Sea Breeze Fish Market in Plano has been around for almost eight years and began as a fast casual concept. But in recent years, the business has evolved into a restaurant and fish market for seafood lovers to enjoy dining in or while preparing a meal at home with their seafood catches of the day.
In the past three years, owner Mark Alterman said he started offering casual cooking classes/demonstrations once a month. As of this month, they are now offering two cooking demos per month.
The events are hosted the second and fourth Sunday of every month. For $50, the class includes four courses, wine, and a demonstration from one of Sea Breeze’s chefs.
After receiving the invitation to check out the event, I was really excited! I’ve been dying to attend a cooking class for ages, but it’s just never happened. Current class offerings in Dallas, such as at Sur La Table or Central Market are so expensive, I could never justify dropping $200+ to cook my own food. Before arriving, I thought I would be preparing and cooking my own meal, but the event is actually more of a demonstration. Patrons would watch a chef explain and prepare each course before being served what they just learned. I was a little sad that it wasn’t hands on, but also relieved because I have a tendency to overcook everything. My dishes probably would not have tasted as delicious as the prepared meals and THAT would’ve been the real tragedy.
At the restaurant, a section of the restaurant is set up just for the event and almost 40 people came to partake in the class. The event is very laid back and casual. Tables were set up around a small table set up with stove-top burners, cutting board, and various pans and ingredients. Early arrivals enjoyed complimentary glasses of wine and chattered while they waited for the event to begin. At each seat, guests can peruse menus/recipes pamphlets outlining the evening’s four-course meals.
Wine is complimentary for guests! Heck yea!
This month, the menu is Mardi Gras/Cajun themed.
First Course: Beer broiled shrimp on toasted crostinis.
Beer broiled shrimp and crostinis
Second Course: Mini crawfish potpies
These mini crawfish pot pies were delicious and spicy.
Third Course: Andouille sausage encrusted redfish and sweet pepper meuniere over creamy grits. This was my favorite course. That redfish and the brown butter sauce was out of this world amazing. By this course, I was already getting full. It was as though the waitress read my mind and began passing out small to-go containers.
This redfish dish blew me away. It was so delicious!
Fourth Course: Beignets with powdered sugar.
Its not Mardi Gras/Cajun themed without beignets.
I loved that the set up was very casual. The chef demonstrating was executive sous chef Hank. He didn’t take himself too seriously and made it fun and light hearted. I did find it a little difficult to follow along. Where I was sitting made it hard to see what he was doing, so I did my best to listen and just enjoy the experience. A few others, including myself jotted down cooking tips we could apply some other time. At the end of each course, questions were taken and everyone was pretty respectful of the time and noise level during the demonstration. The class is about 1.5-2 hours long, but went by pretty quickly.
Guests are engaged as they watch Chef Hank demonstrate the dishes they are about to taste.
Overall, I really enjoyed myself and the food was delicious. I’m greatly appreciative of the recipes that were provided. No guarantee that I’ll be able to recreate those meals, but I’ll definitely try. That andouille crusted redfish was so good, I have to attempt making it least. As these events continue to grow, I’d suggest having the demonstration on an elevated platform, even if it is makeshift. I think that would make it a little easier for the cheap seats in the back to see what the chef is doing. I was told there were some technical difficulties, so a microphone wasn’t hooked up, but I didn’t mind the demonstration without. If you are really keen on watching the demo, I’d recommend showing up early to grab the seats closest to the front.
Checks were presented at the end of the meal and there is also a sign up sheet for the next event. Currently, the cooking class schedule isn’t available online (which I hope they do eventually) and the recommended way to book your seats is to call the restaurant. They currently don’t take deposits for reservations, so please be mindful about canceling last minute or not showing up.
The four-course menu changes monthly, which means the two events in each month have the same menu. In the past they’ve done chowders, menus based on seasonal fish such as halibut and salmon, and more. Suggestions for other seafood themed ideas are most welcome, so feel free to throw some their way. Not sure if they could pull this off, but I’d love to see sushi on there. How cool would it be to learn how to make the sushi rice, how to pick out fresh fish, and learn how to roll dinner?
Anyway, future dates for the next events are Sundays, Feb 22nd, March 8th, and March 28th. If you do plan to go, I’d love to hear all about it. I’m so glad I was able to visit Seabreeze for the class. It was a great way to spend my Sunday!
In order to write about the Seabreeze Fish Market cooking class experience, Deep Fried Fit received one complimentary seat in the class and was more than happy to pay for her guest. All opinions expressed were her own.
Comments
Looks so good! Thanks for sharing:)
This looks so good! I may have to try this class.