Last Updated on January 25, 2026
Learn to make a Bluebird classic with Executive Chef Owen Sullivan
Housed in a former Art Deco Garage, Bluebird, as a complex of shopping and dining offers, has been a King’s Road staple since it was converted by Terrence Conran in 1997. Under its current executive chef, Owen Sullivan, the menus and kitchens for their restaurant, café, courtyard and 5 private dining rooms have been consolidated. It is this setup that we have been invited to join the Bluebird Cookery School, and where we will learn how to make Bluebird’s signature crispy duck salad, which is available on menus in every part of the complex.
We started in the main dining room, a polished space that bears the skeleton of its industrial past lightly. After dropping off our bags and coats and donning our Bluebird blue aprons, we headed over to the kitchen. Executive Chef Owen Sullivan introduced himself and his head chef, Marcelo Tell and gave us a tour of the kitchen. A sparklingly clean and efficiently organised series of rooms manned by quick-moving and assured chefs who were preparing for the dinner rush. There was an explanation of the pass, the team’s synchronisation from an order being announced, cooked, plated and served. Bluebird cooks exclusively on induction, plancha or over charcoal, leaving the gas fire flames in the past.
Then started our education. As mentioned, at the Bluebird Cookery School we were learning to cook up Bluebird’s famous crispy duck salad with kohlrabi, bok choy, mint, nam jim dressing and roasted peanuts. This recipe started with the duck, which had previously been salted and confit in batches of 80 kilos at a time. The dish is very popular. Luckily, we skipped the slow cooking and got straight to the salad. In order to prepare everything as efficiently as possible, we were split into two teams to prepare both sauces required for the dish. This replicates the way many professional kitchens work, where dishes are prepared in their discreet components, being handed between chefs, instead of created by one singular chef, a little like an assembly line.
The first sauce my team made was a glaze for the duck, which appropriately was most reminiscent of a plum sauce. We were invited to taste the pomegranate molasses before we added it in order to judge for ourselves how much of the tart and bitter syrup we wanted. One that had been whisked up. Our next sauce was the nam jim dressing for the salad. While traditionally made by pounding the fibrous lemongrass and other ingredients in a pestle and mortar, once our chillis, garlic and the rest were chopped, they were placed alongside oil, fish sauce and mirin inside a high-powered blender and then sieved. This resulted in a smooth and fragrant dressing.
We then received a master class from Owen and Marcelo in knife skills, including how to anchor a chopping board to the table, how to correctly hold your knife and make sure you don’t cut yourself when making fine slices. This came in handy when we prepared the myriad vegetables that had been meticulously washed, dried and portioned for us. Herbs, leaves, crunchy and crisp vegetables were all mixed together in this southeast Asian inspired salad. The variety of textures not only made for a better learning experience but also a delicious and varied salad. Meanwhile, Owen regaled us with stories from his cooking career, some of which are so scandalous you will simply have to ask him about them yourself.
Our next job was coating and frying the duck, which had been shredded into bite-sized morsels. Instead of the traditional flour, egg and dredge mix, the duck was coated in coconut cream and the corn flour, which, after deep-frying, resulted in an earth-shattering crunch that even survived a hearty slosh in our glaze. We then completed our salads, mixing our prepared vegetables and dressing them, before topping them with as many roasted peanuts, coriander and crispy fried shallots as we liked.
Having completed our dishes, we headed out to the dining room to enjoy our meal and celebrate our accomplishments at the Bluebird Cookery School. After our hearty starter, we continued with a reassuringly chef-cooked sea bream with charred fennel and an almost imperceptibly light, silky and smoky sauce. The bream had clearly visited the charcoal grill, where it returned with a lovely and crisp skin, while the flesh remained sweet and delicate, almost like scallops. This was very good, a reminder that while we had learnt a lot today, there was still much between us and the team still working away in the kitchen.
To finish, we enjoyed a chocolate mousse layered with honeycomb and berries. This was airy but comforting and an apposite finish to a substantial meal.
Overall, the Bluebird Cookery School is a well-considered offer from Bluebird; there were multiple opportunities for failure, as bringing civilians into a professional kitchen could result in all levels of hullabaloo. The process, level of difficulty and timings were well judged, with enough information to take in and learn without being overwhelming. This was helped by the leadership of Owen and Marcelo, who were patient and clear in their explanation and instruction while also being light-hearted and engaging speakers. Owen was even patient enough to listen to me ramble on yet again about my process of growing soybeans and fermenting my own miso paste, which nobody should have to experience. There was also ample opportunity at The Bluebird Cookery School to learn about how professional kitchens work and to use the professional equipment: industrial fryers and high-powered blenders that we don’t tend to see outside of Great British Menu. If you’re a fan of Bluebird and would like to see behind the curtain, this is certainly the opportunity. Or, if you or somebody in your life would like to see, hear and experience a little of what a chef in London is like, here is the chance.
Tickets are £100 each and can be booked here.
Address
Bluebird Cookery School
350 King’s Rd,
London,
SW3 5UU
Contact
020 7559 1000
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