The Mansion on Forsyth Park is considered one of Savannah’s finest hotels, impressing guests with its luxe accommodations, modern amenities and eye-popping artwork. For visitors who like to dabble in the kitchen, the hotel may just be a match made in heaven.  Classes at the Mansion's 700 Kitchen Cooking School take place inside a full-size kitchen. — Photo courtesy of Mansion on Forsyth Park

The Mansion’s 700 Kitchen Cooking School offers a variety of courses for individuals or groups up to 15. Participants not only learn tricks of the trade, they have the opportunity to prepare and enjoy their own culinary creations.

The school, led by chef and culinary director Darin Sehnert, offers a variety of courses in its full-size kitchen, from the practical–Know Your Knife, in which participants learn about the most important tool in the kitchen–to the worldly–Paella Party, an entertaining class that introduces guests to the world of Sofrito and prepares them to throw their own flavorful fiesta.

An artful salad at the Mansion's restaurant, 700 Drayton. — Photo courtesy of Mansion on Forsyth Park

When guests aren’t busy in the kitchen, they can sit back and enjoy the culinary masterpieces prepared at the Mansion’s restaurant, 700 Drayton. The highly regarded eatery boasts fresh seafood and regionally inspired dishes such as Savannah Seafood Purloo, which combines local grilled shrimp, Sapelo Island clams, calamari, red rice, Andouille sausage and okra in a tomato fennel broth, and pan roasted Southern coast grouper with whipped parsnips, sautéed bitter greens, crawfish and Tasso cream.

In addition to its cooking school and restaurant, the Mansion also features a world-class spa, art gallery and chic lounge. You may never feel the need to leave your luxurious digs, but if you do, you’ll find that all of Savannah’s best restaurants and historic attractions are within walking distance.