagne and had tons of fun! Hopefully we had given them adequate warning that our group would be boisterous because we were. Fortunately, Chef Robin was just a loud as the rest of us and gave us some great tips. The other two participants were wonderful and fun and became fast friends during the four hours we were there.
The service was fantastic (thanks Patrick for all those wine refills), the chefs were very knowledgeable and helpful, and the final product – the food – was fabulous! We learned to make roux, bread pudding, gumbo, and étouffée. The engineer in our group learned to overcome her fear of NOT measuring, we all learned that cooking on high heat is nothing to be afraid of, and by the end we felt like family.
In the end, we all learned a lot (even the seasoned cooks in our group), spent a delightful day, and were fueled to wander the French Quarter all evening! We will definitely come back when we return to New Orleans!

This class is the worst customer experience of my life. I was bullied and humiliated by Chef Bond.
The class takes place in his small house. It’s not a «school» or professional setting. He disingenuously forgot to mention that in the course description. There’s no licensing/​health inspection proof on display.
When I entered his house in December 2010, before I said anything, he already disliked me. I don’t know why.
He accidentally hit me on the head with his elbow, because the kitchen’s a very cramped space. «Oops,» he said. I told him that it’s okay, and he replied, «You don’t want to be here, do you?» as if I did something wrong. I did want to be there, but that was before I realized that he didn’t. I told him «it’s okay» again, and he laughed at me. Most people would have apologized.
The chef got ruder throughout the day. I was patiently waiting for him to finish his story and tell me when I should pour sugar in the bowl. Instead of asking politely, he said, «Well, are you gonna pour the sugar or do I have to ask someone else?» as though I wasn’t participating and my «horrible attitude» was ruining everyone’s time. I complied and did not defend myself, though I felt uncomfortable and unwelcome.
Later, the person next to me accidentally sprayed garlic juice in my eyes (the kitchen’s a cramped space). While I was washing my eyes out at the sink, Chef Bond criticized me for apparently rubbing onion juice in my eyes with my unwashed fingers (which my sister did 2 minutes ago, not me). I explained that I did not rub onion juice in my eyes, but he would not listen and took offense to my «talking back» to him.
He threw a temper tantrum. He was out of control, loud, and condescending, telling me that I was «the most closed-​minded and difficult student» he’d ever had. Everyone in the kitchen tried to explain what happened, but he refused to listen as he stubbornly interrupted them all. I asked him to stop yelling and being rude, so he threatened to kick me out of his house. My mother tried to explain what really happened, but he rudely interrupted her and told her I was disrespecting her, because I wasn’t appreciating that she spent her hard-​earned money on this «treat.»
By the time he finally understood what actually happened, he said that it wasn’t his fault for not listening – it’s my fault for «not explaining clearly enough.» He said he was «just trying to help» me. Immediately after he said that, he told me I had an ugly face. I was in tears at this point, so he was content and finally stopped.
To this day, I have not received an apology from Bond. He is arrogant, sexist, and has no idea what customer service is. More dangerously, this is a man who would rather yell at customers for kitchen accidents than listen and help them. Because this setting is so unprofessional, he can get away with anything. He is already paid in advance, so he thinks there’s no risk in losing money if he treats his customers like dirt. Luckily, he’s wrong – I was able to get Groupon to refund me, and Groupon has now refused to continue doing business with him.
FOOD:
The shrimp was subpar, and the gumbo made my dad throw up a day later. Bond’s food is so bad that he once settled a lawsuit for food poisoning the homeless.
INSTRUCTION:
The class is NOT completely hands-​on and doesn’t offer special expertise that you couldn’t have learned from a recipe book or other cheap source. You will not get your own workplace to make your own meal; this is 1 home kitchen with 6 people cooking the same meal. You’ll get isolated tasks to help create part of the meal, but not the holistic experience – you’ll have to stand by at times and watch other students cook. For about 2 hours, I had nothing to do. The chef did all the plating himself. Nobody remembered the recipes because he didn’t e-​mail them to us or give us a book. As someone who has taken multiple cooking classes, this one is the worst.
UPDATE:
Upon writing this review, I’ve received a thank-​you message from Bond’s son-​in-​law that has never met him, who told me that Bond is a «scum bag dead beat dad» who «stole money from my wife’s family and moved to New Orleans.» I’m glad my money never went to, as he put it, «this sorry excuse of a man.»
Bond’s unfriendliness was even televised. I saw him on Chopped (New Orleans edition. He’s not qualified to be selected for the regular show), where he called every other contestant «moron,» soon before being the first person to get «chopped» (kicked off the show for having the worst dish). Maybe he should try baking humble pie.
TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ:
Save your money, or spend it on one of NOLA’s many authentic cooking schools. You could even spend it on a recipe book and an elegant dinner at a restaurant. You will learn more, eat better food, and won’t be treated like trash.
Don’t just take my word for it – scroll down and read the «not recommended» reviews. Many people on Unilocal and TripAdvisor report similarly appalling experiences.

Just got back from a WONDERFUL week with my family in «the Big Easy» topped off with an AMAZING HANDS ON cooking class led by Chef Richard Bond. He and his assistant Patrick, treated us like kings and queens, in his intimate real world setting. we were thrilled and educated with culinary skills like correct knife skills, demystifying roux making (who knew it was so complex… different colors and smells and uses) we cooked and ate gumbo, étouffée, bread pudding all while being liberally treated to local history, color and adult beverages .
We will definitely be returning to visit Chef and Patrick to further our culinary adventures… If you ever have the opportunity to take this class do it… A DEFINITE «MUST DO!»

Ok so this was a reeealllly good class. The reviewer that complained about no health dept stickers is right there aren’t eny. Get the ^&*^&*(*&^B05444^^%E%$%E over it. No stikers ainywhaare but nuttin but gooood coooookin… we all know that Unilocal lets the &*((holes speak loudly.
I’m picky as hell but this was a really great experience. oh And the wine is included…
Susan and I were in NOLA this past week and found the listing for this class.
A FREE FERRY BOAT RIDE across the M I S S I S S I P P I river and Chef Bond met us for the walk back to his place. in Algiers.
Susan is allergic to choco lait so Chef stopped the class and went shopping to get stuff for a pineapple bread pudding instead of the listed chooo co lait puddin.
We made rouxx and then more rouxx, we chopped like julia julia or what ever the movie is called, we made rouxx.
Did i mentcheeeon the rouxx? what ever. as my 95 year old mom would say ‘get the damn cat outa the kitchen and lezz cooook.” ok she only said the first part ‘damn cat’ but any way this is an experience not jus a clazz.
oh yah, de wine is free.
uhh did i mentcheeon the wine?
I grew up watching the old Justin Wilson (google this) cook show and larnt’ to say ‘on yon an ‘garrrr leek’ before i wazzz sevin… (shut the hek up I doo no how to spell dang stop in ter up tin…
seriously serously serous… book the clazz have good time, eat and then sleep untuul about 9pm… (that part reallly happened…)
you will luv it unless you r nuuuur ot ic.
Cheers,