Moonacres Cooking School Program

Gourmet Chef Experience – Jessica Pedemont and Tommy Prosser – Friday 10 November
Duration: 5 Hours
Cost: $120

Dinner at Moonacres with Jessica Pedemont and Tommy Prosser.

Moonacres inaugural Gourmet Chef Series Dinner sold out within hours, the team are delighted to release their second dinner with Australia’s foremost Chocolatier, Jessica Pedemont and the extraordinary Executive Chef of Berrima Vault House, Tommy Prosser. Together with Moonacre’s own Stephen Santucci aka Jimmy Nardello the menu this trio will develop will be based around cacao, Tommy’s English roots & Stephen’s Italian Heritage.

As Tommy & Stephen currently study together the craft of chacuterie expect to see a fusion of British & Italian flavours.  Over 25 years Jessica has dedicated her career to studying, working, teaching, and competing internationally in chocolate and pastry making. Keen to explore the origins of her ingredients, Jessica visited Pacific Island cacao plantaions and is now enmeshed she can tell you the origin of every chocolate and cacao product she makes – even the names of the farmers.

Make the most of your time in the Highlands with an overnight stay at Moss Manor in Moss Vale.

Enquire with our Concierge Team about a customised group or corporate classes.

Masterclass with Tommy Prosser and Jessica Pedemont – Saturday 11 November
Duration: 4 Hours
Cost: $245

Tommy and Jessica together, are an inspiring tale of pushing boundaries and a reminder that creativity knows no bounds in the realm of food.

Jessica Pedemont and Tommy Prosser are not just chefs; they craft dishes that challenge conventions and transport people back to a certain time and place through their foods and aromas. This cooking class is the best of sweet and savoury.

This is a three-hour interactive demonstration with Tommy and Jess showing you how to make shio koji chicken pastrami, (the art of chicken butchery using brining and mincing farce making) dry spice rub, jalapeno, coriander emulsion, garlic scape chips (tempura), garden slaw and peanut dressing, a dark chocolate bowl, rhubarb and strawberry chips, chilled poached rhubarb, fresh strawberry snow and stracciatella cream.

The class will conclude with a lunch of the dishes created by Tommy and Jess and shared around the school table.

About Tommy and Jessica 

Born and raised in East Sussex UK, Tommy Prosser began his culinary journey washing dishes aged 13. Once he qualified as a chef, Tommy went on to hone his craft at acclaimed Michelin-Star restaurants Gravetye Manor and The Waterside Inn. After travelling around Australia in 2010, Tommy stayed and worked in Melbourne as Head Chef at Hobba Coffee & Kitchen, then in Sydney with Single Origin Roasters, running their expanding group of cafés winning multiple awards for each.

In 2015 he established Hospitality Works working as a freelance chef and consultant for a variety of clients and projects in Australia and UK. In 2020 Tommy joined Berrima Vault House in the NSW Southern Highlands, where he enjoyed building relationships with local primary producers and farmers to create menus for dining outlets and events at this exclusive members’ club.

This year Tommy has returned to working as a freelance chef, offering consulting, demonstrations, Private dining, brand ambassadorship, recipe and product development to companies wanting to progress in the industry. Now returning to cook in the highlands for the first time this year, with Jessica to share the foods they love to cook.

Chocolate Artisan the person is chef Jessica Pedemont, who has devoted her 25-year career to working, studying, teaching and competing internationally in chocolate making and pastry.

Keen to explore the origins of the ingredients she worked with, Jessica visited Pacific Island cacao plantations. It was an eye-opening experience, revealing the conditions farmers endure to grow and harvest cacao and their struggle to be paid fairly in a cutthroat international market.

In 2018, partnering with the Solomon Islands cacao-farming collective – Makira Gold, she launched the social enterprise SOUTH PACIFIC CACAO, a premium bean-to bar chocolate business. In keeping with her company’s philosophy, Jessica can tell you the origin of every chocolate and cacao product she makes – even the names of the farmers.

Make the most of your time in the Highlands with an overnight stay at Moss Manor in Moss Vale.

Enquire with our Concierge Team about a customised group or corporate classes.

Asian Banquet with Trisha Greentree, Fratelli Paradiso – Saturday 18 November
Duration: 4 Hours
Cost: $295

In this class with Trisha Greentree from Fratelli Paradiso you will learn how to cook classic Asian dishes without specialty equipment or fancy tricks.

The perceived notion of the difficulties and unfamiliar ingredients will diminish as we take standard saucepans and the trusty steamer and use simple cooking techniques to cook a banquet filled with variety and an abundance of vegetables sourced from the Moonacres Farm.

This class will teach home cooks how to create balance and flavour using old world techniques to cook simple dishes that will expand your cooking repertoire for years to come. Trisha will be teaching foundation staples of this style of cooking including hot oil blanching, larder condiments, dumpling dough, white cut chicken and a steamed egg custard.

The menu will be egg steamed custard with crab, cold potato salad, green garlic, leeks and black vinegar, dumplings – home made and hand rolled dough filled with pork mince and burnt chilli sauce and poached chicken with ginger oil and herbs.

At the end of the cook, you will sit with Trisha around the Moonacre school table and enjoy a beautiful long lunch of all you have made together.

About Trisha Greentree

Trisha began her culinary career at the infamous Bird Cow Fish in Sydney and realised her love for cooking, and passion for hospitality so travelled overseas to broaden her horizons.

She headed to the sunshine of California where she worked with the acclaimed Jordan Kahn at RedMedicine in Beverly Hills. She then sought out the esteemed chef, Paul Cunningham at Henne Kirkeby Kro in Denmark, who left an indelible imprint that began to form her ethos of produce and seasons.

Once back on home turf, Greentree was part of the opening team at the formidable Mr Wong in Sydney where she took the time to learn to cook with the wok and for a wider audience.
Her most formative residence, however, was then at Brae in Birregurra, Victoria where she split her time between the kitchen and tending to the regenerative on-site farm. It was this focus on sustainability and thoughtful farming practices, that led Trisha to an unapologetic produce-focused approach to cooking.

After taking time out to welcome her son into the world, Trisha joined the team as Executive Chef at Sydney’s beloved 10 William Street to much acclaim. Having set the course for the kitchen, she moved across to its sister restaurant, and a darling of the hospitality industry, Fratelli Paradiso. She is at home here, creating menus where simplicity, seasonality and creativity are the order of the day.

What first began as an instinctual foray into food has blossomed into a true labour of love. Trisha describes her cooking today as: ‘’Connected. I consider deeply, the weather, seasons, audience and occasion to ensure the food on the plate is exactly as it should be. I believe my role as a chef is to provide a platform for the ingredients to achieve their full potential, respecting the growers who tend to them and creating a delicious meal for our guests.’’

Trisha was lucky enough to help open the now Sydney dining institution, Mr Wongs, which instilled an insatiable palate for Chinese cooking. “I constantly turn to the east when cooking at home. I find nothing more comforting than a bowl of steamed hot rice paired with dishes that are simple, nourishing, balanced and full of flavour.”

The class will go from 10am – 2pm.

Make the most of your time in the Highlands with an overnight stay at Moss Manor in Moss Vale.

Enquire with our Concierge Team about a customised group or corporate classes.

Christmas Baking with Anna Phillips – Sunday 26 November
Duration: 4 Hours
Cost: $295

Coming together to bake truly symbolises the spirit of the festive season. Being together, sharing a table and enjoying food is what matters most.

Join author, local and Moonacres cook, Anna Phillips who will guide and inspire you to make your very own puddings, tarts, savoury biscuits and other simple treats to take home and share at your table or, gift them to family and friends.

You will be surrounded by the aromas of spice and the scents of simmering fruits and spices and the knowing that this cooking class is more than just learning recipes; it’s about building connections and crafting love-infused gifts for Christmas. Once we finish our cooking, we will carefully package some of the biscuits and treats into boxes, tying them with festive ribbons offering our own unique touch.

The class runs from 10am to 2pm and will include a festive lunch around the Moonacre school table.

Moonacres classes are intimate and hands on with space for only 12 people. At the heart of Moonacres’ is our regenerative farming of quality produce and we hope to inspire you to learn, prepare and eat food that is nourishing and delicious and, take pleasure in the simple act of a shared table.

Make the most of your time in the Highlands with an overnight stay at Moss Manor in Moss Vale.

Enquire with our Concierge Team about a customised group or corporate classes.

Homemade Gifts with Sophie Hansen and Annie Herron – Friday 1 December
Duration: 6 Hours
Cost: $295

Creating handmade Christmas gifts holds immense appeal because it transcends the ordinary exchange of store-bought presents. In a world filled with mass-produced items, this class with Sophie and Annie will remind us just how fulfilling it is to create something for our friends and family that we make ourselves.

Sophie Hansen has a deep authenticity around teaching and encouraging the sharing of a table of good food that shows us, that the simple act of eating with friends and family, can be so joyful. In this class, in this spirit of generosity, Sophie will teach us how to make some beautiful edible gifts. And just in time for Christmas! Together we will make a stone fruit and red current chutney and a selection of Italian and Danish biscuits; brutti ma buoni, brunekager, and vanillekranse. Perfect to package up and share or keep on hand for Christmas pop-ins and ‘Bunter Teller’ plates with coffee (more on this in our class).

And on the art side of things; Annie knows that art is a powerful way to communicate what we love, need and feel to the people around us. She will show how to make Danish paper hearts, Christmas tags and ideas for an Advent calendar which will compliment Sophie’s treats.

You will share a lunch of prosciutto wrapped terrine in a puddle of tomato sauce sprinkled with parmesan, pickles and Moonacres bread followed by a Christmas cake with a difference created by Sophie, will be offered with some lovely local wines and shared around our table.

You’ll leave with wrapped edible Christmas gifts, a few new recipes and some cooking skills to be shared this Christmas along with loads of inspiration.

The class runs from 9:30am to 3:30pm and Sophie, Annie and the team at Moonacres look forward to seeing you soon.

About Sophie and Annie

Sophie is the author and photographer of four cookbooks with another on the way, co-host of the podcast Something to Eat and Something to Read and, she spent three years working with Slow Food Editore in Northern Italy in her twenties. For the past ten years Sophie has been sharing recipes on her blog Local is Lovely and runs workshops around country NSW and beyond. She writes a weekly newsletter called ‘5 things to be cheerful about’ and if that’s not enough! she was awarded in 2016, Australian Rural Woman of the Year in recognition of her commitment to rural communities.

Sophies approach to cooking and sourcing food – keep it simple, keep it seasonal and get comfortable with a strong repertoire of bombproof recipes. And most of all, make mealtimes and shared tables part of every day.

Annie is an art teacher who has taught art to all ages for over forty years and has been exhibiting for the last 30 years. She has a regular solo exhibition at Barry Stern gallery <https://maunsellwickes.com/artists/>, Paddington, NSW and exhibits throughout Australia with her paintings and sculptures.

Make the most of your time in the Highlands with an overnight stay at Moss Manor in Moss Vale.

Enquire with our Concierge Team about a customised group or corporate classes.