Learn like a Local: Melbourne’s best masterclasses workshops

Melbourne Editorial - Paul Philipson

One of the best ways for visitors to get under the skin of Melbourne is to soak up the knowledge and expertise of the city’s dedicated industry leaders and passionate experts. Home to an array of specialist masterclasses and hands-on workshops spanning the culinary, artistic, practical and intellectual worlds, visitors of all ages and life stages will love learning while in Melbourne.

As a bona fide foodie hotspot, Melbourne is a city filled with inventive chefs, butchers, chocolatiers, cheesemakers, fermenters and bakers – all ready, willing and able to share their knowledge with curious visitors from around the world.

Melbourne has plenty of classes to satiate the appetites of meat lovers, including butchery classes at Hagen’s Organics, barbecue classes at Queen Victoria Market’s Whack it on the Barbie and salami and sausage making workshops with Melbourne’s own “Sausage Queen” Sara Grazia at Sausages Made Simple.

Workshop participants can get their Willy Wonka on at South Yarra’s Ganache Chocolate School. Truffle making, dessert creation, perfecting macarons and creating unique chocolate bars are just some of the workshops offered by this much-loved chocolate maker responsible for seriously delectable creations.

While most people don’t need a class to appreciate cheese, Melbourne provedore Spring Street Grocer is committed to spreading the word about all things cheese from its subterranean cheese cave (Australia’s first underground cheese maturation cellar). Holding cheese workshops led by Spring Street Grocer’s head cheesemonger, this is the place for visitors to brush up on their cheese knowledge while tasting some of the best cheese from near and far.

Once the favoured pastime of grandmothers around the globe, the art of fermenting food is now catching on with the younger crowd. Located in the beachside suburb of Sandringham, Wild Ferments runs several fermenting classes designed to demystify the process of fermenting vegetables and making foodie favourites like kimchi and sauerkraut.

Known for running cooking classes hosted by some of Melbourne’s top cooks, the Neff Market Kitchen has an impressive range of classes to choose from. From assembling a Greek banquet with Alex Xinis from The Press Club to learning the ins and outs of putting together a killer burger with Daniel Wilson from Melbourne’s lauded Huxtaburger, Neff Market Kitchen has classes for all skill levels and interests.

Nothing compares to slicing into a hot loaf of bread fresh from the oven and the bread making classes at the historic Convent Bakery enable attendees to capture this feeling at home by providing the skills to bake artisanal loaves.