Watch: Chefs Offer Online Cooking Demos During Coronavirus Pandemic

Updated 4/3/20

As people stay home to #flattenthecurve and prevent the spread of coronavirus, several chefs and industry professionals have found a way to engage with social-distancing viewers via virtual classes.

Some, like Massimo Bottura and Antoni Porowski, have been posting videos with guided cooking demonstrations and helpful tips for viewers looking to make the most of pantry ingredients. Some of the demos will cost you, but for a good cause—Sean Brock is offering paid virtual classes so he can continue to support his staff as restaurants are forced to close.

If you're spending more time than usual in the kitchen, check out these short cooking demos and get cooking.

Antoni Porowski

The Queer Eye star and cookbook author has started a mini-series of lessons called "Quar Eye: Cooking Lessons in Quarantine" on his Instagram page. The idea is based on "preparing good food that's good for us, and that makes us feel good," using ingredients that you likely already have. In the first episode, Porowski talks about how he wanted to make huevos rancheros, but couldn't get all of the ingredients—so he pivoted and made an omelet served with black bean salsa. Other meals demo'd so far have been "zoodles" with meat sauce and spinach, salmon and squash, chicken strips, and more.

Emma Bengtsson

The Aquavit chef has walked followers through making chocolate chip cookies, biscuits, and meat sauce for pasta in Instagram videos—she also shared a stop-motion how-to video for steak dinner.

Giada De Laurentiis, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Valerie Bertinelli

Giada De Laurentiis, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Valerie Bertinelli hosted a "progressive dinner party" on Instagram, where they each filmed a demo cooking a different dish. De Laurentiis made aglio e olio pasta with bacon, Guarnaschelli made chicken thighs with peppered carrots and onions, and Bertinelli made a warm kale caesar.

Jewish Food Society

In March, the Jewish Food Society announced "Tradish," a series of pantry-forward cooking demos, step-by-step videos, new recipes, and more in the hopes of providing comfort during unsettling times. The Society's culinary director, Arielle Nir Mamiye, has signed on to demo her family's recipe for Moroccan harira soup, and program director Amanda Dell highlighted paprika potatoes. Baker and pastry chef Zoe Kanan also walked viewers through her go-to challah recipe. You can find all of the stories from the series saved on the Jewish Food Society's profile—the Society encourages viewers to reach out to older relatives and ask them what they ate growing up.

"Our goal is that Jewish Food Society can be a place where our community can sparkle and be a beacon of hope and understanding. We look forward to staying connected and hearing all about your #Tradish," the post says.

José Andrés

Andrés has posted a few cooking videos to his social media, including the delightful fried rice demo above, where he races to finish the dish before "My Shot" from Hamilton finishes playing. He cooks and dances while his daughters sing along.

Kwame Onwuachi

The Food & Wine Best New Chef has posted a few live demos on Instagram under a series called "Eat Clean While Quarantined." He shares the recipe—the first was a chorizo and white bean stew with charred shrimp—with the ingredients listed, and then, viewers can follow along on Instagram live.

Lena Sareini

Lena Sareini, pastry chef at Selden Standard in Detroit, has shared a tutorial for easy homemade sourdough on YouTube, as well as a guide for making cultured butter. In both, she's joined by her brother, Ali.

Llama Family Fund Auction

Llama San and Llama Inn, helmed by Juan Correa and Erik Ramirez, ran an auction to provide financial relief for their staff. Among items like art and a hand-crafted Peruvian blanket, there were also cooking tutorials (which can be digital) available to bid on, including learning how to make Nikkei Maki and Nigiri, as well as Pisco Sours. The auction was originally scheduled to close on March 29—the next day, the team revealed that they'd raised over $30,000, and a few items were still up for grabs. It officially came to a close the night of Thursday, April 2.

Massimo Bottura

The Osteria Francescana chef has been streaming live episodes of #kitchenquarantine on his Instagram account. Bottura has also been sharing feed posts for refreshers, such as the prep for "Charlie's favorite chocolate sauce," and Q&A sessions where he answers cooking questions from viewers. He makes a point to note in one of those sessions that these lessons are not master classes, but rather demos of fun dishes you can cook at home. Meals have included "everything mac and cheese" and a Japanese soup from Taka (the sous chef at Osteria Francescana).

Matthew Migliore

The executive sous chef at Madre in New York City has launched a "chef on demand" program, where he will act as a virtual consultant to create dishes for you using the ingredients you have at home. Here's how it works: you can contact Migliore via email or Instagram—if using e-mail, the subject line should be "At Home Chef Consultant." Provide your preferred form of contact, all dietary restrictions, a list (or picture) of the ingredients you'd like to use, how many people will be eating/the serving size needed, and the meal option you're choosing.

There are three different options available: $15 for one meal (one entrée and one appetizer), $25 for two meals (two entrées and one appetizer), and $40 for three meals (three entrees and two appetizers). You'll be asked for a 50 percent deposit for the consultation, and then, once confirmed, the consultation will get started.

Michael Symon

In addition to posting on his own account, the chef has been hosting live cooking demos on Food Network's Facebook page. The #SymonDinners, as they're called, have so far included meals like pork chops and black beans, lentil stew, and recently, sesame-roasted chicken with bean puree. Symon is available to answer questions from viewers during the live sessions.

"Going to do this every day, keep getting us through, keep cooking, keep using up what's in the pantry, answer as many questions as we can, keep a little bit of normalcy in our life so we can get food on the table for everyone," he said at the beginning of the lentil stew episode.

The Party Line

The Party Line, a catering company led by Henrietta Red chef Julia Sullivan and

pastry chef Caitlyn Jarvis, is offering virtual cooking classes on Fridays at 5 p.m. CST. The first, on Friday, March 27, was a livestream knife skills class from Sullivan. More information about the classes can be found on The Party Line's website.

Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray has shared a demo for chicken pot pie, as well as breaded and baked halibut/chicken. In the chicken pot pie video, she says, "I want this to be a conversation as much as possible, not a cooking class. If you cook every day, great. If you don't cook a lot, I hope you find this in any way useful." She continues, "learning how to cook for yourself and the people that you care about improves your self esteem, it gives you focus, it gives you a place of center. It's calming, and it's nourishing, way beyond the food. It really is magic when you cook."

Sean Brock

On Instagram, Brock posted that he would be offering virtual cooking classes from his home. Viewers can work with him to decide what they want to learn, and then cook with him via FaceTime. All proceeds will go toward paying Brock's staff at his upcoming flagship Nashville restaurant, Audrey, as well as Joyland. (The latter is now open for carry-out and curbside.) You can email him at info@chefseanbrock.com if you're interested.

A Venmo account has also been set up to help the staff.

Tom Colicchio

Colicchio recently shared a step-by-step video for making easy egg drop soup, using spring onions, asparagus, eggs, broth, and salt and pepper. In the end, it yields two-three bowls of soup.

Tyler Florence

Tyler Florence shared a "livestream cook-a-long" on YouTube, as well as on his Instagram account. The video works through a two-course meal of roasted root salad with balsamic, citrus and arugula, as well as mushroom chicken marsala with Parmesan polenta.

Businesses

Beyond individual chefs and cooks, some businesses are now offering virtual classes and guided tastings as well.

Kendall-Jackson

The week of March 23, the Sonoma winemaker launched a series of virtual wine tastings called "At Home with Kendall-Jackson," available on the brand's Instagram and Facebook profiles. The first video went up on March 20 featuring Randy Ullom, Kendall-Jackson's Winemaster, who led a tasting through Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.

Murray’s Cheese

New York's famous cheese shop has decided to suspend classes and education for "at least two weeks" starting on March 16; however, it will be offering virtual classes in the meantime. According to the website, when you sign up, you'll get a shipment of four cheeses and pairing items, as well as a personalized pairing guide. Pricing and times are available on Eventbrite.

New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI)

NOCHI has started offering virtual classes in a series called "Cooking in Quarantine." On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. CT, a chef will be available through Zoom to help you cook, answer questions, and more. You can register through the website—pricing is based on a pay-what-you-can donation system.

This post will be updated as more information becomes available.