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Sydney Seafood School

Bank Street Pyrmont | Sydney Fish Market, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
+ 61 2 9004 1111
Website
Sandstone entry wall by sculptor Michael Purdy
Casual, comfortable dining room to enjoy the fruits of your labour
State-of-the art hands-on cooking facilities
Tiered, fish leather-lined auditorium for cooking demonstration
4 visitor photos
Ranked #89 of 302 attractions in Sydney
4.5 of 5 stars 5 Reviews
Owner description: With 13,000 guests a year attending classes, Sydney Seafood School is Australia’s leading cooking school. It was established in 1989, when Sydney’s...... more » Owner description: With 13,000 guests a year attending classes, Sydney Seafood School is Australia’s leading cooking school. It was established in 1989, when Sydney’s food obsession was in its infancy; French was the largest category in leading restaurant guides and Asian flavours, taken for granted today, were still considered exotic. The NSW fishing fleet caught plenty of whiting, bream, snapper and flathead to supply the local market. But in doing so, they also netted octopus, squid, red mullet, crabs, mussels and other species with which shoppers weren’t familiar … at least not familiar enough to take them home and cook them. A large part of the fishermen’s catch was unwanted and sold as bait or for next to nothing to those who did appreciate it. Initially established to create a demand for these more unusual species, the School has slowly broadened its reach to teach local, interstate and overseas food-lovers how to cook a huge variety of cuisines. While seafood is still its raison d'être, there's no longer any need to convince most people to try cooking with mussels, octopus or crabs, in fact abalone, sashimi, pipis and sea-snails don't daunt many of the food-savvy guests who now fill classes most weekday evenings and weekends. Asian flavours are in demand, with a class beginning in the Thai shops of Chinatown among the most popular; and leading Australian chefs, including Christine Manfield, Matthew Moran and Guillaume Brahimi, are among the School’s presenters. All classes commence in the School’s tiered auditorium with a demonstration of the dish or dishes to be prepared. It may look easy in skilled hands, but recreating it later in your own kitchen can be quite another thing. This is where Sydney Seafood School is unique … after watching the demonstration, guests roll up their sleeves and, in groups of five with guidance from the presenter and assistants, recreate the dishes, preparing a delicious seafood meal which they then sit down and enjoy with a complimentary wine tasting. To celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2009, the School underwent a major refurbishment by leading designer Michael McCann of dreamtime australia design, making it Australia’s most beautiful cooking school with a stunning sandstone entry wall by award-winning sculptor Michael Purdy, Icelandic fish leather lining the auditorium, and wild ‘blackboard graffiti’ on the hands-on kitchen walls. Rich oak wood panelling, an aubergine-hued marble demonstration bench, sleek stainless steel and lots of glass complete the look. Guests cook at custom-made, stainless steel cooking islands fitted with state-of-the-art Fisher & Paykel appliances, including a gas CookSurface, oven, refrigeration unit and extraction system. Hettich soft close drawers, hinges and runners ensure all cabinetry opens and closes smoothly and silently and 46" High Definition LCD Sharp television screens above the demonstration bench ensure a perfect view of all the cooking action.Once the cooking's over, guests adjourn to the dining room which features a 180º photomural of Blackwattle Bay and fishnet chandeliers with over 6,000 gently glowing globes. It's casual but comfortable with cloth serviettes, Villeroy & Boch china and Spiegelau glassware, plus coffee from the School's Nespresso coffee machines. Sydney Seafood School conducts a wide range of classes for all skill levels, from a simple paella or stir-fry to the more complex weekend workshops with leading chefs. A vast array of cuisines and cooking styles are covered, including the School's most popular class, Seafood BBQ, using built-in 5-burner Beefeater gas barbecues and scheduled five or six times a month to keep up with demand! « less
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5 reviews from our community

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Sydney, Australia
Senior Contributor
37 reviews 37 reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Great place to learn in a comfortable environment”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 April 2012

This is a great place to learn- you get a full demonstration in a small amphitheatre followed by a practical session in a very well equipped room. Great value and very memorable. More

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See 10 more reviews by writetomarlon for Sydney
Sydney, Australia
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“Seafood classes fun”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 December 2011

The classes are great fun, high quality and you eat your lunch afterwards! The do the demo, then you get to try yourself in small groups More

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See 6 more reviews by DandBSydney for Sydney
Sydney, Australia
Contributor
13 reviews 13 reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
“great experience”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 November 2011
2
people found this review helpful

I took the Seafood BBQ course, really first class facilities, instructions and hands on experience. The "class" is for about 40 people, but it still feels intimate. The teacher was a bit nervy, edgy 40 something from Sydney - but still very good. You then break off into small groups of about 7 for the hands on. Very well organized... More

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Sydney, Australia
1 review
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
“nice day out - educational and yummy”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 18 November 2011
4
people found this review helpful

I got "talked into" going with my wife, must say I really enjoyed it. The demo part was a bit long winded for (I have short attention span and get bored easily) me, but informative and I learnt some stuff The cooking part was great fun, hectic, but very enjoyable. The eating what you cooked bit at the end was... More

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Sydney
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“A non tasting cooking school”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 18 July 2011
1
person found this review helpful

I signed up for the Sydney Seafood School's Barbeque Seafood class and attended last Saturday. It is a good format; the dishes are cooked by a demonstrator, then you go to an adjacent kitchen and cook them for yourself. At the conclusion of the demonstration when most of the class had gone to the kitchen I asked the demonstrator if... More

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RobertaSydney, Manager at Sydney Seafood School, responded to this review
15 November 2011

I'm glad GrouchoSydney enjoyed the format of our Seafood BBQ class - it is our most popular class. Regarding not being able to taste the demonstrated dishes: - unlike most cooking schools we don't offer tastings - instead our guests actually cook the demonstrated dishes then go and sit down in our dining room and eat what they've prepared with... More

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Sydney Seafood School
Bank Street Pyrmont Sydney Fish Market
Sydney, New South Wales
Australia
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