Discover the Best Seafood Classes in NYC
From zesty plates of Italian shrimp scampi to a soothing bowl of fish ball soup from a Southeast Asian food stall, seafood dishes are found and enjoyed in nearly every part of the world. That said, there are plenty of fish to enjoy off New York’s own bays and beaches, including salmon, trout, sea bass, and all kinds of shellfish. With such a rich assortment of seafood so close by, the prospect of learning to cook a seafood dish or two may be appealing. And if it is, the good news is that it’s incredibly easy to get started. Before you know it, you’ll start wowing your friends or coworkers with your remarkable seafood dishes.
Why You Should Learn Seafood in NYC
Many people may be familiar with hearing seafood referred to as “brain food,” and that’s absolutely true. Multiple studies have shown that people who incorporate fish into their diet by eating it at least twice a week have a reduced risk of heart attack, and both brain and eye health will benefit as well. However, the prospect of going out to eat seafood twice a week can be a turn-off for many, especially people who want to save money and cut back on expensive seafood dinners. The good news is that eating seafood twice a week is far more manageable (and affordable) when making it yourself, so there really is no better time than the present to start picking up a few seafood recipes.
One nice thing is that you can go as far as you want when it comes to making seafood dishes. You can simply learn a few go-to recipes as part of a larger cooking hobby, or you can potentially turn that hobby into a lucrative career. There are tons of incredible seafood restaurants in New York City and its surrounding area, and even more restaurants with seafood as part of a larger, more varied menu. Knowing how to cook seafood is a very marketable skill in the food industry, and it certainly won’t hurt if you intend to go after a chef position.
In-Person Seafood Classes & Schools in NYC
An in-person seafood class offers a fun environment to quickly boost your seafood-making skills. Having an expert instructor to answer questions as you go is a tremendous benefit to any learner, and having a group of participants to cook with and possibly befriend along the way is a bonus. An in-person seafood class is a great way for total beginners to get their foot in the door cooking seafood and for intermediate or even advanced learners to add new recipes and techniques to their seafood skill set.
If you’re near Manhattan, consider heading to SoHo for the How to Cook Shellfish: Clams, Mussels, Shrimp, Scallops Class from Home Cooking New York. Cooks of all levels are welcome in this course that couples hands-on cooking with demonstration-style teaching. Participants will learn to make four dishes utilizing each of the class's shellfish of focus: Spaghetti alla Vongole with classic white clam sauce, Braised Shrimp Puttanesca, Steamed Mussels Provencal with garlic croutons, and Seared Scallops with roasted red pepper coulis. All materials are provided for you, including a complete recipe packet to keep, and the class will culminate in a celebratory sit-down meal for all participants.
Alternatively, if you’d rather stay away from the stovetop for now, Home Cooking New York also offers a DIY Sushi + Dumplings Class in SoHo for all NYC sushi enthusiasts. In addition to an assortment of sushi rolls, participants will also get hands-on experience making gyoza and green salad with carrot and ginger dressing. Each participant will have the opportunity to become more comfortable with their knife skills, as well as in all the work that goes into preparing ingredients for cooking.
If Mediterranean-style cooking is a favorite, then head over to Chelsea for the Spanish Paella Party Class from CocuSocial Cooking Classes. Though all are welcome, this class is catered particularly to beginner cooks, with time dedicated to teaching how to source fresh, seasonal ingredients of your own (though all materials required to cook in class will be provided). Participants can look forward to a fun, casual atmosphere that is also instructive.
If you find the prospect of cooking seafood overwhelming and you just don’t know where to start, then Seafood 101 from The Brooklyn Kitchen is the way to go. Not only will you learn tips and tricks for detecting fish quality while shopping, but you’ll also get insight into thinking like a true chef and understanding how to substitute one fish for another in almost any recipe. This class promises to teach you about tackling a fish from every angle: participants will learn about fileting and skinning, pan searing, creating their pan sauces, and even how to use fish bones to create a delicious stock. As if that weren’t enough, you’ll also get the chance to work with mollusks and shellfish, learning all about steaming, poaching, and shucking. And for the eco-conscious seafood enthusiasts, know that sustainability will also be included as a topic of conversation.
If you’re looking for something with a focus on the skills you need to succeed in a kitchen where seafood is on the menu, then The Brooklyn Kitchen’s Seafood Skills Class promises to deliver. In this Williamsburg, Brooklyn class, participants will be led through a variety of hands-on exercises in breaking down fish, shucking clams and oysters, and cooking fish perfectly. Time will also be spent on the ins and outs of sourcing your own fish, as well as expert butchering and cooking techniques. The planned menu participants will cook promises a great variety too: clams casino, crispy-skin seared fish filet, steamed fish en papillote, and oysters with mignonette.
Maybe you’ve heard of all sorts of cultural seafood dishes and can’t decide where to start because they all sound so good. If that’s you, you can get a little bit of everything with this course from City Cooking West End called Global Kitchen: Seafood from Around the World. This course will also cover some of the basics when it comes to sourcing, prepping, and cooking techniques, which all culminates in an end-of-class dinner with a tasty three-course menu. Participants will get to cook and enjoy spicy mussels in lemongrass and ginger broth, Greek salad with charred calamari, and shrimp curry with red pepper and herbs as well as jasmine rice. There will be complimentary wine pairings with each dish, and all participants will be emailed copies of each recipe to recreate any of the dishes at home.
Virtual Seafood Classes & Schools
While there’s plenty to love about in-person classes, including course materials almost always being provided for you on-site, sometimes an online class still proves the better option. In NYC in particular, it's understandable to want to avoid potential traffic jams or not want to have to deal with switching buses or subway lines en route to a class.
Thankfully, it’s never been easier to take online seafood classes. And while you’ll need to source most, if not all, your own supplies, the freedom to take your class from almost anywhere and likely have many more class options available make for a decent trade-off.
Learn all the fundamentals of making sushi at home in this Virtual Handmade Sushi Class. These fundamentals include hand rolls and cut rolls, as well as how to rinse, make, and season your very own sushi rice from scratch. All materials and ingredients needed to fully participate are listed in advance, so whether you’re sourcing supplies online or at a local store or market, it’s easy to keep track of everything. Interactivity will be very much encouraged in this class; questions can be asked anytime using software chat features, and there will be numerous designated stopping points for participants to ask questions live as well.
If seafood pasta dishes are among your favorites, you can learn to make Shrimp Scampi from Scratch in this online class. Not only will participants learn how to make the perfect shrimp, but they’ll also learn how to make handmade linguine. Combine these ingredients with butter, garlic, parsley, and scallions, and you’ll have all the know-how for making a simple, but exquisite shrimp scampi for any guests you want to impress.
You can also learn to master Garlicky Clams with Toasted Fregola, an incredible dish from the beautiful Italian island of Sardinia. You won’t need any special tools or advanced preparation of your ingredients; with just a stable internet connection, a device to attend class, and the handful of necessary ingredients themselves, you’ll be good to go. This class also promises to discuss multiple variations of this one dish, so participants will walk away more equipped to experiment and cook this dish to their own tastes.
Private Group Seafood Classes in NYC
Even with plenty of course options available to individuals in NYC, CourseHorse also has you covered if you’re looking for seafood classes for private groups in NYC. A seafood class offers a fun team-building opportunity and might be just what your organization needs to unwind and recharge for those upcoming projects.
One relatively easy seafood class for groups of nearly any size is CourseHorse’s Virtual Sushi Making Workshop. CourseHorse also makes the process of booking incredibly convenient. Confirmations are sent within 24 hours of booking, and group sizes can even be changed after booking if needed. Cancellations are also free with at least two weeks’ notice if plans need to be changed, though rescheduling is free with only 48 hours’ notice.
This particular sushi class will also send out a supply kit to every participant before the course date. This kit includes all the actual food ingredients participants will need for the class, in addition to a set of reusable chopsticks, a bamboo rolling mat, and a gift card to buy any preferred sushi fillings. Also provided is a list of supplies that participants will need to source on their own. Fortunately, these items are things that most people will have lying around: a medium saucepan and lid, a clean kitchen towel, a spoon, a rubber spatula, a chef’s knife, a cutting board, a plate, and a bowl. With these supplies, participants will be all set to learn proper knife cuts, rolling techniques, and other fish basics.
While Zoom is the recommended platform for the course, CourseHorse is willing to accommodate other platforms such as Google Meets or Microsoft Teams. If you need to coordinate with CourseHorse about this or any other potential concern, simply reach out via the site’s contact form.
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