Joan Nathan on Jewish Cooking Joan Nathan was an engaging teacher. But the three dishes that she chose to cook didn't all turn out well - in her opinion - and that was disappointing. I would love to do a class where there is more class hands on opportunity to participate, but Southern Season may not do its classes that way.

Gift basket ordering I have been a long-time customer of Southern Season (since they were in Eastgate) but we moved away from NC 5 years ago due to a job relocation. I like to give Southern Season baskets for special occasions and in the past they had a great selection. For this most recent purchase the basket I wanted to send was out of stock, but I ordered it anyway since there was no rush to have it sent immediately. Customer service called and notified me that the item was out of stock and could not state when it would be available again. Therefore, I replaced the gift basket with another one at a similar price. I also had trouble with the website with my initial purchase, since NO e-mail confirmation was sent. Only after talking to Customer Service, did I receive an e-mail. I also am a Premier card holder and my discount and free shipping was not applied to this order. Overall, the gift basket selection online is limited and using the Premier card online does not work. For the future, I will stick with just purchasing items at the store when I am back in Chapel Hill (once a year). I love Southern Season, but since online purchasing is less satisfactory it makes sense to do only in-store purchases.

Need more advanced or unique hands-on classes. I have found the last two hands on classes wasteful of time. I will only attend non hands on from now on unless targeted for more advanced cooks. A long lesson in cutting onions, for instance, wasn't a good use of time for someone like me who has attended dozens of culinary classes. Could you offer hands on for more experienced home cooks?

Review of Joan Nathan cooking class Joan Nathan herself was wonderful. However, the microphones were not properly adjusted for her voice to carry to the back where I was sitting - and I have excellent hearing. I made at least 2 requests for the mikes to be fixed better and nothing was done. Furthermore, the camera operator kept forgetting to focus on the FOOD preparation. I needed to use the screen to watch because of where I was sitting and I often couldn't really see what I needed to. I have taken several cooking courses at SS and this was the most disappointing on a technical and preparation level. Usually, the helpers have everything out - or know where it is - and are tuned in immediately to what the guest chef needs. This was lacking in the Joan Nathan course. These are expensive classes and, even if I am the only one with this kind of review, you should take pains to keep us coming back.

Southern Season has gone completely downhill. Used to love Southern Season. Unfortunately they have gone completely downhill since bankruptcy. They no longer honor their gift cards and the one class that I have attended since the acquisition was a total disappointment. Advanced gingerbread house decorating was like a young child's holiday themed party. I can believe I paid $50 for it. First, the woman teaching it was not knowledgeable of the subject. She made frosting so runny, it was a challenge to get candy to even stick to the house. They also didn't have enough candy and suggested we go buy more from the store ourselves. For the price of the class, enough candy should have been provided. Not sure I will ever sign up for another class at SS.