Cooking Classes and Food Events in Byron Bay — Belinda Jeffery

Welcome to my cooking classes for 2020

CLASSES AND EVENTS FOR 2020…EXCITING CHANGES!

Hooray, our classes for 2020 are now live!

I’m delighted to say that our class schedule for 2020 is now available for bookings. We’ve put the dates for the whole year up, in the hope it will enable you to plan well ahead and perhaps even get friends or family members together for a long weekend away in the beautiful Northern Rivers; make early travel and accommodation arrangements; and then book for a particular class or time of year that suits you best. (Based on our experience of 2018 and 2019 it would be a good idea to book early if any class does appeal as places in each class are limited to ten (10) students only).

As you will notice from the schedule, I don’t teach during the hot summer months as it’s usually so humid here that it’s impossible to even think about cooking or making pastry! The rest of the year however is just about perfect, so I would love to think that I get to meet you in Autumn, Winter, or Spring to spend a great day learning, cooking and laughing together.

I’m deeply humbled and gratified that for the last two and a half years I’ve been meeting people from all around Australia who travel to spend the day at my “pop-up” Cooking School. During this time we’ve had two different venues, both in wonderful and historic village halls and their kitchens – Federal, Coorabell, and now for 2020 we have a third gorgeous venue…The Burringbar School of Arts Hall (you’ll find out more about it below.)

As you can see from the heading ‘Exciting Changes’ I’ve been thinking long and hard about how to make the experience for our students this year even more pleasurable, interesting and worthwhile. After all this thought, together with feedback from previous students, I’m changing the format of the classes in 2020 to “mix things up” a bit. I think and hope you will like what’s in store!

All of the classes whether for Autumn, Winter, or Spring will of course have different recipes and menus and will vary from month to month …. and week to week in some cases! Except to say that the menu for the Friday and Saturday on the same weekend will be the same menu.

The difference when compared with what I’ve done previously lies in the structure and timing of the day and hopefully allows for even more input from me; the opportunity for even more tips and ideas; and a bit less work for you!

If you would like to find out more, just scroll down the page…

What can you expect from our classes in 2020?

For all classes in 2020 the format and timing will be the same. Each class will be for a maximum of ten (10) guests only and run for approximately five (5) hours as follows ….

10.00am

Arrive at Burringbar School of Arts Hall (see below).

10.00am to 10.30am

Meet your fellow guests over tea and/or coffee with biccies or cake.

10.30am to 11.30am’ish … this is new!

You can relax with another cuppa (if you wish) while I demonstrate one or two of my recipes and pass on advice and tips gained from my days cooking in restaurants, on television and radio, and writing my cookbooks.

11.30am to 1.30pm’ish

Hands-on cooking for the particular menu of the day. For this cooking time you will usually cook in pairs. This means that you won’t be able to cook each and every recipe but you will have all the recipes to take home, and I’ll stop and show you important details of each recipe along the way. During this time there will be also be ample opportunity for Q&A time with me.

1.30pm to 3.00pm

Time now to sit down with your cooking companions and enjoy a long table lunch of the wonderful dishes you’ve cooked accompanied by a glass of wine or a delicious non-alcoholic drink.

3.00pm

Depart for home or your weekend accommodation with … a “goodie bag”, a full tummy, and I hope, a happy heart.

Special note:

Please let me know on the booking form if you have any particular dietary requirements and I shall do my very best to accommodate them. However, as we’ll be eating ‘family style’ around the table, be aware that we may not be able to especially cater for you. However, rest assured there is always plenty of choice.

What is the cost of this special day?

The cost includes morning tea (and afternoon tea too, if you can possibly fit it in!), cooking with and learning from me, all ingredients, recipe booklet, sit-down lunch with wine, and a “goodie bag” to take home.

Cost per person …. $350.00

By the way, if you would like to see some photos from my classes in 2019 to give you a bit of a “feel” for the goings-on, then you’ll find lots on my Instagram @belindajefferyfood.

Our new location for 2020

The changes in the format and scheduling of classes for 2020 have also required that I change location. The classes will now be held in another iconic, history-filled hall, the Burringbar School of Arts Hall which is over 100 years old. The village of Burringbar is in the hinterland of The Pacific Coast in Tweedshire, but still only 35 minutes from Byron Bay. For a glimpse of the venue, go to it’s Facebook page. This relocation will actually make for relatively little change in terms of travel times, especially for those coming down from Queensland (in fact, it’s a bit closer).

So many people over the last two and a half years have built a long weekend around one of my cooking classes, for as you may well know, Byronshire and the Northern Rivers area are major holiday and weekend destinations year round. For those of you who are coming from inter/intrastate Burringbar itself is only 40 minutes from Coolangatta/Gold Coast Airport.

As an interesting aside I believe that the venue now being Burringbar may well open up different possibilities to be considered for Accommodation. As well as Byron Bay, Mullumbimby or Brunswick Heads you may now also like to consider staying on the lower Gold Coast (e.g Kirra, Coolangatta) or Murwillumbah (Tweed Regional Art Gallery/Margaret Olley Art Centre) or Cabarita Beach (Halcyon House) or Casuarina/Salt (Peppers and others). The possibilities are many and varied.

It might be helpful as a guide if I list here some of the estimated travel times to Burringbar School of Arts Hall from various close-by locations. These include ….

* Byron Bay .. 35 mins. * Brunswick Heads .. 20 mins. * Mullumbimby .. 30 mins.

* Murwillumbah .. 20 mins. * Coolangatta/Kirra .. 40 mins. * Kingscliff .. 40 mins.

* Cabarita Beach ..30 mins.

Closer to the time we shall send you instructions for how best to get to Burringbar Hall coming from various directions. It’s easy.

Cooking Class Gift Vouchers

What a great idea! Give your friends or family members a real treat for a birthday, anniversary or any other special occasion (or just because you want to spoil them) by giving them a Gift Voucher to one of my classes.

Find out more and book

Exclusive private cooking classes: hands-on for 10 people only

We get a number of enquiries about the possibility of doing exclusive hands-on private classes for groups – friends, family, or for corporate development. We’re really happy to do so, as long as there are 8 – 10 people in the group. If you would like to find out more about these special events, please contact me at belindajeffery24@gmail.com

Burringbar Hall, Burringbar NSW
(In the beautiful Tweed Hinterland)
Hands-on cooking classes for 8-10 people
10am – 3pm