Château Élan Winery and Resort
Braselton
Château Élan Winery and Resort is just 40 minutes north of Atlanta, and 3,500 acres of estate vineyards surround the winery, which is housed in a 16th-century-style French chateau.
In addition to restaurants, a conference center and a spa, the winery is home to the Viking Culinary Studio, which can do cooking demonstrations for groups of up to 150 people. Hands-on cooking classes are available for up to 60 people at individual cooking stations, and lessons include such wide-ranging options as making a three-course meal and sitting down to enjoy it in the room next door, and facing off in “Iron Chef”-style competitions. A large pavilion on the ground floor below the studio is ideal for groups of more than 150 people. The culinary team will break the group into teams of 20, and each team will work with a chef to prepare a different portion of the meal, from appetizers to dessert, served either at a buffet or during a plated dinner. For meats, participants can even pick out their steaks before throwing them on the grill. Some attendees have even played the role of wait staff.
And, of course, there is always “plenty of our wine flowing during the cooking process,” said Doug Rollins.
With six restaurants and two bars, there are plenty of ways to experience Château Élan’s food and wine outside of the studio. The Taste of Georgia experience pairs Château Élan’s wine with local Georgia products such as cheese, bread, chocolate and even olive oil from the Georgia Olive Farms, which grows and presses its own olives.
As part of a recent $2 million renovation, the winery added a 50-seat climate-controlled veranda at the 130-seat Café Élan as well as two private dining rooms that can seat 12 and 24 people, respectively. Groups can also dine in the vineyard or other unique locations around the property and can arrange dining experiences built around different themes, such as the harvest, Southern cooking, or rum and other spirits.
Serenbe
Chatt Hills
It’s difficult to call Serenbe a “development,” and the moniker doesn’t do it justice. The master-planned sustainable community embraces plenty of the lush, rolling green of Chattahoochee Hill Country, and Serenbe’s four hamlets each focus on one element: arts, agriculture, nourishment or health.
Groups can schedule cooking classes at the Bosch Experience Center, a 16,000-square-foot event space with a professional kitchen. The center can accommodate up to 100 people, although cooking classes must have at least 10 people and no more than 30.
“It’s a very personal hands-on class that invites everyone to help with slicing and dicing and getting their hands dirty,” said Janet Marie Gunnels, communication manager at Serenbe.
The Farmhouse at Serenbe restaurant uses produce from its own kitchen garden and from the community’s 25-acre organic farm. Groups can arrange to tour the farm, eat at the Farmhouse and stay at the Inn at Serenbe, in the same restored 1905 farmhouse. The Inn has 33 rooms in various buildings on the property, among them the farmhouse, a converted 1930s barn, cottages and a lake house.
Groups of 10 or more can arrange Dinner Under the Stars in the backyard of the farmhouse and enjoy six al fresco courses of seasonal cuisine that feature produce grown in the garden and on the farm. At the Lake Pavilion, up to 400 people can dine in an open-air pavilion with a stone fireplace and views of the lake and pastures.
Georgia Peach World
Townsend
About 50 miles south of Savannah on Interstate 95, travelers should make a “pit” stop at Georgia Peach World. The country store opened its second location in 2015 and now has two stores — one on the northbound exit and another on the southbound exit of Interstate 95 at exit 58.
The exterior has been described as rustic, ramshackle and rinky-dink, but the facade doesn’t do justice to what hides behind it: a wall-to-wall inventory of fresh produce, homemade treats and old-fashioned delights.
Although Georgia peach season is short, the country store and outdoor market offer a vast array of fresh produce and local homemade goods throughout the year. Georgia peaches from local farmers are available May through August, but visitors will find a wide variety of peach goodies any time: peach cider, peach wine, peach slushies, peach salsas, peach butters and peach jellies.
Visitors can choose from plentiful free samples. Anyone who stops in can sip and taste products offered in jars or bottles, including preserves, sauces, ciders and wines. The stores also sell old-fashioned candies and fudge, homemade peach ice cream and baked goods such as peach bread, peach fritters and pecan pie. Shoppers can buy pecans when they’re in season or dip into the vat of boiled peanuts.
