Sydney Cooking School

What Sydney Cooking School does

Sydney Cooking School, trading since 2010 from a purpose-built venue at 73 Military Road, Neutral Bay, NSW, is a privately held Australian culinary education and experiential events business operated under The Chef store Pty Ltd by founder and Executive Chef Brett Deverall. The company runs a portfolio of more than 30 hands-on cooking classes spanning international cuisines, BBQ/meat/seafood, desserts and pastry, healthy and plant-based cooking, Asian specialties, nutrition-for-performance, kids and teens, and a four-week adult beginners course, taught by a small chef team including Head Chef Paul Pereira (joined 2013) and supported by Event Manager Morenna Burn.

The underlying operation is a physical facility comprising two kitchen classrooms, an alfresco BBQ dining area, and an open-air barbecuing space, fitted with appliances and equipment from Fisher & Paykel, KitchenAid, Breville, Solidteknics, Furi, and Anolon. A Mobile Cooking School capability allows the team to bring equipment and ingredients to off-site corporate and event venues. Class sizes are deliberately kept small, ingredients are sourced fresh, and the school accommodates dietary requirements on advance notice.

Revenue is generated through multiple transactional streams: per-seat public cooking class fees (paid in full at booking), gift vouchers sold in AUD $100-$310 denominations, private events and functions (corporate team building, hen/bucks parties, kids parties, private dinner parties), full-service catering, in-office health and wellbeing demonstrations, and venue hire for media events, product launches, filming and photoshoots with capacity up to 50 guests. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the sydneycookingschool.com.au website backed by Stripe payments and Rezdy booking software, supplemented by phone bookings and corporate enquiry forms. The company is bootstrapped, founder-owned, and serves the New South Wales market with no disclosed external investors, subsidiaries, or M&A activity.

Name

Sydney Cooking School

Legal name

The Chef store Pty Ltd

Website

https://sydneycookingschool.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Culinary Education and Cooking Classes

NAICS

Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519), Caterers (722320), Food Service Contractors (722310)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Cooking Classes & Chef-Led Workshops (THAJAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Culinary Arts & Cooking (Baking, Pastry, Global Cuisines) (EDAAAGAG), Catering & Events Food Service (EDALADAC)

Keywords

• Cooking classes
• Culinary education
• Team building events
• Venue hire
• Private dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Neutral Bay

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cooking Classes: Revenue from public cooking classes across 30+ different class types including international cuisines, BBQ, desserts, and kids classes. Full payment required at time of booking.
2. Gift Vouchers: Pre-purchased gift vouchers sold in denominations from $100 to $310. Vouchers can be redeemed for any cooking class.
3. Private Events and Functions: Corporate team building, hen/bucks parties, kids parties, private dinner parties, and offsite events. Revenue from group bookings and custom menu design.
4. Venue Hire: Kitchen spaces available for hire during day and evening, 7 days a week. Suitable for cooking classes, demonstrations, celebrity chef experiences, media events, product launches, filming and photoshoots.
5. Dinner Party Catering: Catering services for events including casual seafood barbecues, canapé cocktail parties, and plated three-course sit down meals.
6. Health & Wellbeing Demonstrations: Healthy cooking demonstrations delivered in workplace settings for staff wellness programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sydney Cooking School operates a purpose-built, two-kitchen facility in Neutral Bay, NSW where it delivers more than 30 hands-on cooking classes covering international cuisines, BBQ, desserts, kids cooking, and health-focused cooking. Beyond public classes, the school hosts corporate team building events, hen/bucks and birthday parties, private dinner parties, mobile off-site events, and provides its venue for hire for media, filming, and product launches.

Product overview

Sydney Cooking School is a boutique cooking education business operating since 2010 from its Neutral Bay, NSW venue. The company offers a unified service platform centered on cooking classes and culinary events. Its core product portfolio includes over 30 different cooking classes across categories (Beginners, International Cuisines, BBQ/Meat/Seafood, Dessert/Pastry/Sweets, Healthy/Veggie/Plants/GF, Kids & Teens, Asian, Nutrition 4 Performance). Adjacent to classes, the company provides event services: Corporate Team Building, Hen & Bucks Parties, Kids Cooking Parties (aged 6-12), Private Dinner Parties, Health & Wellbeing In-Office Demonstrations, Mobile Cooking School (offsite events), and Dinner Party Catering. Additional offerings include Venue Hire of the two-kitchen facility and Gift Vouchers at multiple price points (AUD$100-$310). The company operates seven days a week with small group sizes and uses state-of-the-art equipment from brands including Fisher & Paykel, KitchenAid, Breville, Solidteknics, Furi, and Anolon.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cooking Classes Public hands-on cooking classes for individuals covering international cuisines, BBQ, desserts, baking, and specialty skills. Suitable for all ability levels from absolute beginners to passionate cooks. Taught by professional chefs using state-of-the-art equipment.
• Kids & Teens Cooking Classes Cooking classes designed for young chefs aged 6-12 and teenagers, offered during school holidays with age-appropriate menus and techniques.
• Corporate Team Building Events Hands-on cooking-based team building experiences for corporate groups, including cooking challenges and collaborative cooking activities led by professional chefs.
• Hen & Bucks Parties Private cooking class celebrations for hens and bucks parties, featuring themed menus like Brunch & Bubbles, High Tea, Mexican & Margaritas, and decadent desserts.
• Kids Cooking Parties Hands-on cooking birthday parties for children aged 6-12, featuring three prepared items per session. Ages 6-9 make cheese empanadas, pizza, and decorated cupcakes; ages 10-12 make sushi, ravioli, dumplings, or chocolate fondant.
• Private Dinner Parties Private dining experiences available as hands-on cooking classes or five-course dinners prepared and served by a personal chef. Available Friday, Saturday & Sunday evenings.
• Health & Wellbeing In-Office Demonstrations

Quantifiable outcome

• 30+ different cooking classes available
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• SolidteknicsminorOthersAustralian cookware manufacturer providing innovative Australian made cookware. Listed as a sponsor on the Sydney Cooking School website.
• Stanley RogersminorOthersCookware and kitchenware brand listed as a sponsor on the Sydney Cooking School website.
• KitchenAidminorOthersPremium kitchen appliance brand providing equipment for the cooking school facilities. Listed as a sponsor.
• FuriminorOthersKitchen tools brand listed as a sponsor on the Sydney Cooking School website.
• Fisher & PaykelminorOthersPremium appliance manufacturer providing state of the art equipment for the cooking school kitchens.
• BrevilleminorOthersKitchen appliance brand providing equipment for the cooking school facilities.
• AnolonminorOthersCookware brand providing pots and pans for the cooking school.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sydney Seafood School: Hands-on cooking school located at Sydney Fish Market offering seafood-focused classes taught by professional chefs. Direct competitor in the Sydney boutique cooking-school category with similar consumer and corporate event offerings.
• The Essential Ingredient Cooking School: Retail cookware chain that operates multi-location cooking schools across Australia. Comparable model combining a kitchenware showroom with hands-on chef-led classes and private functions for consumers and corporate clients.

Regional players

• Daylesford Cookery School: Destination cooking school in regional Victoria offering hands-on classes focused on local produce. Comparable hands-on chef-taught class model, but primarily serves a regional tourism catchment rather than a Sydney urban market.
• Margaret River Cooking School: Cooking school in Western Australia's Margaret River wine region offering chef-led classes tied to local produce. Comparable chef-taught class business model, but operates in a different geography serving primarily tourism and wine-tourism audiences.
• Brunetti Oro Cooking Classes: Melbourne Italian cafe and patisserie brand that offers chef-led cooking classes alongside its food and beverage operations. Comparable chef-taught culinary experience format, but anchored in Melbourne rather than Sydney.

Broad incumbents

• Le Cordon Bleu Australia: Globally recognised culinary education institution with an Adelaide campus offering formal culinary and hospitality diplomas. Comparable culinary instruction and chef-led teaching, but operates as a formal accredited education provider rather than a boutique experiential cooking school.

Emerging players

• Cozymeal: US-based marketplace connecting consumers and corporate clients with local chef-led cooking classes and experiences. Comparable chef-led class model and corporate team-building use case, but operates as a multi-chef aggregator platform rather than a single-venue operator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sydney Cooking School