3

Southern Essentials

1.5

Hours
$
45
Per Person

If you want to taste Atlanta and not just see it, this is the 1.5-hour experience to book.The Southern Biscuits and Pimiento Cheese Cooking Class is a 1.5-hour, hands-on “Southern Essentials” cooking experience that introduces you to three dishes that define Southern comfort and Atlanta flavor: flaky, buttery biscuits, classic homemade pimento cheese, and refreshingly sweet iced tea.

This isn’t a demo you watch from the sidelines. You’ll roll, mix, stir, and sip your way through the foundations of Southern cooking while learning why these dishes matter, and why they’ve been passed down through generations of Atlanta kitchens. Along the way, you’ll pick up easy techniques, local food stories, and insider tips you can actually recreate back home.
Perfect for teams looking to try something new and low-pressure, this experience is fun for everyone, seasoned chefs and new cooks alike! It’s quick, fun, interactive, and delicious.

Join Unexpected Atlanta, the city’s #1-rated tour company with over 2,400 glowing reviews and over a decade of delicious storytelling. Come hungry. Leave knowing how the South really cooks. 

Book Southern Biscuits and Pimiento Cheese Cooking Class
Food Tastings Include:
Atlanta Southern Essentials class with pimento cheese

Pimento Cheese

Sweet Tea

Unexpected Atlanta Biscuit Class - Atlanta Restaurants for Large Groups

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Tour Details

Cost:

$45 for all tickets, weekday, weekend, and evening!
20% service fee added for private groups

When:

Available on request!

What’s included:

a hands-on Southern essentials class where you’ll make Southern biscuits, pimiento cheese, and sweet tea;
an awesome and friendly host;
take-home recipe cards;
enough food for a hearty snack;

Food restrictions:

Due to the nature of classic Southern biscuits, we don’t recommend making dairy-free or gluten-free biscuits for the class. However, we can accommodate food restrictions and allergies on this tour and class as long as we know about them in advance.

Booking deadline:

We prefer 2 weeks notice for private classes, but we can sometimes accommodate 48 hours notice. Please check in by calling if you have a short turnaround.

Class size:

6 people minimum, 25 people maximum

What to wear:

Comfortable clothes and comfortable shoes

What to bring:

An appetite and enthusiasm!

Weather conditions:

Tour takes place rain or shine. It’s almost entirely indoors.

Distance:

0.2 miles, entirely indoors!

Parking:

Parking is an additional cost for this experience. We recommend utilizing public transportation because the Atlanta Streetcar ($1 per ride) stops directly in front of the Curb Market.

Meeting point:

Just inside the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. Details provided once tickets are purchased.

Highlights Include:

  • Entertaining and informative stories of Atlanta’s oldest market
  • Mouth-watering recipes with a focus on adapting to suit your individual palate
  • Hands-on Southern biscuit-making class with local jam
  • Hands-on pimento cheese class
  • Make your own sweet tea
  • Discovering the history of biscuits and bread-making
  • Perfect for solo travelers or groups

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Frequently Asked Questions About Private Atlanta Cooking Classes

About the Food

Our Southern Essentials Class combines history, storytelling, and delicious food. It mashes together easy recipes you can recreate at home with stories to make your class memorable and fun.

This Atlanta Southern Essentials cooking class is a completely unique experience!

You’ll make pimiento cheese, fluffy buttermilk biscuits, and sweet tea.

This is the perfect portion for an appetizer, light lunch, or midday snack—but if you’d like a full meal, we can help! Just tell us your timeline, budget, and dietary preferences, and we’ll help you create the perfect meal to complement this fun, hands-on class.

This class is meant for everyone! Whether you’re a seasoned cook who knows their way around a kitchen or someone who burns water, you’ll be set up for success.

You’ll be led by our instructor, well-versed in Southern cuisine. We’ll go step-by-step so that everyone can follow along and make their own snacks. If you need any extra attention, our instructor will be happy to assist!

Yes, this class is already vegetarian-friendly! Simply note your food restriction in the booking notes.

Due to the nature of classic Southern cooking involving butter, cheese, and gluten, we don’t recommend making dairy-free or gluten-free recipes for the class.

However, we can accommodate food restrictions and allergies on this tour and class as long as we know about them in advance.

Don’t read this if you want to be surprised!

Generally, our tastings include the following (subject to change):

  • Buttermilk biscuit and Emily G’s peach marmalade
  • Pimento cheese (spice level adaptable to each individual palate)
  • Sweet tea (or unsweet if that’s what you prefer!)

Yes! The Atlanta Southern Essentials Cooking Class takes place completely indoors in the Sweet Auburn/Municipal Market, Atlanta’s oldest urban food hall and market.

The food you’ll make during the 1.5 hour class is enough for a hearty snack.

Please let us know about severe food allergies.  Our guides also carry Benadryl but do not carry epi-pens. We cannot guarantee the absense of cross-contamination.

Yes, Private groups have a 6-person minimum and a 25-person maximum per group.

The Atlanta Southern Essentials Cooking Class covers the history of southern biscuits, pimentos, and sweet tea from 1600s to the 1900s, plus the history of the Curb Market and how it relates to Atlanta.

Not at all! There’s a bit of flour and butter to handle, but most guests find that no flour ends up on their clothing, and it’s easy to brush off. If you are concerned, we have aprons available for guests.

We mention the Civil Rights Movement briefly. But, if you want to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. or the Civil Rights Movement, we recommend our Martin Luther King Jr. History Tour.

The Municipal Market is very close to many downtown attractions and is along the Atlanta Streetcar Route. It is an easy trip on the Streetcar to the World of Coke, Georgia Aquarium, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Eastside Beltline Trail, and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park.

Wonderful! Contact us here.  We will help you organize your private tours.

0.2 miles, almost all indoors! You will be standing for at least an hour.

The tour is not ADA accessible. If you are a wheelchair user, we’ll do our best to accomodate you. Please let us know if you will be bringing a wheelchair.

Absolutely! This cooking class is held completely indoors.

Inquire Below to Reserve your Private Cooking Class!