The most popular cooking school in Australia sits inside a fish market. Sydney Seafood School, at the Sydney Fish Market, teaches you to fillet a whole fish, shuck oysters and cook prawns, then you eat what you made with a glass of wine. It sums up Australian food: excellent produce, a migrant kitchen, and very little ceremony.
Classes in Sydney and Melbourne are more likely to teach Vietnamese, Thai, Italian or Lebanese cooking than anything strictly Australian, because that is how Australians eat. The country’s own flavours show up in bush food tours, which introduce native ingredients such as wattleseed, finger lime and lemon myrtle.
Outside the cities the focus moves to wine and farms: cellar doors in the Barossa Valley and Margaret River, oyster farms and cheesemakers on Bruny Island, and market tours in Adelaide and Hobart.
At a Glance#
- Seafood: Sydney Seafood School at the Sydney Fish Market in Sydney, with classes from about AUD 160.
- Market tours: Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Adelaide Central Market in Adelaide and Salamanca Market in Hobart.
- Migrant food tours: Vietnamese, Lebanese and Chinese food walks in Sydney’s suburbs and Melbourne’s inner north and east.
- Bush food: Aboriginal-led walks and tastings in Sydney and the Northern Territory, using native plants and seeds.
- Wine country: the Barossa Valley, Margaret River, the Hunter Valley near Cessnock and the Yarra Valley.
- Farm food: oysters, cheese and whisky on Bruny Island and around Tasmania.
Sydney#
Sydney Seafood School runs the country’s best-known classes from its kitchen at the Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont. Hands-on classes cover whole fish, shellfish, sushi, paella and regional Asian seafood dishes, typically lasting three to four hours and costing about AUD 160 to 250 (about 105 to 165 USD), while shorter demonstration sessions cost less. Arrive early to walk the market floor, where prawns, oysters and sashimi are sold in front of you.
Food tours in Sydney lean on its migrant suburbs. Walking tours of Chinatown and Haymarket cover dumplings and Thai food, while longer trips head to Cabramatta for Vietnamese pho and banh mi, to Lakemba and Auburn for Lebanese and Turkish bakeries, and to Harris Park for Indian street food. Many cooking schools around the city teach Thai, Vietnamese and Italian classes in small groups.
The Royal Botanic Garden runs Aboriginal-guided tours that explain how plants in the garden were used for food and medicine, often with a tasting of bush foods such as finger lime and lemon myrtle.
Melbourne#
Melbourne treats food as its main cultural pastime, and its tours show it. Queen Victoria Market, open most days except Monday and Wednesday, runs guided tastings of its deli hall, cheese and meat stalls, with a night market on Wednesdays in summer. Laneway food tours in the city centre cover coffee, dumplings and small bars. Further out, Victoria Street in Richmond is the Vietnamese strip, Lygon Street in Carlton the Italian one, and Footscray mixes Vietnamese and East African food.
Cooking schools in Melbourne teach everything from pasta and pastry to Sri Lankan curries, and day trips run to the Yarra Valley for wineries, cheese and chocolate, or to the Mornington Peninsula for pinot noir and farm gates.
Adelaide and the Barossa#
Adelaide Central Market, in the city centre, has around 70 stalls under one roof and is the start point for guided tasting tours of cheese, smallgoods and South Australian produce. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
The Barossa Valley, an hour north, was settled by Silesian Germans and still makes smoked meats, breads and old-vine shiraz. Cellar doors offer tastings, some with blending sessions where you mix your own wine, and the Barossa Farmers Market runs on Saturday mornings. McLaren Vale, 45 minutes south of Adelaide, and the Adelaide Hills are easy day trips, and Kangaroo Island adds honey, gin and seafood.
Western Australia#
Margaret River, three hours south of Perth, combines cabernet and chardonnay cellar doors with breweries, cheese, chocolate and long winery lunches. Many tours from the town visit four or five producers in a day. Closer to Perth, the Swan Valley has wineries, distilleries and farm stalls 30 minutes from the city.
Tasmania#
Tasmania is Australia’s farm-to-table island. Day tours from Hobart to Bruny Island stop at oyster leases, a cheesemaker, a berry farm and a whisky distillery. Salamanca Market on Saturday mornings has local produce, and the Tamar Valley near Launceston makes sparkling wine and pinot noir.
Northern Territory#
In Darwin, the Mindil Beach Sunset Market runs on Thursday and Sunday evenings in the dry season, roughly April to October, with Southeast Asian food stalls and sunsets over the sea. Aboriginal-run tours in Kakadu and around Alice Springs sometimes include bush tucker walks, explaining how desert and wetland plants are gathered and prepared.
Costs and booking#
| What | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Hands-on class, Sydney Seafood School | about AUD 160 to 250 |
| Group cooking class, Sydney or Melbourne | roughly AUD 150 to 230 |
| Walking food tour, 3 hours | roughly AUD 100 to 200 |
| Cellar door tasting | free to AUD 30, often refunded with a purchase |
| Full-day winery tour with lunch | roughly AUD 150 to 250 |
Popular classes fill weeks ahead, especially on weekends, so book online once your dates are fixed. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are common, but say so when booking. Do not drive after tastings: the blood alcohol limit is 0.05 and random breath tests are common, so take a tour or book a driver.
Many winery tours pick up from city hotels, and a guided day costs less than a taxi or driver for two people. In the Barossa and Margaret River, ask about tours that include a long lunch at a winery restaurant.
For what to eat on the rest of your trip, see our Australian food guide, plus food in Oceania and food around the world.
Where to cook and taste in Australia#
More Things to Do#
Australia cooking classes FAQs#
How much is a cooking class in Australia?
Group classes in Sydney or Melbourne cost roughly AUD 150 to 230, and hands-on classes at Sydney Seafood School about AUD 160 to 250. Most last three to four hours and include eating what you cook.
What is the best food tour in Melbourne?
A Queen Victoria Market tasting tour or a laneway food walk in the city centre are the classics. For something different, take a Vietnamese food tour in Richmond or Footscray.
Can I try bush tucker in Australia?
Yes. Aboriginal-guided tours at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden and in the Northern Territory explain and often offer tastings of native foods such as finger lime, wattleseed and lemon myrtle. Some restaurants in the big cities also cook with native ingredients.
Do Barossa wineries charge for tastings?
Most cellar doors charge a small fee, from free to about AUD 30, often refunded if you buy wine. Premium seated tastings cost more and need booking.
Which Australian wine region is best for a day trip?
The Barossa Valley from Adelaide, the Hunter Valley from Sydney, and the Yarra Valley from Melbourne are all about an hour or two away. Margaret River is three hours from Perth and better as an overnight trip.