Tour With Your Taste Buds

You’ve taken a carriage ride. You’ve done the ghost tour. Now head to Charleston Cooks!, a wonderful kitchen shop on East Bay Street, for a Lowcountry cooking class. “Charleston has a unique cuisine, with all its history and culture,” says culinary director Danielle Wecksler. “We wanted to give people a little bite of what we experience here every day. That’s how this class was born.”

The store offers its demonstration-style Taste of the Lowcountry classes several afternoons a week at 2 p.m. Though the menu changes daily, you’ll sample such dishes as blackened pork tenderloin, gumbo, lemon-broccoli pirlau, and bourbon pecan pie. The $25 admission fee includes a three-course tasting, so eat sparingly before you go.

Be sure to save time for some shopping at Charleston Cooks! too. Participants get a same-day 10% discount on merchandise or future classes. For a complete schedule of cooking classes and special events, visit www.mavericksouthernkitchens.com, or call (843) 722-1212. In addition to several ongoing educational series, special appearances by top chefs such as cookbook author James Peterson, Italy’s Giuliano Hazan, and TV host Marvin Woods are scheduled throughout the year.