Sydney Fish Market announces new Sydney Cooking School program with celebrity chefs
Today, a “to do list” of new experiences is on sale. Plus: The market’s must-try new restaurants.
leading chefs Good Food Guide Famous restaurants including a’Mare, Pilu at Freshwater and King Clarence will offer cooking lessons at Sydney’s $836 million fish market after opening in Pyrmont in late January.
Manager Sally Webb says the guest chef program is part of a “bucket list” series of new experiences announced today for the new Sydney Seafood School, which is expected to receive a significant upgrade when it moves to the mezzanine level of the Sydney Fish Market.
“We want people to feel like they’ve come to a must-do Sydney experience in an iconic Sydney building, like they’ve come to more than just a cooking lesson,” she says.
The 36-year-old institution will feature a 60-seat amphitheater, hands-on induction-powered kitchen and oyster shucking bar, as well as its own 130-seat wine bar (serving only NSW-made wines) and a restaurant with panoramic views of Walsh Bay.
Webb said the school’s program is limited to chefs until June, including Danielle Alvarez (culinary director at the Sydney Opera House), Khanh Nguyen (executive chef at King Clarence) and Joel Bickford (culinary director at Shell House and The International).
“Also Giovanni Pilu (Pilu in Fresh Water) and Alessandro Pavoni (Ormeggio in a’Mare, Spit) teach together,” he says. “This is going to be a pretty hot ticket.”
New courses will be added to the school’s regular programme, including Land and Sea, which focuses on integrating local ingredients into everyday cuisines; Seafood Discovery, a shorter educational class for visitors to Sydney; and an oyster shucking lesson.
Tickets for classes at the New Sydney Fish Market It goes on sale on Monday.
What can I eat at the New Sydney Fish Market?
After seven years of development and significant delays, construction of the new site is virtually complete and the keys to the retail and restaurant arrangements were handed over this week.
Hospitality offerings include Sushi Oe, a two-hat specialty Japanese fine dining restaurant relocating from Cammeray; TV host and restaurateur Luke Nguyen’s newest venture is Lua; Touch Wood, the restaurant of the team behind Glebe cafe Dirty Red; and Hamsi, for 200 people, led by chef Somer Sivrioğlu (Efendy, Parsley) and inspired by seaside taverns in Istanbul.
Sivrioğlu, who signed the project last year, believes that the new market will be one of the largest seafood destinations in the world. Infrastructure NSW general manager Tom Gellibrand estimates the seafood hub will attract 6 million visitors a year.
“Australia will be the center of seafood culture and the opportunity to showcase incredible local produce through Turkish eyes is something I couldn’t resist,” says Sivrioğlu.
Hamsi will focus on charbroiled seafood using Aegean cooking techniques, creating dishes including an entire John Dory meal with spicy tarhana (a fermented mixture of yoghurt, grains and spices).
“Seafood will always be at its heart, but the new market opens up a broader, more dynamic food scene – a place to discover new flavors and ideas beyond the sea,” says Bloom Phung, content coordinator at specialty coffee roaster Stitch Coffee, which plans to open its second cafe in the new food district.
There will be takeaway coffee, specialty drinks such as Mont Blanc and a range of ready-made pastries from Tenacious Bakehouse in Darlinghurst.
It’s one of the more casual offerings, along with Roman-style pizzeria and restaurant La Dea, which opened its first location in Redfern earlier this year. Owner Enthony Spaziani says the delays have been financially challenging for the startup, but he believes it will pay off.
“We see this as a long-term partnership that will elevate our brand and connect us with people looking for something memorable, artisanal and truly Italian,” says Spaziani.
Good Food Guide Chef of the Year finalist Junda Khoo originally planned to open surf and turf restaurant Tam Jiak by Ho Jiak in October. When the 80- to 120-seat vehicle finally launches in January, it will feature a Malaysian-inspired menu where every dish features elements of both the land and the sea, from tandoori tartare with beef and tuna to grilled octopus with chicken skin.
“I wanted to be part of a project that had the potential to change the landscape of Pyrmont… [and] Khoo says it will become the world’s second largest seafood market after Japan.
What can I buy at the New Sydney Fish Market?
The retail space will be double the size of the existing fish market, with 40 retailers in 6,000 square meters of accessible public space. Visitors will be able to see all the early morning auction action through glass walls.
The majority of traders will move from the old premises, despite long-standing tenant Vic’s Meats pulling out at the last minute in April. These will include Get Fish, Musumeci Seafoods, Nicholas Seafood Traders and Claudio’s Seafood.
There will also be a second outlet from Blackwattle Deli for small items and pantry items, Fisherman’s fine wines and Enmore ice cream shop Cow and the Moon for take-home treats.
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Bianca Crovat- Bianca is Good Food’s Sydney dining out and restaurant editor.
