The 5 best cooking schools in Australia

Looking to hone your prowess in the kitchen or expand your weekly repertoire? Cook away from it all at these beautiful schools with serious culinary chops. From masterclasses with notable chefs to getting your hands dirty in Tasmania, there’s something for every level.

1. The Agrarian Kitchen, Lachlan, Tasmania – for the serious home cook

This truly paddock-to-plate experience is full of roll-your-sleeves-up activity from foraging to cooking and eating.

Run by the former food editor of Australian Gourmet Traveller, Rodney Dunn, the classes begin outdoors on the sustainable farm in the picturesque Derwent Valley and migrate into a 19th-century school house.

There’s everything from charcuterie and baking classes to two-day Secrets of Sourdough and The Whole Hog courses at The Agrarian Kitchen .

While you can’t rest your head at the Agrarian Kitchen, the town of New Norfolk is just minutes away.

2. A Tavola at Pizzini Wines, Vic – for the inner-nonna

Katrina Pizzini slips on the apron to teach four-hour classes at the family winery in Victoria’s King Valley.

Classes at Pizzini range from traditional pasta and risotto-making, and salting and curing meats, to more focused tuition such as the Single & Loving It and Blokes & Barrels.

There’s a cottage adjacent to the cellar door, where you can flop after a class and dabble in a few tastings of the family wines.

3. Sticky Rice Cooking School, Adelaide Hills, SA – for a break from wine-tasting

There’s a little bit of Asia nestled in the Adelaide Hills and it can be found at this exceptional cooking school.

While you can pop in for a class and not stay, we highly recommend you book one of the three beautiful villas onsite so you can retreat post-class with a good bottle of local vino.

As for the classes, Sticky Rice offers everything from Vietnamese to everyday Thai, Spanish tapas and Moroccan.

Private classes are available and guest chefs drop in once in a while, such as Luke Nguyen, David Thompson and Tetsuya Wakuda.

4. Lake House, Daylesford, Vic – for the weekend dabbler

Set at one of the most idyllic locales for a relaxing break it’s easy to do nothing here but serenely gaze upon the lake from your room, but if you’re in the mood for a side of culinary knowledge with your mini escape, the cooking school at Lake House has you covered.

With guest chefs of the likes of Mitch Orr and Adriano Zumbo regularly popping in for masterclasses, it’s easy to tee up a weekend away with your favourite cook at the Lake House.

Be sure to book ahead, they fill up fast. We already have our eye on the Summer Masterclass for a pre-Christmas break in December.

5. Cape Lodge, Margaret River, WA – for city escapees

Shouldered by wineries and just three kilometres to the beach, Cape Lodge provides harassed Perthites with a place to escape and indulge in a little luxe country charm.

Once a few deep breaths have been taken and the local vines explored, calm may be restored enough to embark on one of the lodge’s cooking classes with executive chef Michael Elfwing.

Classes cover everything from The Art of Souffle to Cooking with Truffles and, one that piqued our curiosity, Modern Lasagnes.

The rise of surf culture along Victoria’s coastline

Surfers stand on the shore at Bells Beach, where the country’s biggest surfing competition is held each year. (Image: Getty/Filed Image)

True Aussie surf culture was born on the chilly waves of Victoria’s winters, when huge swells from the Great Southern Ocean hit cliff-lined beaches along the Great Ocean Road . These beaches were the ultimate proving ground – surfers from all over Australia arrived in panel vans and VWs to do battle with the biggest waves they could find.

Surfers take advantage of the huge swells from the Great Southern Ocean at Bells Beach. (Image: Tourism Australia/Cameron Murray)

There are surf breaks all along this very picturesque coast – but those around Torquay were most revered. The ultimate test of a surfer’s ability – and durability – however, was Bells Beach: Australia’s answer to Hawai‘i’s Pipeline. Just beyond, the breaks at Jan Juc and Winkipop beckoned.

an aerial view of surfers at Bells Beach

Hit the waves along the picturesque coast. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Torquay became surfing’s Silicon Valley: HQ for the entire Australian surf culture revolution. Four young locals worked out of their backyards in Torquay to create two of the world’s biggest surf labels – Rip Curl and Quiksilver , which soon became the region’s biggest employers.

Surfers out at Bells Beach, Victoria’s most famous beach. (Image: Tourism Australia/Cameron Murray)

Rip Curl started sponsoring the Bells Beach Pro in 1973 – and have done ever since. It’s been going since 1962 – making it the world’s longest continually run surfing contest. Held every Easter, it’s part of the world surfing tour. Spectators line its 30-metre-high cliffs to watch the world’s best take on enormous waves – it’s the ultimate coliseum for the sport and has inspired generations of Aussie surfers to join the list of heroes whose names are on its iconic bell.

Follow the waves through Victoria’s surfing heartland

Australian National Surfing Museum, Torquay

The Australian National Surfing Museum in Torquay. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Just behind Torquay’s main drag, you can see all that history on display at the world’s best surf museum – the Australian National Surfing Museum . Here you can take your time absorbing the 100-year-or-so history of Australian surfing and check out the 150-strong surfboard collection.

surfboards on display at Australian National Surfing Museum

The museum holds surfing memorabilia, including a room dedicated to the history of boards. (Image: Tourism Australia)

But classic Aussie surf culture can be observed in everyday life all over the Great Ocean Road and Torquay. Surfing dictates life here; no work is done until the big swells have come and gone. Just being here provides a window into 60-odd years of rebellion against convention; for no-one likes nine-to-five living on the Great Ocean Road.

surfing memorabilia at Australian National Surfing Museum

The varied displays celebrate the Bells Beach competition, surfing legends and Aussie surf culture. (Image: Tourism Australia)

There’s less panel vans and VW Beetles these days, but surf culture still rules life. Surfers run this coast; you’re better off keeping out of their way when they’re running down past you to face the biggest swells – then hear them swap stories at cafes, restaurants and bars all around you.

The beach near Torquay is Australia’s answer to Hawai‘i’s Pipeline. (Image: Visit Victoria/William Watt)

The 5 best cooking schools in Australia

Looking to hone your prowess in the kitchen or expand your weekly repertoire? Cook away from it all at these beautiful schools with serious culinary chops. From masterclasses with notable chefs to getting your hands dirty in Tasmania, there’s something for every level.

1. The Agrarian Kitchen, Lachlan, Tasmania – for the serious home cook

2. A Tavola at Pizzini Wines, Vic – for the inner-nonna

3. Sticky Rice Cooking School, Adelaide Hills, SA – for a break from wine-tasting

4. Lake House, Daylesford, Vic – for the weekend dabbler

5. Cape Lodge, Margaret River, WA – for city escapees

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The iconic Victorian beach where true Aussie surf culture was born

Torquay’s Bells Beach is considered one of the best surf beaches in the world.

The rise of surf culture along Victoria’s coastline

Follow the waves through Victoria’s surfing heartland