My Kingdom for a (Decent) Biscuit!

For everyone who has ever struggled through a mouthful of dry, stale, stodgy breakfast biscuit, Chef Regina Charboneau has a delicious lesson to impart. In April the acclaimed chef and founder of the Biscuits and Blues restaurants—who also owns Natchez’s Twin Oaks B&B and King’s Tavern restaurant—will open Regina’s Kitchen, a cooking school offering fun, casual classes in downtown Natchez. First item on the curriculum of vital Southern culinary techniques: “The Art of the Biscuit,” a daily crash course on making beautiful, pillowy, fresh biscuits from scratch every time. Taking over the Main Street address that was once home to High Cotton catering company, Charboneau will offer short (approx. 45-minute) classes designed to send locals and visitors home armed with delicious, useful cooking techniques that will serve as a kind of lasting culinary “memento” of their Natchez visit. “I’ll show people how I use my ‘tea towel technique’ to get perfect biscuits every time,” Charboneau said, “then send them home with a tea towel with the recipe on it.” Beyond biscuits, Charboneau is planning classes around simple, flavorsome Southern techniques like from-scratch salad dressings, or making the most of your slow cooker or sous vide machine. Sharing the premises will be a wine bar offering by-the-glass pours and wine flights and a cheese/charcuterie counter—both of which Natchez has heretofore gone without. While the classes, and the wine and cheese bar are designed to appeal to day-trippers and weekend visitors as well as locals, Charboneau readily admits that there’s an element of self-interest at work, too. “The whole idea is not to compete with anyone,” she said, “but I’m also setting out to create the things I miss and need and want in Natchez. I haven’t been this excited since I opened King’s Tavern five years ago.” 

The cooking school will open on April 15 at 312 Main Street. Visit reginaskitchen.com for details.