Cooking Classes at Sydney Seafood School, Pyrmont

Have you ever attended a cooking class? The Sydney Seafood Cooking School is located within the Sydney Fish Markets in Pyrmont. The cooking class is a great opportunity to pick up some new cooking skills, learn some recipes and meet new people.

I personally will be the first to admit that I am not the best cook so I will take all the help I can get. There's a whole bunch of classes to choose from but with Matt's allergy to shell fish - we decide to choose "Easy Japanese".

As you walk in, you will pick up a recipe book which has a lot of useful information such as the recipe, the ingredients and handy hints like where to shop for obscure Japanese ingredients.  I walk into the cooking class which starts in a mini lecture room. I sit down along with approximately 50 other people on this particular Friday night. 

This particular night, we are learning to cook two easy Japanese dishes, a flavoursome Hapuku Udon and a Chirashi (sashimi on flavoured rice). 

The cooking class starts with a step by step guide on what the ingredients are and where to buy them. I've never made an Udon broth before but the core ingredients are made of Bonito flakes and Kombu to make a dashi broth. Apparently Japanese Kombu can be hard to find in Sydney but you can find Korean versions quite readily.

The dashi broth is a base soup for many Japanese dishes such as ramen, miso soup, udon and is also used as a seasoning in other dishes. As the broth is brewing, we also talk about knife techniques, types of fish and we also watch the Chirashi being prepared.

People call out questions about the ingredients asking about the shiso leaves and asking when do you know when the udon noodles are ready.  I listen intently but I am grateful that there is also a recipe book as I may not necessarily remember each step by step. Matt, by comparison is able to recall what should be done step by step just by listening to the cooking class. 

The dishes are now complete and they look amazing. I manage to take a photo of the Chirashi before it's my turn to cook but the Udon is cleared before I get to take a photo. The Chirashi looks beautifully presented and I hope I can do a great replica.

I walk into the kitchen area where you are split up into groups of 4-6. Each mini kitchen has a sink, stove top and a fridge at the end. All the utensils are laid out ready for the group.

Matt and I join a group where there are 4 ladies who are friendly and seem to be quite good cooks. We all put on our aprons. I'm happy to take their lead as I haven't been able to recall the instructions as well. Everyone has another look at the recipe book and we all get into the cooking!

There's lots of chopping in preparation for the Hapuku Udon while the broth is boiling and also lots of chopping for the Chirashi dish. There's lots of joking around as we are cooking. I'm having so much fun.

Everyone is pitching in and we are making good progress on our dishes.  I can also see other tables making good progress and all the food looks like it resembles the original which is good!

So fast forward, here is the final product. Does our Chirashi look like the original? The Chirashi looks so amazing and I'm starting to get hungry in anticipation.

The Udon is also ready and looks so delicious. The Hapuku fish sits on top of the udon noodles and is topped with spring onions. The broth smells amazing! We are ready to eat.

Our group is one of the first to be ready. Matt goes with one of the ladies to set the table and we are ready to rock and roll. Our dinner is served up with a delicious bottle of rose and we are ready to eat our amazing food creations.

We sit down to a bowl of Hapuku Udon to ourselves and we share the large serving plate of Chirashi in our group. Now that the cooking is done, it's a great opportunity to get to know our new friends. Two of the ladies are visiting from Adelaide and their daughters are from Sydney. 

We talk about what our favourite restaurants and favourite foods are while we enjoy our dinner. We consume all of the udon, the Chirashi and the bottle of rose. There's also an option to purchase more wine if you desire.

Summary: So for something different, why not check out the cooking classes at the Sydney Fish Market. It's a great way to enhance your cooking skills and you get to eat the fruits of your labour.

It's also a great group activity or you can meet new people too! There's lots of different classes to choose from 

Price: Depends on the class / cuisine $90 for 2 hours, $130 for 3 hours, $165 for 4 hour classes

Website: https://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/seafood-school/cooking-classes

Location: The reception is open 8am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday, you can book in person or online. The actual classes are located at Sydney Fish Market, Bank St, enter the arcade from the car park and then go through the double glass doors on the left opposite to Doyles.

Opening Hours: 
There are classes on the weekend or after hours from 6:30pm on weekdays

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of the venue or their representatives. All photos, opinions and words are my own.