Sydney Seafood School

We just wrapped up an incredible South East Asian cooking class at the Sydney Fish Markets, and it exceeded expectations. Guided by our talented head chef and instructor Michelle, the session was a perfect blend of learning, fun, and delicious food. Michelle brought deep knowledge, patience, and energy to the session, making everyone—from beginners to more confident cooks—feel comfortable and engaged. She walked us through three standout dishes: a BBQ chilli salt squid that had the perfect balance of heat and smokiness, a crispy fried fish that was golden perfection, and a green mango salad that was vibrant, zesty, and incredibly fresh. The ingredients were top quality (unsurprising for the Fish Markets!), the kitchen setup was professional yet welcoming, and the class had a great team-building atmosphere. Whether you're a food lover, keen home cook, or just looking for a fun experience in Sydney, this class is absolutely worth it. Looking forward to coming back for more. Highly recommended.

Great experience overall. Knowledgeable chef and wonderful ingredients to work with. The hands-on (cooking) part was a bit rushed, not sure for what reason. Felt a bit like a race but ended up well - has a tasty self-prepared octopus, prawns and fish.

The cooking class was good and the facilities adequate, did the Singaporean chilli crab, but I didn’t know it was in groups of 4, so you got to participate in the cooking but had to negotiate roles and participate less than if it was an activity done in groups of two, like every other cooking class I’ve attended. Apart from that, the rest was ok, be ready to see live crabs being used for demonstration and killed (and then do the killing yourself), which is probably obvious but maybe still worth mentioning.

This class was mind-blowing! My best friend and I had the most incredible time together. This was her birthday gift. The teachers/chefs were amazing, helpful and fun. The layout of the kitchen was super cool. Everything was very well planned and completed on time. I don't normally cook at home, so it was very intimidating watching the teachers demonstrate the cooking, but once I started preparing and cooking the food, it seemed easy. The food was so delicious!! 100% hands down one of the best experiences I've had in a long time. I'm already looking into doing another class with more friends. Thank you for such a memorable and fun day.

This was a gift from my partner and took us more than 6 months to secure our booking.. but it was worth it. We had an absolute fun day with the cooking lessons and took us an hour to kind of memorise what was transpired in the lessons (and they were rather helpful cooking techniques), but we also have a nicely printed recipes that we will cook for the day. As adults who are a bit anxious on what's gonna happen next in the itinerary, it kept us guessing what we will do next. It was an entertaining hour with the chef/teacher. Next hour we have found ourselves getting into a small group of 4. Again as people with a bit of social anxiety, it was quite a short time to get to know the ladies that we were partnered with (and apparently they were the perfectionists) and we are not so we were bombarded with several questions such as do we know what sardines are or have I ever cooked before. So if you are not as friendly as they are, maybe in hindsight choose the people that you think you can connect with. At the end of the day we all enjoyed the simple dishes, so tasty and my partner and I are looking forward to make these dishes again. Such a fun and educational experience!

Joined for a bbq seafood cooking class as a 60th birthday gift - and it was fantastic. Almost feel like capable of preparing and cooking squid. And a non fish fan the farmed Kingfish was incredibly tasty. Learned a few tricks. Fortunate to have Vinnie as our teacher who was entertaining - knowledgeable and passionate. Our cooking bench we had the pleasure of Grace assisting us stay on course. Great experience

Amazing cooking class with Grace and Jen!! Both ladies were lovely and so helpful during the hands-on part of the class! My husband and I have learnt so many tips and trick that we can apply when shopping and cooking seafood. Will definitely be looking into other classes here!

Fabulous experience with the Mediterranean Odessey class, absolutely delicious food, lovely produce & simple recipes ... would highly recommend attending as a group of 4 or 5 friends/family otherwise you'll be placed with others to make up a group which is fine as well but we had more fun this way ... we will be back soon!

The excitement learning that not only would we be going to The Sydney Seafood School but that the chef of the evening was none other than the head chef from Cho Cho San had me buzzing into the Pyrmont-based fish markets. It'd always been one of those things I'd meant to do when I lived in Sydney but for whatever reason never got around to. So I'm going to say that it was that buzz that got me through the class. I should clarify that the class itself was pretty great. We got to watch the chefs in action, learning how to fillet squid and the best way to cook fish collars, but with a starting time of 6:30pm you need to know that you won't get to eat til around 9pm after you and your cooking buddies have then recreated the meals demonstrated. Pro Tip: make time to snack or dine before you arrive. If you've eaten prior to coming then you're going to be a-okay. If, like our team, you were unaware of the format and trundled into class on an empty stomach, you may experience feelings of hanger, cold sweats and irritability. Perhaps pack a snack in your pocket?

Since their renovation in 2009, I've long been hearing of the impressive and memorable culinary tutorials that take place at this state of the art cooking school. Located in the heart of the city's supreme seafood vendor - the Sydney Fish Markets - an extensive curriculum offers demonstration and hands-on classes across barbecue, Italian, Thai, Moroccan and sushi themes as well as special classes with well-known local chefs (think Alessandro Pavoni from Ormeggio and Mark Best of Marque fame). As a veritable hispanophile, I opted for the Spanish class: a three hour long session with a menu of tapas - fried sardines with salsa verde, chilli-spiked garlic prawns and roasted capsicum salad with black olives and red onion - followed by a sumptuous seafood paella. The class started off in a high tech lecture room complete with tiered seating and flat screens to give a bird's eye view of our tutor's movements. From there, we suited up in aprons (yours to take home after class) in the separate cooking area; a sleek chrome-and-black room with individual prep stations for groups of 4-5 people - and Fisher & Paykel branding aplenty - with a full glass wall providing views onto the daytime produce trading floor. Once our team was finished making everything, we moved onto the dining room. Complimentary wine went down a treat with the fruits of our labour. With an abundance of useful facts on fresh produce and easy-to-follow recipes, I'll definitely be purchasing some Christmas gift vouchers from these guys to give to fellow foodies.

I came here for a team outing with my colleagues - as a group of food tragics, we arrived excited and hungry. All in all it was a fun night, but it also left us very tired and hangry, so I'm going to start with some pro-tips for surviving a night at Sydney Seafood School: - Eat something small first. Sounds counter-intuitive, but the first lecture is very long and we didn't eat until after 9pm - Plan somewhere to meet for a drink before hand - there is no booze until the end and even then you may not even get a full glass with one bottle per 6 people - Be prepared for some gross gut-filled tasks and make sure someone in your group is happy to tackle this job - Don't bring too much stuff, you'll need to leave it on the floor The classes and chefs vary, but I did love the creativeness of the dishes we were taught by the guys from Cho Cho San. Interesting cuts and very impressive dishes if you were to ever cook them yourself at home for friends (but honestly I couldn't say I ever would ever gut my own squid or buy fish collars!). I think if snacks and drinks were provided or the first lecture part was shorter, this would be a far more enjoyable experience. Overall it's a lot of fun to learn how the chefs make these amazing meals, but the way this course is structured is too tiring and sucks a lot of the fun out when you spend two hours watching and not eating food! Not something I would recommend as a date night activity as a result, but good to go with a group of foodie friends.

Participated in the Fast n Fabulous cooking class. The demonstration was a bit too long for me. I just wanted to get cooking right away. The recipes were simple and easy. But, they packed a punch in flavour. The hands of kitchen area was well organised but simple utensils like fork and spoons were not easily available. There was also not enough knives for all three couples at each cooking station. Two knives block per bench would work better. Overall a good experience. A little pricey but off course we used top notch seafood.

The Sydney Seafood School is a great place to take a cooking class! They've got a variety of courses that are available so be sure to check out their website for a class that would be interesting to you. I went for a private event/masterclass with Spanish chef Miguel Maestre learning how to make paella and ceviche (more commonly found in Peru). There's a small auditorium for you to watch the cooking demonstration, with multiple clear TV screens that project what the chef is doing, which is really helpful! After you finish watching the demonstration, you're then led to the kitchens where you'll go and do some cooking yourself. It's a fun activity to learn hands-on about food and about seafood.

I took classes at Sydney Seafood School with a friend and had a fantastic time. We took the Singaporean Chili Crab class and found the class organized and fun! The live cooking demo was helpful as were the assistants who frequently made their rounds to provide guidance to the students. The instructor was friendly and open to answering all questions and gave many helpful advice. After all the cooking was done, we were able to enjoy the work of our labor with wine and good company. Instructional booklets were provided so we could practice the dish at home. This place is great for individuals wanting to improve their cooking technique and also would be a great place for group/team events.