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§ About us

A family kitchen, on the Fleurieu

Fleurieu Food and Wine is a mobile Adelaide cooking school based on the Fleurieu Peninsula, owned and run by Jackie and John Mazzocato with a team of passionate foodies. Hands-on classes, real venues, and the wine glasses that go with the food.

§ Who we are

A South Australian cooking school, running classes on the Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide.

Jackie has been cooking since before she before she could walk and trained as an adult educator before turning her kitchen into a school. John has more than forty years in the wine industry and pairs the wine on class days. Together they lead the team, with guest chefs for specialist masterclasses. We work from venue partners across the Fleurieu Peninsula and inner Adelaide. We do not have a permanent kitchen of our own. The venue is part of the day.

Fleurieu Food and Wine

We've built quite a kitchen

For years it was Jackie and John and a car full of pasta boards. Our award winning cooking school has grown a proper team since then: a Swiss trained chef who used to own his own restaurant, a master butcher with decades behind the block, a My Kitchen Rules finalist, a meat specialist who spent twenty two years training chefs around the world, and the man who knows more about Spencer Gulf Kingfish than almost anyone in the country.

Jackie and John

A family kitchen that got out of hand, in the best possible way.

Jackie Mazzocato holding wattle and pigface at a Fleurieu Food and Wine classJM

Jackie Mazzocato

Owner, Chef and Recipe Developer

Every recipe you cook with us was written by Jackie. She is a chef and recipe developer who trained as an adult educator before turning her kitchen into a school, and she still designs and presents across every class we run. She can walk you through something genuinely fiddly and have you laughing the whole way through it. Right now she is deep in a native ingredients cookbook, so there is usually a bunch of wattle or pigface rolling around the back of her car.

John Mazzocato in a Fleurieu Food and Wine apron at a class venueJM

John Mazzocato

Owner and Operations

Forty years in the wine industry. John chooses every wine we pour and runs the operation behind every class. Ask him what goes with what and you will get an answer, the grower's name, and very likely a taste.

Our guest chefs

Specialists we bring in for the classes that deserve one. Each of them has given a career to a single thing.

Newest
Executive Guest Chef Nicholas Finn behind a whole Spencer Gulf Kingfish on iceNF

Nicholas Finn

Executive Guest Chef

Nicholas leads product development and innovation at Yumbah Aquaculture, which means he knows Spencer Gulf Kingfish better than almost anyone in the country. He built our Kingfish Showcase from the fish up: crudo with pickled pigface, ribbon cucumber and finger lime, then hibachi grilled top loin with desert lime. He can tell you the water it swam in.

  • Kingfish Showcase
  • Native ingredients
Guest chef Stephen Edwards searing a steak on the hibachi grillSE

Stephen Edwards

Guest Chef

Twenty two years training chefs and butchers around the world for Australian Meat and Livestock. Stephen will change the way you cook a steak forever, and he will do it in about ten minutes.

  • Steak and fire
  • Hibachi
Guest chef and master butcher Paul SuleymanPS

Paul Suleyman

Guest Chef and Master Butcher

One of the most respected master butchers in South Australia, with decades behind the block. Paul knows exactly what happens between the paddock and the plate, and he is generous about handing it over. If you have ever wanted to know how a sausage is really made, he is the one.

  • Sausage making
  • Butchery

The presenters

Trained chefs, career cooks and people who have taught for a living. Every one of them lives on or near the Fleurieu, and every one of them worked their way through our kitchen before they stood up to teach. Whoever is on, they know the class inside out.

Sam whisking at the bench during a Fleurieu Food and Wine classS

Sam

Presenter

Swiss trained chef, former owner of Sam I Am in McLaren Vale. Sam has run a professional kitchen and what he wants to do now is teach you how. Watch him work a bench and a crowd gathers without anyone meaning to, all of them trying to work out how he made it look that easy.

Leann preparing produce at a Fleurieu Food and Wine classL

Leann

Presenter

Leann is the cook whose table people angle for an invitation to, and pasta is her territory. She saw one of our posts, could not stop thinking about it, and turned out to be a natural in front of a crowd from the first minute.

Danielle presenting at a Fleurieu Food and Wine cooking classD

Danielle

Presenter

A Willunga local with a background in education and a working knowledge of native ingredients. Danielle is also the one who gets the quiet person at the end of the bench laughing by the second course, which is a skill you cannot teach.

Robin presenting at a Fleurieu Food and Wine cooking classR

Robin

Presenter

A career in education before she ever picked up our apron, and it shows the moment she takes a room. Robin is clear, patient and completely unflustered when twelve people all need her at once. If you are the one convinced you will get it wrong, she is the one you want beside you.

Lauren demonstrating at the bench during a Fleurieu Food and Wine classL

Lauren

Presenter

Rosie to most people. Trained on the job in a flat out beachside kitchen, working the pizza oven, the fryer and the larder through service, and it took her all the way to My Kitchen Rules Series 7 and the final eight. Savoury through and through: Middle Eastern, pickling, sourdough, and a harissa worth the drive.

John K in a Fleurieu Food and Wine apron at a class venueJ

John K

Presenter and Logistics

John has had a hand in every class we have ever run, at the front of the room and behind it. Our Normanville local, and if the bench is set and the grills are on when you walk in, that was him hours earlier.

The crew who make the day work

You will meet them at the door, at your elbow with a clean bowl, and at the end of the night when everything somehow disappears.

Lynn welcoming guests at a Fleurieu Food and Wine classL

Lynn

Operations

Lynn brings relaxed charm and serious organisation to a class. Nothing rattles her, everything is where it should be, and she will spot you needing a hand before you have put it up.

Lachie ready to greet guests at a Fleurieu Food and Wine classL

Lachie

Operations

Lachie is a passionate young cook and the first face you will see on the way in. He loves greeting guests and he means it, which sets the tone for the day. Watch him around the food and you can see where he is heading.

John Mazzocato pouring wine at a Fleurieu Food and Wine classJM

John

Operations and Wine

Yes, the same John. On class days he is pouring, pairing and telling you about the grower behind every bottle on the bench.

A South Australian tourism leader

Accreditations and awards held by Fleurieu Food and Wine. Quality Tourism Accredited businesses meet rigorous national standards across safety, service, and sustainability.

2025 South Australian Tourism Awards Gold Winner
SA Tourism Awards
2025 Gold Winner
2025 Australian Tourism Awards Highly Commended
Australian Tourism Awards
2025 Highly Commended
Quality Tourism Accredited Business
Quality Tourism Accredited
Current
TICSA Sustainable Tourism Accredited
TICSA Sustainable Tourism
Accredited
2026 Small Business Champion Awards Finalist
Small Business Champion
2026 Finalist

§ How we run a class

Warm, generous and practical
No hierarchy at the bench. The recipes are written so guests can recreate them at home that week, not three weekends away. We pace the class so the slowest hands get the full experience and the quickest hands still feel stretched. We taste as we go.

§ What we do

A Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide cooking school, a food tour, and a cookbook publisher

§ The differentiator

A full day out, not just a class

Take a class at one of our venue partners. Wine paired by John. A long lunch you cooked yourselves. Then a walk, a brewery, or a beach on the way home. Most guests stay overnight on the Peninsula and turn the class into a weekend.
 
The people we work alongside, awards and certifications

About Fleurieu Food and Wine

Is Fleurieu Food and Wine a cooking school near Adelaide?
Yes. We are a mobile Adelaide cooking school based on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Most venues are 60 to 90 minutes drive from the Adelaide CBD, ideal for a foodie day trip or weekend away. Our newest venue, Jackson Square, is in inner Adelaide and 5 minutes from the CBD.
Who will be teaching and hosting my class?
Jackie or one of our trained presenters leads the class. John or a wine specialist hosts the wine side where applicable. For some classes we work with guest chefs Stephen Edwards and Paul Suleyman, who share their expertise while we keep the experience relaxed and fun. Every presenter has completed our internal training and certification.
Will Jackie or John be at my class?
Jackie and John would love to attend every class, but as the school has grown that is not always possible. Our trained presenters and guest chefs run classes to the same brief Jackie wrote, with the same recipes and the same care for guests. Ask when you book if you would like to know who will be teaching your specific date.
What types of experiences do you offer?
Hands-on cooking classes, seasonal food and wine events, private and corporate experiences, and a growing collection of cookbooks. Many guests build a full Fleurieu Peninsula itinerary around a class. See our class calendar and Plan Your Day.
Can we buy your cookbooks if we cannot attend a class?
Yes. Our cookbooks ship within Australia and are available through our online shop. Guests at classes can often purchase signed copies on the day.
Is this a good experience for visitors to South Australia?
Yes. Many guests travel from interstate or overseas. The experience combines cooking, wine, local stories and coastal scenery in one day, often as the highlight of a South Australian trip.

About the team

Who is on the Fleurieu Food and Wine team?
Jackie teaches. John hosts and pairs the wine. Together they lead a team of passionate foodies, with co-presenters who keep the bench moving, guest chefs for specialist masterclasses, and front-of-house people who make sure every guest feels looked after.
How do you train your presenters?
Every presenter completes our internal training programme and is certified before they teach. We run regular skills sessions and a one-to-eight presenter-to-participant ratio in larger classes so guests always have a trained hand close by.
Why are individual guest chefs not named on every class?
The team rotates by date and class. We confirm who is teaching a specific class on request rather than promising a roster that might change. Our two named guest chefs, Stephen Edwards and Paul Suleyman, feature in their own specialist classes which are flagged on the calendar.
How long has Jackie been teaching?
Decades of home cooking. The cooking school in its current shape started with the first class in November 2024. By the end of 2025 we had welcomed more than 1,200 guests across hundreds of experiences.
Where are you based?
Normanville on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Our mobile model means we teach at our venue partners across the Peninsula and at Jackson Square in inner Adelaide.

§ Come cook with us

The best way to meet us is at the bench

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