These Top Kiwi Chefs Are Serving Up Free Home-Cooking Videos On Instagram

By Sarah Downs
Viva
Plus learn how to bake cookies like Julia Ostro, and more from chefs around the world. Photo / @juliaostro

The hospitality industry can't work from home, but many top New Zealand chefs whose restaurants have temporarily closed due to the coronavirus outbreak are serving up the next best thing: sharing free home-cooking videos on Instagram.

The self-made cooking demonstrations match those of global chef stars using this lockdown period for creativity in the kitchen and to stay connected with fans of their restaurant and the food community. Here are some of the best to get you started.

Hello Beasty 
If you're craving bold Asian flavours, Hello Beasty's head chef Stu Rogan is sharing recipes with lots of spice on the Viaduct restaurant's Instagram. Check out the 'Beasty In Iso' stories for dishes like Korean spiced chicken skewers (warning: these look very addictive), with the full recipe posted on their website. If you like some beats to cook to, Beasty is also sharing daily playlists from their chefs, and regulars, that are feel-good and will suit a range of tastes. Follow @eatupbeasty

Sid Sahrawat
Attempt to imitate the culinary excellence of Sid Sahrawat at home using his video-led cooking tutorials. The recipes are ruled by what his 8-year-old daughter Zoya likes to eat and include sticky pork ribs with kimchi, and feijoa crumble with mascarpone. The recipes are posted weekly, midday each Wednesday on Instagram. Follow @hospobaby

Everybody Eats
Pay-as-you-feel restaurant Everybody Eats dishes up nightly demos from chefs from around the country using supermarket-bought ingredients. The easy-to-follow videos have so far featured chefs from restaurants Cazador, Apero, Lilius, and Wellington's Floriditas. Follow @everybodyeatsnz

Josh Emett
Culinary influencer Josh Emett continues to share more of his popular cook-alongs for quick and easy supper ideas. He's kicked off lockdown with a Thai chicken to (almost) cure takeaway cravings. Follow @joshemett

Al Brown
If isolation is not an excuse for baking, nothing is. Make it count with tried and true recipes shared weekly by chef and afternoon tea advocate Al Brown on his Instagram. His ginger crunch and marshmallow caramel slice will have you gooey with nostalgia. Follow @albrownche

The Cult Project
We can't travel but we can certainly cook ourselves to new places, and exciting cuisines. Take inspiration from the Cult Project's chef Carlo Buenaventura who is sharing daily recipes inspired by his Filipino heritage. Follow @thecultproject

Phil's Kitchen
Why not add a touch of bistro flair to your repertoire with help from Phil's Kitchen chef Phil Clark. Tune into the Kingsland restaurant's Instagram for fresh and fancy salad ideas such as green bean and peach salad with almond dressing served with coriander and flaked almonds. Your household will most certainly be on dishes after serving this. Follow @philskitchennz

AND MORE COOKING FROM AROUND THE GLOBE...

Jamie Oliver: Keep Cooking And Carry On
Leave it to Jamie Oliver to turn around a fully produced quarantine cooking show in a matter of days. Direct from his Essex household, the episodes screen on television in the UK, but you can find the bundle of new recipes on his website here. Most dishes are simple and sensible for the state of affairs right now such as pasta from scratch without a pasta-maker, flourless cakes, and freezable sauce. Oliver is also hosting plus daily live-streamed videos on his Facebook page. Follow @jamieoliver

Antoni Porowski's Quar Eye: Cooking Lessons In Quarantine
Queer Eye's resident chef Antoni Porowski' is lending his kitchen skills  or, at the very least, keeping you entertained  with his new video series on Instagram, appropriately titled Quar Eye: Cooking Lessons in Quarantine. Like all of us, Porowski is struggling to find all the ingredients he wants at the supermarket and is using these 10-minutes IGTV videos to teach viewers how to cook with what's on hand. From anything-you-can-find pizza toppings, to creating a sauce for pan-fried chicken using a can of coconut cream and peanut butter. His recipes may not be culinary magic but commendable for using a waste-free, use-everything approach. If you make it through the halfway mark, there's also 'Happy Hour' where he and his partner Kevin Harrington read happy news from the US paper with a glass of wine. Follow @antoni

Massimo Bottura
The Michelin-starred chef has taken to cooking dinner for his family live on Instagram while on lockdown in Italy. Bottura is the chef and owner of three-Michelin-star Osteria Francescana in Modena, and a regular in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. His nightly #KitchenQuarantine series teaches viewers some of his favourite home dishes not limited to Italian cuisine  vegetable Thai curry, Japanese soups, and hummus-based dishes have featured so far  with questions and tasting from his wife, Lara, and son, Charlie. Before each video, Bottora posts prep tips and cooking techniques on his IGTV, such as how to nail a perfect bechamel sauce. Follow @massimobottura

Tartine Bakery Sourdough Lessons
Now that everyone's making bread at home (or at least, many are posting about it) level up with sourdough-starter lessons from one of the world's best bakeries. Famed US bakery Tartine has posted a series of videos on Instagram from its 'head of bread' explaining how to make its beloved sourdough at home. We're hoping for more bread tutorials soon. Follow @tartinebakery

Julia Ostro
Lift your bubble's spirits with delicious recipes straight from the kitchen of Australian cookbook author and food writer Julia Busuttil Nishimura. Videos are posted on her Instagram and so far include decadent chocolate chip cookies (she says the dough freezes like a dream) you will want to bake immediately. Follow @juliaostro

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