Week 1 Term 1 – 26 January 2026

Why methods?

We teach techniques, not recipes – because techniques are the building blocks of great cooking.  All our chefs are either trade qualified or Le Cordon Bleu trained, and we teach the way we were taught – using a ‘see it, do it’ model.  This means that for most classes our chef instructors use ‘running demos’ where they show you the skill and then you copy it – with assistance from your instructor as needed.   And in our express classes you will cook at the same time as the chef, following their lead.   We will give you an ingredients list and a method for each class, but you do not have to use it.

Our chefs will explain patiently and walk you through each class.   And if your dish doesn’t work out, that is OK – we run most classes 3 or 4 times a week so you can always come and try again!  Failure is part of learning.

Use these methods below to practice at home.

1 x 650ml container

1 x 200ml container

This makes extra teriyaki sauce that you can take home to enjoy.  It keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge.

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Frypan with a lid
  • Spatula
  • Fork
  • Small container/dariole mould

Ingredients

Teriyaki Sauce

  • 50ml soy sauce
  • 50ml sake
  • 50ml mirin
  • 25g white sugar

Gyudon sauce

  • 60ml (3 tbsp) dashi stock
  • 60ml teriyaki sauce

Gyudon

  • ¼ green shallot
  • ½ white or brown onion
  • 120g beef, very thinly sliced (you can use presliced ‘hot pot’ style meat) (v – 120g shiitake or king oyster mushroom)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup cooked short grain rice (sushi rice) – chef to prepare
  • 1 tbsp pickled red ginger
  • 1 tsp furikake (v – vegan furikake)
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Make teriyaki sauce:
    • Add all teriyaki sauce ingredients to the frypan over medium heat.
    • Stir until all sugar is dissolved.
    • Cook down until reduced by one third.
  3. While sauce is reducing, prep veg and measure all other ingredients:
    • Thinly slice green onion/scallion on the diagonal. Set aside.
    • Thinly slice onion. Set aside (keep separate from green onion)
    • Thinly slice beef (v – mushroom). Set aside.
    • Whisk egg using fork in small container and set aside.
  4. Prepare sauce and beef (v – mushroom):
    • Add dashi to teriyaki sauce.
    • Add onions in a single layer.
    • Cover onions with beef (v – mushroom).
    • Slowly drizzle beaten egg over the beef (v – mushroom). Do not mix.
    • Cover and cook until egg is set but still very soft.
  5. Plate
    • Put rice in bowl/container.
    • Top with beef and egg mix.
    • Garnish with sliced green onion.
    • Shake over furikake.
    • Add red pickled ginger.
  6. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Small saucepan
  • Tongs
  • Frypan
  • Spatula
  • Small container/dariole mould
  • Fork
  • Small bowl of iced water 

Ingredients

  • 1 serving dried ramen noodles 

Dressing

  • ¼ tsp grated ginger
  • 3 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp white rice vinegar
  • 3 tsp water
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Toppings

  • 40g poached chicken breast or ham
  • 1 egg (v – 2 eggs)
  • 1 tsp vegetable oil
  • Pinch of sugar
  • ¼ continental cucumber
  • ½ small tomato
  • Small handful beansprouts
  • 1 tbsp red pickled ginger
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Cook and chill bean sprouts
    a. Cook in small saucepan of salted water for 30 seconds.
    b. Remove with tongs and cool.
  3. Cook and chill noodles and bean sprouts
    a. Cook in small saucepan of salted water according to packet instructions.
    b. Drain and chill in iced water. Set aside.
  4. Prepare dressing
    a. Add all ingredients except sesame oil and sesame seeds to small saucepan and heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.
    b. Remove from heat. Add sesame oil and sesame seeds and allow to cook.
  5. Cook egg
    a. Whisk egg in a dariole mould with pinch of salt and sugar.
    b. Heat oil in frypan.
    c. Pour egg into frypan, swirling pan to spread.
    d. Lift gently and flip.
    e. Remove to cutting board.
    f. Roll and slice very thinly.
  6. Prepare remaining topping ingredients (keep separate):
    a. Julienne cucumber
    b. Concasse tomato
  7. Plate:
    a. Drain noodles and plate/put in container.
    b. Place toppings onto noodles in ‘groups’, pointing towards centre.
    c. Top with dressing.
    d. Put pickled red ginger in centre.
  8. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan
  • Tongs
  • Spatula
  • Bowl x 3
  • Whisk
  • Paper towel

Ingredients

Salmon (v – tofu)

  • 100g sashimi grade salmon (v – 120g firm tofu)
  • 1 green onion/shallot
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Bowl

  • 2 heaped tbsp podded edamame
  • ¼ continental cucumber
  • ¼ avocado
  • 3 small red radishes or ½ small carrot
  • 4 cherry tomatoes
  • Microgreens
  • 1 cup short grain rice (chef to provide)
  • 1 tbsp sushi ginger
  • 1 tbsp kewpie mayo
  • 1 tbsp furikake
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 cup sushi rice (chef to provide)

Method 

  1. Gather equipment and ingredients.
  2. Marinate salmon (v – tofu) – cut into 1.5cm cubes and marinate with all listed ingredients.
  3. Prepare bowl ingredients:
    a. Cube or slice avocado.
    b. Wafer cut radish/carrot.
    c. Quarter cherry tomatoes.
  4. Plate:
    a. Rice in bottom of bowl/container.
    b. Group other toppings on top of rice.
    c. Top with mayo, pickled vegetables and sprinkled furikake.
    d. Heat oil in a small saucepan to 180 C.
  5. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board w paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Baking tray
  • Baking paper
  • Bowl
  • Microplane/zester
  • Fork or spatula

Ingredients

  • 120g skirt/flank steak (v – ¼ cauliflower and 1 large king oyster mushroom)
  • 4 baby potatoes
  • Handful green beans
  • 1 golden shallot
  • 1 tbsp EVOO
  • 1 tsp herbs de Provence
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • ½ lemon
  • 2 stems parsley
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200C fan forced.
  2. Get ingredients and equipment.
  3. Line baking tray with paper.
  4. Prepare potatoes:
    a. Halve.
    b. Crush garlic.
    c. Toss halved potatoes with EVOO and herbs de Provence.
    d. (v- add cauliflower florets)
    e. Put on lined baking tray and into oven for 15 minutes.
  5. Prepare beans – top and tail.
  6. Prepare shallot – cut into quarters.
  7. Prepare steak (v – mushroom):
    a. Season with salt and pepper.
    b. Crush garlic and rub over.
    c. Cut into 2 cm thick slices.
  8. Add greens, shallots and steak (v – mushroom) to baking tray.
  9. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until browned and cooked to your preferred doneness.
  10. While cooking, make compound butter:
    a. Put butter in small bowl.
    b. Zest lemon into bowl and add juice.
    c. Finely chop parsley and add.
    d. Mix well with a fork/spatula.
    e. Season.
  11. ​Plate – arrange on plate and top steak (v – mushroom) with compound butter.
  12. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Cooktop
  • Small saucepan
  • Small bowl/container of iced water for refreshing
  • Tongs
  • Whisk

Ingredients

Dressing

  • ½ anchovy fillet (v – omit)
  • ½ clove garlic
  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp EVOO (or use the oil from the tuna, see below)
  • 5 chives
  • 2 stems parsley
  • 2 baby potatoes
  • Handful green beans
  • 1 egg
  • 40g canned tuna in olive oil (v – 1 extra egg)
  • 4 kalamata olives
  • 1 tomato
  • ¼ head cos lettuce
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Gather equipment and ingredients.
  2. Cook potato, egg and beans:
    a. Heat a saucepan of salted water.
    b. Add potato and cook for 4 minutes.
    c. Add egg and cook for 2 further minutes.
    d. Add beans and cook for 5 further minutes.
    e. Drain all and put in iced water to chill.
  3. Make salad dressing:
    a. Mince garlic.
    b. Mash anchovies.
    c. Finely slice chives.
    d. Finely chop parsley.
    e. Add above and all other dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine (at home you can put everything in a jar or container with a lid and shake it vigorously).
  4. Prepare components:
    a. Peel egg and halve.
    b. Quarter potato.
    c. Slice olives.
    d. Cut lettuce into bite sized pieces.
  5. Plate:
    a. Place lettuce on plate/in container.
    b. Top with tuna chunks, potato, sliced olives, egg, beans and tomato.
    c. Season and dress.
  6. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

2 x 650ml containers

1 x 200ml container

Beef stock

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Knife
  • Roasting pan
  • Cooktop
  • Frypan
  • Large saucepan
  • Colander for straining

Ingredients

  • 300g beef bones
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • ¼ pig’s trotter (optional)
  • Cold water
  • 50g carrot
  • 50g onion
  • 50g celery
  • 10g dripping or lard (or olive oil)
  • 25g leek
  • 3 parsley stalks
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 5 peppercorns
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
  3. Roast bones to dark brown.
  4. Cut vegetables into mirepoix.
  5. Saute carrot, onion, and celery in fat until lightly browned.
  6. Drain fat off beef bones. Reserve fat and chill.
  7. Put vegetable mix in saucepan with leek, herbs, peppercorns, the pig trotter (if using) and the drained, cooked beef bones.
  8. Cover with cold water and bring to boil. (In class, at this point combine the stock base with other students – the chef teacher will give you a prepared stock).
  9. When boiling, turn down heat and simmer gently for 6 to 8 hours, skimming regularly (failure to skim or boiling the bones = cloudy stock).
  10. Strain, pressing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as you can.
  11. If desired, reduce.
  12. Do not add salt.
  13. Cool rapidly (shallow container) and refrigerate.
  14. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Note

 This is a brown beef stock, meaning that the bones are roasted and vegetables browned before the stock is made.

Chicken stock

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Large saucepan
  • Colander for straining

Ingredients

  • ½ chicken carcass
  • 100g carrot
  • 60g onion
  • 60g leek
  • 40g celery
  • 3 parsley stalks
  • 5 peppercorns
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Trim fat off chicken frame and if necessary cut the bones into small pieces.
  3. Cut vegetables into mirepoix.
  4. Put vegetable mix in saucepan with herbs and peppercorns.
  5. Cover with cold water and bring to boil. (In class, at this point combine the stock base with other students – the chef teacher will give you a prepared stock).
  6. When boiling, turn down heat and simmer gently for 2 to 4 hours, skimming regularly (failure to skim or boiling the bones = cloudy stock).
  7. Strain, pressing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as you can.
  8. If desired, reduce.
  9. Do not add salt.
  10. Cool rapidly (shallow container) and refrigerate.
  11. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Note

 This is a white chicken stock.  For a brown chicken stock, cook the bones and vegetables as for brown beef stock.

Beef Jus

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan
  • Whisk
  • Strainer/sieve

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp beef drippings or 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 small shallot
  • 20ml red wine
  • 20ml port
    125ml beef stock
  • 2 tsp butter
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Cut butter into small cubes. Keep cold.
  3. Heat oil. Sweat shallot in oil/beef drippings.
  4. Deglaze with wine.
  5. Add port and stock and reduce hard to a sauce consistency.
  6. Wipe out pan.
  7. Finish by whisking in butter. Do not reheat after whisking in butter (if you want to take the sauce home, add the butter over heat at home).
  8. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.
  9. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Double Meal Prep

This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished on the oven or stovetop or reheated in the oven at home.  Please bring:

  1. 1 x 1 l container (2 l container if making 4 serves/meal) for the rice.
  2. 1 x 350ml container for the mushrooms.
  3. 1 x deep baking tray with lid for the Japanese beef stew – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 serves per meal, or medium (3-4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 serves per meal.
  4. 1 x deep baking tray with lid for the daube – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 serves per meal, or medium (3-4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 serves per meal.

Otherwise, you can buy ‘containers’ packs on our website for a couple of dollars each. 

Provencal Beef Daube (v – white beans and seasonal veg)

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Large frypan
  • Spatula
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Medium bowl

 Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 350g chuck steak
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 150ml red wine
  • 150ml beef stock
  • 150g carrots
  • ½ medium onion
  • 2 tsp tomato paste
  • 2 anchovy fillets
  • 2 small sprigs rosemary
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 150g mushrooms
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • Vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Fry mushrooms in butter until all water is removed and put in 350ml takehome container.
  3. Prepare remaining vegetables and put in casserole dish:
    a. Cut onion into chunks.
    b. Cut carrot into chunks.
    c. Pick and finely chop herbs.
    d. Mince anchovy.
    e. Add bay leaf.
  4. Cut and saute garlic and beef:
    a. Cut beef into 2 cm chunks.
    b. Season flour and toss beef in it.
    c. Crush garlic.
    d. Heat oil in frypan over low heat.
    e. Saute garlic and remove to casserole dish.
    f. Increase heat.
    g. Cook beef in batches until browned. Place in casserole dish.
    h. Toast tomato paste.
  5. Make sauce
    a. Add wine and deglaze. Boil until reduced by half.
    b. Add broth.
    c. Pour over beef and veg in casserole dish.
  6. Wrap in foil, label to cook for 4 hours at 150C. Add mushrooms just before serving.
  7. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.
  8. At home, put in a 150 degree oven for 2 hours, covered, until beef is tender and potatoes are cooked.
  9. Serve with crusty bread.

Nikujaga – Japanese beef and potato stew (v – sweet potato and mushroom)

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Large saucepan with a lid
  • Spatula
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Ziplock bag

Ingredients

  • 250g chuck steak (v – 2 large king oyster mushrooms and 1 medium sweet potato)
  • 2 medium potatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 400ml dashi
  • 60ml (3 tbsp) soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp white sugar
  • 2 tbsp sake
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 green shallot
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 cups short grain rice (chef to provide)

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Cut beef (v – mushroom and sweet potato) into 5mm slices.
  3. Prepare vegetables:
    a. Cut potatoes into 1 cm cubes.
    b. Cut onion into wedges.
    c. Cut carrot into 5mm rounds.
    d. Slice shallot very finely on the diagonal and put in a ziplock bag.
  4. Saute beef (v – mushroom and sweet potato) in a little oil in the saucepan.
  5. Add carrot, onion and potato and cook until beginning to brown.
  6. Add dashi, sake and sugar and bring to a boil.
  7. Add soy sauce and mirin.
  8. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.
  9. ​Package stew to take home – label with cooking instructions.
  10. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

At home, reheat stew in the oven or on the stovetop and serve with rice (sprinkle rice with water before reheating).  Top with sliced shallot.

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