Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class

Sydney

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Food and Drink

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Cooking

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Japanese Cooking

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Japanese Culture

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Vegan

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Team Building Cooking Classes

Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class

Learn how to cook delicious Japanese dishes suitable for vegans and those on a gluten-free diet

Sumi Saikawa
(Sumi's Kitchen In Sydney)

4.9 (107)

ClassBento donates with every booking to

3 hours

1 to 6 (public classes), 5 to 8 (private) (private classes)

$95 (or 4 payments of $23.75 via- Afterpay)

Sydney

•

Food and Drink

•

Cooking

•

Japanese Cooking

•

Japanese Culture

•

Vegan

•

Team Building Cooking Classes

What you'll do

Learn how to recreate popular Japanese foods that are suitable for those on a gluten-free and vegan diet. Through the combination of traditional gluten-free dishes that Japan has to offer, as well as re-creating wheat-based Japanese foods, without gluten and with locally-sourced ingredients.

In this Sydney cooking class, you will be taught by Sumi Saikawa, who grew up in Kobe Japan. The class will follow the typical Japanese home cooking style 'Ichi Jyu Sansai'. This follows the foundation of Japanese cuisine since ancient times where meals consist of one type of soup and three other dishes (one main dish and two sides).

In fact, 'Ichi' means one and 'Jyu' means soup, while 'san' is three and 'sai' refers to dishes - so ichiju-sansai literally means, 'one soup, three dishes'. Rice is always served as well.

The dishes you will create include:

Black sesame rice
Potato/Lotus roots patty on Nori seaweed with homemade teriyaki sauce
Eggplant with miso glaze sauce
English spinach and Shitake mushrooms salads
Vegetables miso soup
Quick pickles

Over the course of the three-hour, hands-on class, we will work together to create each component of our ichiju-sansai. All components will be gluten-free and taught in a way so that you can easily replicate the recipes back at home. You are welcome to state any preferences and your teacher will try to accommodate.

On top of your new knowledge of Japanese culture, you will learn:

How to make Japanese vegan stock
How to use traditional Japanese seasonings and alternative seasonings
Introduction of Shojin Ryori (Japanese temple cooking)
To understand the benefits and potential risks of a gluten-free diet

This class is suitable for people who are gluten intolerant, follow a vegan lifestyle or just have an interest in this cooking.

Please note:

All ingredients will be gluten-free, however, the environment is not totally gluten-free.
Two friendly dogs are in the premises which keep outside during the lesson.

Cancellation policy
Please note if you cancel your booking less than 24 hours before, you will be subject to a 30% charge for the ingredients fee. To avoid the cancellation fee, please provide cancellation notice at least 24hours prior to your booking.

See available dates, Request a private class or Gift

See booking options

Knowledge required

This class is for anybody interested in Japanese cuisine. Beginners, intermediates, advanced all welcome.

What you'll get

Delicious gluten-free and vegan Japanese lunch
Great discussion with like-minded people
Insight into Japanese culture
Recipes for everything you make

What to bring

Please bring your favourite apron, tea towels and pen.

Suitable for

This class is great for individuals and couples as well as for a team building activity, Christmas party, birthday or hens party.

This would also be a nice gift for her, gift for mum, anniversary gift or birthday gift.

Location

St Ives, NSW

Exact location is masked for privacy. You'll automatically get the specific address after booking.

Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class location

Your teacher

Sumi Saikawa
(Sumi's Kitchen In Sydney)

4.9 (107)

I was born in a Zen temple in Kobe Japan, which was an amazing environment to grow up in as a little kid. I was always in the kitchen to help make shojin ryori with mum (Temple cooking) for as long as I can remember for the temple. This was where my curiosity and fascination of food came from especially its part to play in culture and role it plays to keep the body and mind healthy.

From there, I graduated from university and worked as a dietitian in Japan for many years before meeting my husband and coming to Australia. My husband and I immigrated to Australia over 27 years ago now where we have made ourselves a family with 2 (not so young anymore) children. Now, I run lots of health oriented - cooking classes including "shojin ryori" for people living in Australia and Japan from all stages of life from the elderly to children.

My meal style: I try to give to initiative to prepare the foods even in a busy life. I appreciate the foods and I try to make food which will make me be happy.

Gift this artisan experience

With our gift card, they can book this class at a time that suits them

Gifting options

Verified reviews

We only show reviews from customers who have paid for and attended this class

Michelle de Vries • Nov 2023

Sumí was fantastic. I highly recommend this class. It was well organised, easy to follow along and a lot of fun making the dishes and then enjoying them for lunch.

Cooking class review by Michelle de Vries - Sydney

Sergio Perez • Nov 2023

Sumi's cooking class at her cozy place with green views was a delightful and charming experience. The food was spectacular, highly recommended!

Rita Savanah • Oct 2023

Thank you Sumi for a wonderful learning experience. From the moment we arrived we felt comfortable in your kitchen. Not only did we learn the art of cooking Japanese food we also learned about Japanese culture. The food was delicious as was the company. Highly recommend .
Rita and Séan.

Cooking class review by Rita Savanah - Sydney

Georgia Wilson-Williams • Sep 2023

Sumi was an incredible host and teacher as we learnt how to prepare a delicious vegan & gluten free zen meal. The lush location in St Ives, and her friendly pups, added to the atmosphere of the day too. The experience was unique, with thorough explanations of the traditions and nutrition of the food we were preparing as well as physical recipes to take home. Sumi is knowledgeable, prompt and friendly. A highlight was learning about kelp stock, & sharing the class with other foodies who we worked and ate alongside. Thank you Sumi for a lovely Sunday of learning!

Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class review by Georgia Wilson-Williams - Sydney

Darian Quadrio • Sep 2023

An excellent way to spend a few hours. Food was delicious, company was great, teacher was organized, venue was serene. A beautiful experience.

Tom Smith • Aug 2023

The entire experience was enjoyable from start to finish. Sumi was well organised and a great guide.

Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class review by Tom Smith - Sydney

Sue Gilchrist • Aug 2023

Could not recommend this class more! There was a great balance of having techniques demonstrated to us and doing the cooking ourselves. The food was delicious and the setting was lovely too.

Sue Gilchrist • Aug 2023

The whole experience was wonderful. Sumi is an excellent supportive and informative teacher. The hands on cooking experience really helped with the learning. The meal we all cooked as a team was delicious. And the setting in Sumi's home in the Aussie bush was lovely. Highly recommended. We'll be back for the sweets course.

Julia Kagi • Jun 2023

2 ClassBento workshops attended

Sumi was a fantastic teacher. I enjoyed learning about how to prepare the marinades with vegetables which I wouldn’t normally use. Very informative and interesting and was easy to follow.

Raquel Wachter • Jun 2023

Sumi was so nice and we had the best time! She explains things well, answers questions, and then you get to divide into groups to make the best Japanese vegan lunch ever! It was so much fun, I wish I could learn more from her, so we bought her cookbook too to bring home with us. Highly recommend for a fun date or even would go solo to learn and be surrounded by likeminded individuals!

Amrita Sur • May 2023

Sumi is a wonderful teacher and a host! My partner and I had a lot of fun learning how to make all the dishes for the day and learning from Sumi. I highly recommend this experience for anyone looking to learn some of the basic skills in Japanese cooking, yet have an awesome experience!

Charlotte Lantai • May 2023

Our teacher, Sumi, was very organised, providing us all with colour-print-outs of all the recipes, sending us email reminders of what to bring and more! Her place is open, functional and welcoming, with a big kitchen and a separate dining room. She explained how to cook each of the dishes well and showed us the types of miso and other ingredients she will use. I liked how she split us up to cook the different dishes. She was very well-equipped, with several utensils for us to use at the same time. She supervised us and was ready to answer any questions. Her timing was perfect, too. I liked the presentation of the dishes, too. She’s a lovely, friendly and knowledgeable cooking teacher. I loved our classmates, too - all passionate about Japanese food and culture!

David Luttrell • Apr 2023

2 ClassBento workshops attended • 2 reviews

Great class. Lovely to learn the proper way to cook some delicious food. Sumi was a great teacher and host.

Alicia Tan • Apr 2023

Sumi was a wonderful and hospitable teacher. The recipes she taught us were easy enough for us to recreate at home and we had such a good time!

Samantha Baker • Apr 2023

Sumi is a lovely and knowledgeable teacher. The kitchen set up is great, supplied with everything needed to cook the wonderful food. The class involves a good combination of demonstration and hands on experience.

Karmen Sbisa • Mar 2023

I purchased 2 tickets as a birthday gift for my friend so we could go together. The teacher, Sumi, was very welcoming and knowledgable. We were a small group of six people and when the cooking class ended we were all invited to sit around the table and eat what we cooked together which was a nice opportunity to have a chat with the other participants and exchange opinions in an informal setting. The experience overall was a good value for money. Thanks Sumi! Chiara

Peter Akkari • Mar 2023

Incredible class with an amazing knowledge teacher.

Would go back in a heartbeat. Loved it!

Sarah Summers • Mar 2023

A beautiful few hours with a great group of people and lovely teacher. A blend of watching and learning and shared cooking. Wonderfully arranged from start to finish. Highly recommend.

Cooking class review by Sarah Summers - Sydney

Naomi Blair • Feb 2023

Sumi is a great teacher and her house is a calm environment with Japanese affects. The food was so yummy and pretty simple to recreate at home

Cooking class review by Naomi Blair - Sydney

Mark Rutter • Nov 2022

2 ClassBento workshops attended

Sumi was a good teacher. She was warm and personable, explained the structure of the class, what she and we would be doing, the different ingredients, and how to prepare and cook them.

Attending the class in Sumi's home was enjoyable and comfortable. Her kitchen and dining area was large enough for the group size.

The range of Japanese, vegan, gluten-free dishes was excellent and the number of dishes was management in the time we had.

The other people in our class were varied in their backgrounds, knowledge, and ability. We enjoyed learning with them.

It was a good experience to sit down together and eat the lunch we had just made. The flavours were delicious.

We would recommend the class to anyone. You don't need to be vegan or gluten-free to enjoy it. It was good value for money.

Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class review by Mark Rutter - Sydney

Angela Maier • Nov 2022

2 ClassBento workshops attended

Sumi was a great teacher, and so generous with her knowledge. The food we prepared was really tasty. I had a lovely time and look forward to making these recipes at home.

Juultje Loo • Nov 2022

2 ClassBento workshops attended • 2 reviews

What a great class! Sumi is great tutor and knowledgeable dietician. Health based, fabulous recipes and very helpful on what ingredients to use. Thank you very much.

Cooking class review by Juultje Loo - Sydney

Stacey Philpot • Oct 2022

Sumi was wonderful and attentive, she welcomes you to her home and is lovely to spend time with.

The food was yummy and you get verbal and practical information.

We had a lovely time and her two dogs (that I sought out) were lovely, calm and cuddle friendly :)

Dawn Uchida • Oct 2022

8 ClassBento workshops attended • 6 reviews

This was a wonderful class. The Japanese dishes Sumi taught us tasted so clean and nurturing. I never realised vegan Japanese cooking could be so delicious! She was a great teacher, explaining everything well and answering all questions. Highly recommend this class and hope to be back again.

Cooking class review by Dawn Uchida - Sydney

Sophie Ferguson • Oct 2022

So much fun- we loved our morning with Sumi. So knowledgeable and tasty. Can’t wait to use these recipes in our home cooking.

Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class review by Sophie Ferguson - Sydney

Leanne Barnett • Aug 2022

We had a wonderful time at the vegan/gluten free Japanese cooking class. Sumi welcomed us into her home and was warm and friendly and settled us quickly in. She was informative & interesting as she demonstrated some ingredient preparation. We then had a turn at preparing the food under her guidance. It was fun and easy to follow the recipes & Sumi was at hand to help out when needed. The results were excellent- the food was fresh & very tasty and we've all been inspired to try the recipes at home. I highly recommend the class- a fun & delicious way to spend a morning.

Colleen Moggach • Aug 2022

2 ClassBento workshops attended

Sumi was a great teacher, I thoroughly enjoyed the class, and the food was excellent!

Linda Mitchell • Aug 2022

Amazing experience and we learnt a lot. Sumi took the time to explain a lot of interesting aspects of the food and cuisine, demonstrated things clearly and helped along the way. The food we made was absolutely delicious and beautiful!

Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class review by Linda Mitchell - Sydney

Carolina Siufi • Aug 2022

We really enjoyed the whole experience. The teacher was very helpful and the food was absolutely delicious. Can't wait to start cooking at home.

Cooking class review by Carolina Siufi - Sydney

Christine Graf • Jun 2021

2 ClassBento workshops attended

The class was fantastic. We learnt a lot, the food was delicious, and our teacher was friendly, knowledgeable and lovely. It was nice to be in a comfy home kitchen rather than a commercial/class one too!

(The only thing I haven't really appreciated is unrelated to our lovely teacher, it is the constant badgering from Class Bento for a review. It's only been three days and I've received multiple texts and emails. Today I got told it's my last chance? I'm very busy during the week sorry, I promise I'll review but please let me so it in my own time so it can be a thoughtful, well considered one. Also didn't really like the "helpful tips" about what to write. Make them an option if I want help, not an invasive pop up)

Carmen Chan • May 2021

2 ClassBento workshops attended • 2 reviews

We had a fun afternoon learning about authentic Japanese cooking from Sumi. The venue was spacious and welcoming. Definitely a fun experience and the food was delicious - couldn’t believe we made it ourselves! Felt like we were in Japan for a few hours! Thank you Sumi.

Andrew Howard • Apr 2021

4 ClassBento workshops attended • 2 reviews

Sumi was great with our children. And we bought ingredients on the way home so we could practice our new skills straight away. Thank you Sumi.

Nicola Rai • Apr 2021

A relaxed vibe and knowledgeable teacher. I learnt more than I expected and I am keen to put it into practice. I would certainly do another class with Sumi to learn more about how to make Japanese dishes here in Australia.

Cooking class review by Nicola Rai - Sydney

Analise Bauchinger • Apr 2021

Thank you, Sumi. My mother and I really enjoyed the cooking class. Everything was great.

Cooking class review by Analise Bauchinger - Sydney

Carla Rowe • Apr 2021

Sumi is an excellent teacher. We had a wonderful time learning how to cook with her. All the recipes were delicious! We will definitely be making these at home. Thanks for a great time Sumi

Cooking class review by Carla Rowe - Sydney

Stefania Kikuchi • Apr 2021

2 ClassBento workshops attended

Sumi teacher was great and very helpful during the workshop. All materials were provided! And got to eat what we cooked. Lovely place, easy to find car parking and lots of fun. スミ先生お料理教えて下さってありがとうございました

Cooking class review by Stefania Kikuchi - Sydney

Mann Bookluck • Mar 2021

2 ClassBento workshops attended

Relaxing setting with easy to follow style of cooking, the reward is a tasty Japanese banquet to finish off the class. Thank you Sumi it was an enjoyable session.

Cooking class review by Mann Bookluck - Sydney

Tamara Khayatt • Mar 2021

Sumi was very welcoming and had everything well prepared and ready to go for us. The instructions were excellent and we were able to get hands on and cook a beautiful lunch that we all shared together. Will definitely be using my new skills and would definitely recommend.

David Doniguian • Mar 2021

My wife Kate and I really enjoyed our cooking class at Sumi's. Sumi is very lovely and hospitable. Her teaching skills are good as well as she explained thoroughly each step of the recipes first before letting us do the cooking ourselves. Sumi also provided tips on potential substitutes for ingredients and accommodates all dietary requirements. On top of that, the menu proposed was made of a great variety of dishes and each of them was delicious. Finally, sharing the lunch together at the end made the whole experience even more authentic.
Highly recommended!

Sophie Wainwright • Mar 2021

Overall an amazing experience Sumi is a lovely teacher with so much knowledge of the Japanese culture and food.

All good was amazing, her place is beautiful & we enjoyed an amazing lunch after lots of cooking.

Would recommend, a great weekend activity! Also recommended other great Japanese experiences across Sydney.

Thanks so much

Cooking class review by Sophie Wainwright - Sydney

Alix Smith • Feb 2021

Sumi was a fantastic teacher who made my partner and myself feel very welcome. The venue was well set out for the lesson with good visibility and a good class size. Sumi gave a great background as to why certain ingredients were used as well as alternatives. My partner and myself thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will definitely be putting our new found skills to use. Thanks for having us.

Dunya Can • Feb 2021

2 ClassBento workshops attended

Thank you for opening your home up to us and welcoming us to your kitchen.

Sumi and her daughter were so lovely and Sumi was a great instructor. The variety of dishes we made were fun and simple, we will definitely be recreating this at home.

Charlie Cavill • Feb 2021

Sumi hosted an amazing class that was interesting, informative and fun. Sumi is a lovely host and a great chef who showed us many great recipes. Would recommend to anyone.

Kerrilyn Stratford • Feb 2021

2 ClassBento workshops attended • 2 reviews

Loved the class. Sumi was very well prepared, presented the recipes clearly with good instruction. The dishes were delicious and I look forward to making them for friends and family.

Cooking class review by Kerrilyn Stratford - Sydney

Ruth Blades • Jan 2021

Sumi’s class was amazing. We took a friend as a birthday gift and we all had a great time. Sumi has a very interesting background and was clearly very passionate and knowledgable about food, we came away feeling confident to recreate the dishes at home, and source good ingredients thanks to Sumi’s tips. Her kitchen is beautiful and a great setting to cook and have a delicious lunch in. Thank you Sumi

Vegan and Gluten Free Japanese Cooking Class review by Ruth Blades - Sydney

Aneka Henshaw • Sep 2020

Sumi was lovely, we learnt lots of Japanese cooking and all the food was delicious. Would recommend to absolutely anyone. Not too difficult and there is plenty of guidance to help beginners but still very interesting for more experienced participants. Would do again, definitely.