By Victoria Rollison
It’s time to cook up a storm. Rescu. recommends the following cooking classes in your city so you can strive to become a MasterChef!
By the time we get home from work, most of us are too exhausted to open the fridge, let alone cook a delicious meal. And that’s why the Indian dinner or the Thai takeaway seem like such an easy option. But after the popularity of MasterChef on Channel 10, it seems like Australians are suddenly treating cooking more like a pastime than a chore. But if you are anything like me and watch these shows knowing you can’t cook a gourmet dish in five hours, let alone half an hour, maybe it’s time to book a place in your local cooking class:
Sydney Fish Markets
The Sydney Fish Markets host Sydney’s leading cooking school, where over 12,000 people a year are taught the best way to cook and serve seafood dishes.
Each class includes a demonstration of how to cook a dish and then each student is given the ingredients and have to cook the meal themselves from scratch, just to make sure you were paying attention! There is no better way to learn than cooking something yourself and you can eat your masterpiece when you are finished.
In December, there are classes for a Thai meal, Salt and Pepper Prawns and Chilli Salt Squid, Chilli Crab and Tempura and Teppanyaki.
For more information on dates and location, visit the Sydney Fish Markets website.
Prahran Markets in Melbourne
The Essential Ingredient Cooking School is located at the Prahran Markets in the heart of Melbourne. Classes are taken in the inspiring setting within the market and involve intimate demonstrations and instructions from some of Australia’s most sought after chefs, such as Maggie Beer.
A huge variety of dishes are taught, including recipes from all over Asia, Africa and Europe. Other classes concentrate on specific types of food, such as cakes, pizza, particular meats and pasta.
James St Cooking School, Brisbane
The James St Cooking School is located in Fortitude Valley and provides classes by professional chefs in a purpose-built kitchen, which is designed for both traditional demonstrations and hands-on practical classes.
Classes are held on weeknight evenings and weekends, and cuisines include everything from Beer and Barbeque to Sushi and Middle Eastern.
For more information, visit the James St Cooking School.
Matters of Taste Cooking School, Perth
The Matters of Taste Cooking School in Perth hosts cooking classes in the intimate setting of stools around a workbench, which turns the class into both an informative demonstration and a sociable activity!
Matters of Taste promise to teach your recipes that you will be able to make yourself, with simple techniques and ingredients.
For more information, follow this link.
Sticky Rice Cooking School, Adelaide
The Sticky Rice Cooking School teaches you to cook to restaurant standard in hands-on classes with chefs who specialise in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Once you have cooked your meal, you and your companions can wine and dine on them in the restaurant with complimentary wine and beer!
For more information on class times and bookings, visit the Sticky Rice Cooking school website.
Wursthaus Kitchen, Hobart
Not only is the Wursthaus Kitchen a gourmet deli, butcher, catering kitchen and premium wine and cheese shop, it also hosts Hobart’s most popular cooking school!
Once a month, the shop is turned into a classroom, where pupils can sample wine while they watch cooking demonstrations. The chef simply outlines recipes that will impress your family and friends and then you can sit down and enjoy them yourself!
Visit their website for more information.
And next time you are watching chefs on TV, making it look easy, think about how easy it will be once you have a professional lesson. And imagine how much you will save on takeaway by cooking your favourite meals in your own kitchen!