Come Out Of Lockdown Like A Food Pro By Watching These Cooking Shows And Videos

Now that the whole of Luzon is on enhanced community quarantine, our outside activities have become very limited. Have you been finding yourself with nothing much to do lately? Here’s a suggestion: learn to become a better cook! It's a great way to stay productive, and you might even find a recipe (or recipes) that will delight you and the folks at home. We're sharing seven of our favorite celebrity chefs who have kitchen wisdom to impart while in quarantine. 

Quarantine Cooking by Mary Beth Albright

The Washington Post’s food anchor is the star of her own quarantine cooking show on YouTube, where she shares her top tips on mixing up a quarantini cocktail, or maximizing the ingredients you have in the pantry. In one episode, she demonstrates how to put together a charcuterie board of cheese, dried fruit like mangoes and strawberries, peppadew peppers, and olive tapenade to be paired with crackers, whole grain mustard, and salami chips. "Small projects like [like these] are really good for anxiety and depression," she says. "I can't change everything about the world, but I can make it a little bit more delicious. In just minutes of hands on time, I made my life a little happier. "

The Quar Eye by Antoni Porowski

Porowski has been known for his expertise in food and wine on Netflix’s The Queer Eye. This time, the chef is sharing his knowledge via cooking streams on Instagarm. Titled The Quar Eye, his online cooking lessons are enlightening and witty, with such fun recipes as his Keep Calm-lette (obviously an omelet), or Meet (meat) Less Mondays or Squash Your Hands and Quaran-takeout Night. Porowski advocates being a good citizen: "Shop like a European and just get a few things a time," he says. "When you maniacally hoard, you take [food] away from other people."

He does understand the anxiety induced by the coronavirus pandemic, and how this plays out when one goes grocery shopping. “Everyone seems to be buying all of the canned goods because they have a really long shelf life, which I totally understand,” he says. “But for many reasons, I feel like we should all diversify and go to every section of the grocery store.” That way, we can leave some food for other people by refusing to buy large quantities of the same thing, and [also] maintain a balanced diet." Truly, every post he shares is full of practical tips and leaves us wanting to know more.

Kitchen Quarantine by Massimo Bottura

On Instagram, the celebrity Italian chef gives us a glimpse of how he preps for his epic family dinners through his recently-launched cooking series dubbed Kitchen Quarantine. Bottura is the genius behind Osteria Francescana, an iconic three Michelin-starred Italian restaurant that is practically a national landmark in Italy. It's awesome to watch its chef provide us with a step-by-step guide on how to make tortellini, pancakes, and more using ingredients he's got stored in his fridge for the lockdown. Best of all, he even has sit-down videos where he answers questions from his followers.

Padma Lakshmi

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi keeps herself busy in the kitchen while on  enforced downtime. Just recently, she made leftover soup from chipotle chicken and black-eyed peas, with her daughter as her taste tester. 

She shows us how letting kids join in on the fun of cooking can keep them entertained and lets them expand their knowledge. Check out this Instagram video where she makes sweet and sour shrimp with cherry tomatoes her daughter.

Rachael Ray

Even celebrity chef Rachael Ray has been sharing her cooking brilliance on Instagram. As if her pasta recipes like this baked ziti wasn’t impressive enough... 

...she's also got us wanting to make our own steak and escarole after watching this video, which uses items most of us already have at home. “Simple recipes with just a few ingredients, using proteins you may already have in your freezer, and wilting greens before they go—think, 5-ingredient steak and escarole,” she wrote in the caption.

Amanda Freitag

In an Instagram post, New York chef Amanda Freitag teaches us how to be creative in cooking, which is exactly what we need during this crisis. She shares how we can come up with a delicious meal using standard rice and beans already in our pantry, perked up with the mouthwatering bits of bacon. Every week, she'll share new recipes on Instagram. “I’m here to support you with some cooking tips and some dishes during this really difficult time with social distancing," she says. "I think cooking is therapy and cooking is necessary right now."

Alton Brown

While on lockdown, Alton Brown of Food Network has started posting videos on his YouTube channel, where he shares his passion for cooking via two different series: Pantry Raid and Quarantine Quitchen! In the former, the chef shares tips on crafting cocktails like a smoky tequila sour, or making better popcorn, and or even just simply spicing up some hot saltines. 

I love how Brown introduced unique popcorn flavors in his popcorn video, such as yeast seasoning and furikake, and played around with basic cheese popcorn. He also highlighted the importance of weighing ingredients and learning the metric system to achieve accuracy and consistency in the food we make. “Since we’re all locked up and isolated, learn the metric system. Your life will be better when you come out of the other side,” he said.  Quarantine Quitchen is just as interesting, as he lets us in on how he cooks  dinner  with his wife, Elizabeth Ingram.