Can you learn to cook on line?
Online cookery classes were unheard of two years go. Now they are the way to go. Live, Online cookery classes do work REALLY well!
It is way better than trying to learn from a cook book. A little rant here – why do so many cookery books have recipes that don’t work!
Class times can be tailored to your time zone and streamed through Zoom, straight to the warmth and comfort of your own familiar home kitchen. A perfect way to achieve new skills, increase your confidence, discover new recipes, tastes and ingredients, while supporting your local suppliers wherever you are.
All you need is an internet connection and either a smart screen, phone or laptop to be able to join in and cook along with the class. It’s not like being glued to a screen, more like someone is in the room helping you prepare and cook your meal.
We generally have two cameras on when giving a class – one on the chef’s table, and the other on the entire cooking area. We have a facilitator who is spotlighting the cameras as needed and monitoring the chat, so if there is a question the chef isn’t squinting at their monitor, trying to read it while chopping and whisking. The facilitator is also monitoring what’s going on in the students’ kitchens, alerting the chef if something is going wrong – the transition year class where in the absence of a tin opener the student was about to try and use a kitchen knife as a tin opener, or the baking class where a tablespoon of baking powder, rather than a tea spoon nearly went in.
The fun bit is when you have a family group or a corporate group spread across the time zones – in Los Angeles its breakfast time for the cooks, in New York its lunch time, and in Berlin its Dinner time, all preparing a meal together. It is a great team bonding experience when colleagues can’t meet together in person. As an added incentive for participants to shine is that we’ll often have spot prizes through the class, and judge the best final dish.
A couple of years ago I would never have thought of learning to cook online. I don’t think that these online cookery experiences will end when the Covid scare is over, because they are such fun, they work so well and, unlike a tv cookery show, you and the chef are interacting, your questions are answered and your cooking problems are solved.
As great Christmas present, we are offering private zoom class vouchers on the website.