CINCINNATI — As the stay-at-home orders continue, those turning to cooking and baking to fill their spare time can now learn from the local masters online.
Local chefs and mixologists are offering live demonstrations over the internet during the COVID-19 outbreak to help people staying safe at home try new dishes and experiment from their own kitchens.
"I started the quarantine cooking classes kind of as my way to adapt to everything that's going on," said Kayla Robinson, head chef at Arnold's Bar and Grill. "You know, I still want to cook and I still want to be able to provide."
She's cooking restaurant favorites, from Arnold's famous Greek spaghetti to the restaurant's fried chicken. She posts the ingredients on the restaurant's Facebook page ahead of each stream so people can stock up at the grocery store in advance and follow along from home.
"It definitely gives me a sense of normalcy because this is what I do for a living," said Robinson. "This is what I'm about, bringing people together around food."
On the baking side of things, Taren Kinebrew of Sweet Petit Desserts in Over-the-Rhine is showing her Instagram and Facebook followers how to make sweet desserts like key lime pie and caramel cake.
"The first class we did brownies. I've pretty much tried to keep the recipes very simple, considering there will be kids baking," said Kinebew.
For those who aren't as handy in the kitchen or would like a cold beverage to enjoy as they cook, Molly Wellmamn, owner of Japp's in OTR, decided to host live Facebook demos as a way to make tips for her bartenders who are now on unemployment.
"At Japp's we do cocktails from the 1700s to the 1950s," said Wellmann.
She teaches viewers how to make drinks that are easy to mix and vintage in nature. Her hope is that viewers at home see her live videos as a little escape from the stress of navigating stay-at-home orders and a dangerous pandemic.
