Virtual cookery classes to sink your teeth into
Fancy improving your cooking skills while on lockdown? TTG rounds up online cookery demonstrations and videos from hotels and tourist boards that will help you become a budding chef
With the UK’s lockdown period recently extended into May, travel agents might be wondering how to fill any upcoming extra time they have on their hands. For those also craving a friendly human face, getting involved in a live cookery demonstration or following a video recipe could ease feelings of being disconnected while also helping to hone a new skill.
Regularly taking part in an activity such as a virtual cookery class can counteract the negative effects of social isolation, as well as providing a talking point with clients you can promote through social media or on your site, says Rebecca Platt, director of sales and marketing at SunSwept Resorts, which owns The Body Holiday hotel in St Lucia.
“Isolation can have a negative effect on us emotionally, spiritually and physically. For agents taking part in our cookery programme, it not only gives them the opportunity to take care of their own wellbeing, it also provides them with a tool to provide content to help their clients through this difficult time,” she says.
Here we round up some of the many virtual cooking workshops being streamed by hotels and tourist boards, so agents and tour operators can cook up a storm in their own homes.
Mexican expertise
The Riviera Nayarit region in Mexico is sharing the expertise of Mexican chefs and mixologists to host cooking workshops and cocktail-making tutorials live on its Facebook page.
Every Tuesday at 6pm GBT, agents can stream a live, guided cooking demonstration, while on Fridays at 6pm they can enjoy a step-by-step mixology cocktail class.
facebook.com/rivieranayarit.mex
Jamaican delicacies
Jamaica Inn is hosting live cooking classes every Friday at 3pm GBT on its Facebook page. Videos available include demonstrations for cooking Jamaican steamed fish, tuna niḉoise salad and the hotel’s signature dish, The Jamaica Inn Sublime.
Full-bodied feasts
The BodyHoliday has created digital recipes and cooking videos, which will be shared once a week on a Monday or Wednesday across its website, as well as on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
The resort’s chef Alan Wichert recently shared a video with a recipe for an immune-boosting nut milk smoothie, with upcoming recipes to include a quick and healthy lunchtime cooking class and a health-boosting curry recipe.
Aqua experiences
Luxury cruise operator Aqua Expeditions has launched a series of online cookery master classes, which will invite viewers to join Aqua’s chefs in cooking up a storm. The master classes will be featured across Aqua Expeditions’ social media channels including Facebook and Instagram.
A session on creating ceviche and pisco sours is available to stream now, with upcoming sessions being broadcast on 1 May and 1 June at 5pm.
facebook.com/aquaexpeditionscruises
Caribbean campaign
As part of its new #SandalsStateOfMind campaign, Sandals is bringing a taste of the Caribbean straight to agents’ homes. As part of the series, cookery videos and cocktail-making tutorials will be shared once to twice a week on the Selling Sandals Facebook page.
Agents can kick off the cooking classes by learning how to make Sandals’ famous jerk chicken from the resort’s Jerk Shack.
facebook.com/sellingsandalsforagents
Daily inspiration
Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel Resort in Monaco has launched a new campaign which includes recipe inspiration using the hashtag #staycookingchallenge.
The hotel’s head chef Marcel Ravin will offer daily inspiration on his Instagram account with live cooking demonstrations. In the morning he reveals the recipe of the day and the ingredients needed and then at 6.30pm he hosts a one-hour live demonstration.
Farm to table eats
Boschendal, a South African wine estate and farm retreat, is offering to gain insider knowledge on its farm-to-table menus. It will be sharing recipes from its Bakery and Werf Kitchen across a series of videos, blog posts and downloadable recipes on its website and across its Instagram and Facebook channels.
The kitchen teams will also be on hand to answer questions and discuss tips and tricks. All recipes will focus on fresh, seasonal produce and be easy to make at home.
Parisian perfection
Executive chef Simone Zanoni from the Michelin-starred Le George at Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris will update the hotel’s Instagram page daily with new recipes.
He will share his creations through a combination of live videos and story highlights, challenging viewers to make everything from gnocchi to tiramisu.
Cruise cuisine
Holland America Line is sharing food-themed videos on YouTube to keep clients and the public entertained throughout lockdown.
The videos will be posted every Friday, with upcoming content including a look at the smorrebrod, a traditional sandwich from from Denmark, on Friday 1 May and a chilli-glazed salmon recipe on Friday 8 May.
Bottoms up
Luxury villa specialist Tuscany Now & More is hosting a live wine-tasting session on Instagram TV at 5pm on 10 July. Don Duccio Corsini from Principe Corsini in the Chianti Classico region will talk viewers through the wine and olive farm’s vintage Chianti as well as the history and culture of the estate.
You can purchase the wines in advance via Principe Corsini’s online shop. They are Le Corti 2016 Chianti Classico, Cortevecchia 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva and Don Tommaso 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione.
Best of the rest
- Anantara Hotels is promoting healthy recipes as part of its wellness focus during the lockdown period. Recent posts on the hotel chain’s blog include a recipe for smoothies from mixologists and a selection of health and immunity boosting recipes chosen by the hotels’ chefs.
- Agents and tour operators struggling to know what to cook with the ingredients they have to hand can submit the contents of their larder to Velas Resorts through a link on its website (below). One of the resorts’ chefs will then post a tailor-made recipe on the hotel’s website just for them.
- Amanyara hotel in Turks & Caicos has launched recipe videos on IGTV. To date there are recipes for two of its signature cocktails available, with plans to continue to post recipes videos once a week.
- Quinta do Lago golf resort has just launched a video series on its Instagram page, featuring food and drink recipes including how to make the perfect coffee, ginger shot, cocktail or fresh juice. Upcoming videos will include bread making, brewing spiced-tea and how to create a homemade matcha latte.
- Four Seasons has launched its FS Connects at Home programme, which will include guided recipes. There will be a weekly schedule released at the beginning of each week with tutorials, classes and and activities from their properties and staff around the world.
- Geneva Tourism has created its Chef à Domicile series which features a host of chefs who will share their best tips and recipes online. Household names will include Benjamin Breton, who has just earned his first Michelin star at FiskeBar in Geneva and will share his secret devilled leeks recipe.
- A group of Berkshire-based Travel Counsellors have creates a cocktail recipe booklet themed around their own holidays. Cocktails that other agents and their clients can recreate at home include the Sorrento Sundowner and the Zadar Zinger.
Recommended For You
Most read features
Competitions
Upcoming events
TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies 2025
Place of registration: England and Wales.
Company number 08723341.
Registered address: 6th Floor, 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU
