We’ll be the first to admit we’re spending a lot more time in our kitchens – specifically the fridge area (the snack drawer is getting a lot of exercise, too). While eating is something that comes naturally to us, cooking is not in everyone’s wheelhouse.
That being said, it’s never too late to learn a new skill and free yourself from the ghosts of overcooked dishes past. That was then, this is the time for fresh starts and sourdough starters.
Whether you need a little guidance in turning on your oven or want to brush up on your classically trained french technique, we’ve got a list of virtual cooking classes for all levels. It doesn’t matter where you begin, home is what you make it, so why not make the best out of it… a chocolate cake works too.
Gordon Ramsay's ultimate cookery course
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Gordon Ramsay does way more than yell in the kitchen, he also cooks up some delicious and easy-to-follow meals. In his YouTube series, Ramsay strips away all the complexities behind chef-worthy dishes while sharing time-saving tricks he’s learned from over 25 years of experience in professional kitchens.
The videos (each around 20 minutes long) delve into basic cooking skills and explore various recipes and guides from the art of slow cooking to baking. The only heat you’ll get from Ramsay is his guide to cooking with spice. He also has a "Ramsay in ten" series on his Instagram where he demonstrates how to make meals in 10-ish minutes.
Christina Tosi
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Every day at 2 p.m. Christina Tosi hosts a live baking club on her Instagram, you just gotta BYOB (bring your own butter). Tosi is the founder and CEO of the widely successful bakery Milk Bar and is known for her unexpected ingredients and remixes of classic childhood treats. From cereal milk soft serve ice cream, to "compost" cookies to the infamous layered, "naked" cakes.
Tosi's concoctions are uniquely delicious and her virtual baking club is as playful as her treats. All it takes are some rainbow sprinkles and some butter, okay, a lot of butter, to bring some much needed sweetness into the world.
Antoni Porowski
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We would love to have Antoni in the Kitchen any day. The hilarious food and wine guru on Netflix's Queer Eye has launched his own spin-off, Quar Eye: Cooking Lessons in Quarantine on his personal Instagram.
On Netflix, Porowski gives people the confidence they need to be their own chef, and he does the same on his Instagram series. You'll feel instantly relaxed and enlightened with his funny, light-hearted cooking demonstrations from the debut "Keep Calm-lette" (how to make the perfect omelette) to the roasted "Squash Your Hands."
The Chef and the Dish
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If you've ever imagined what it would be like to bring top chefs from all over the world into your home, well, you totally can. All you need is Skype and an appetite for learning. The Chef and the Dish reinvents your night-in by providing private, online cooking lessons with professional chefs.
Learn how to make ravioli from scratch with chef Paola from Italy, master the art of mosaic sushi rolls with chef Yoshimi from Japan and get that perfect paella crispy rice with chef Ana from Spain. Once you book a class, a personal kitchen assistant will send you a shopping list and get you set up for your two-hour cooking lesson.
There's also a fun, new "what's in your fridge" feature which randomly pairs you with an international chef while you whip up a main course from ingredients you already have. Bon appétit!
Tomer Markovitz
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Scrolling through Tomer's Instagram feed is like taking at trip through food dreamland. Markovitz is the former head chef at beloved Geary Avenue eatery Parallel and current head chef at his Corktown home kitchen. His own restaurant was scheduled to open this spring, but it's been put on hold – instead lucky viewers get a peek inside the mind and kitchen of this talented chef.
Markovitz posts cooking demonstrations on his IG stories, then saves them to his highlights so you can follow along any time. He tries to cook with ingredients he already has in his home, but nothing is off limits. His tutorials range from making the perfect, fluffy challah bread with braids tighter than most prom hairdos to his Grandma's secret, spicy Libyan fish. This pandemic needs to end ASAP so we can try Markovitz's food IRL.
Mary Berg
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Master Chef Canada winner, Kitchen Crush TV host and Kitchen Party cookbook writer Mary Berg is pretty darn cool... and busy (plus, she's got the best eyewear). Now she's got some time on her hands to do a #doughpunch (when you punch a sourdough starter, it's a thing) and to share some at-home recipes.
You can watch her pantry recipes on her Instagram feed or check out episodes of her CTV cooking show, Mary's Kitchen Crush where she guides us through three-course meals for any occasion. Mary shares plenty of helpful tips along the way and even though we're all currently celebrating occasions big and small from a distance, they can still be delicious.
