Sydney Seafood School Manager

Sally has worked in food, hospitality, media and publishing in Sydney for more than 20 years. She had an extensive editorial career in lifestyle magazines before joining Murdoch Books as food publisher in 2011. In her freelance career she’s been a journalist, restaurant critic, recipe writer, food editor, travel writer and publisher. Most recently Sally was content director at boutique PR and marketing agency The Cru, working on content strategy, creation, and implementation, predominantly for food, hospitality and wine clients. She’s also a passionate cook, and loves seafood. She’s particularly excited to be leading Sydney Seafood School as it transforms and grows ready for its new home at the new Sydney Fish Market.  

Business Operations Coordinator

Shiona studied cookery at East Sydney TAFE in the early 90s between Economics/Asian Studies at ANU and Architecture at UTS. She joined the Seafood School in 2017 as an administrative assistant and now oversees all Sydney Seafood School operations, from produce orders to food safety to staff rosters. Shiona says at Sydney Seafood School she’s finally working in the field she should have pursued from the very beginning. 

Corporate Events Coordinator

Food has always been an important part of life for Amelia, who spent spent Saturdays as a teen working at a Lebanese food stall at Paddington Markets. She carved out a successful career in fashion, as a buyer, designer and lecturer, before joining the Seafood School office team in 2014, where she oversees exclusive event bookings and manages partnerships. In her role Amelia works closely with each client to ensure every event is a success, and names Paella, Moroccan and Seafood BBQ as her favourite classes for private bookings.  

Presenter and Assistant

Fiona’s vast experience in food and hospitality includes studying cookery at La Varenne École De Cuisine in Paris, cooking at Jenny Ferguson’s You & Me Restaurant (alongside Stefano Manfredi), running a series of cafés and a wholesale cake business, and working as a production chef and in food prep and styling for TV. She landed at Sydney Seafood School in 2008, and loves the fact that no day is the same and there’s always an opportunity to learn from our guest chefs.  

Presenter and Assistant

Jen has worked in hospitality since 1982, both bar work and restaurant front-of-house. Wanting to understand the bigger picture, she enrolled in Commercial Cookery at East Sydney Tech (now TAFE) in 1991. She loves helping Sydney Seafood School guests get over their fear of preparing and cooking seafood, and seeing the satisfaction they experience when they section a crab or strip a squid for the first time. 

Assistant

Grace emigrated from Thailand in 2009 and started working in hospitality, including in Thai and Japanese restaurants, progressing from kitchen hand through the ranks to kitchen manager. She joined the Seafood School team in 2013. She loves the food knowledge she’s gained over that time from guest chefs and other team members.  

Assistant

Caress lives and breathes food.  Her journey in the food industry started in 1992 when she studied Business Catering at the East Sydney College but has taken a different turn into a career in the Fashion industry for more than 20 years.  She has now gone back to her to her first love, food, as she recently joined the fabulous team of the Sydney Seafood School.