Virtual Food & Drink Events To Keep Boredom At Bay

It's official. There are only so many walks we can go on and so much Netflix we can watch before it all becomes a bit samey. Although we can’t spend time with most of our family and friends in person, anything is possible in a virtual world, and we've found upcoming events as a (somewhat) social alternative to the unending circle that is Netflix and Chill (followed by rage and worry). Sign up with some pals or fly solo for some much needed alone time.

Cooking Classes From Airfield Estate

There's a lot going on at Airfield estate with cooking demos for every age and skill level. On Wednesdays there's a free live ‘lockdown lunches cook along’ with Chef Lisa Davies (she's done pad Thai, butternut squash hash, frittatas, edible playdough and cake pops for the younger audience), with required ingredients posted on their social media channels the day before. They have a series of e-learning events scheduled for February including a four-part teen chef cook along (€70) and masterclasses in perfecting the fakeaway (Indian, Italian and Middle Eastern featured so far) costing €25 per class, and there are also free tutorials on their community food hub including meal planning, healthy eating on a budget and recipes to feed a hungry family on a budget. Get all the details on their website.

Dublin City Brewing's Tasting Club

Fancy brushing up on your food and beer pairings? Yup, us too, and doing it in your pj’s from the comfort of your own home has mega appeal. From Thursday February 25th, the newly opened Dublin City Brewing Company on Parnell Street launch their monthly tasting club with head brewer Fergal Murray and a guest food producer. First up is Kwanghi Chan of Bowls by Kwanghi Chan, and for a mere €20 you can register for the zoom event and receive a pack with three Dublin City Brewing beers, a branded glass and a jar of Kwanghi’s Chanchan Black Garlic & Peanut Rayu. The price also includes delivery. Bargain. Book your place here.

An Online Wine Tasting Of d'Arenberg Wines

By all accounts, d'Arenberg Wine's Chester Osborne is a bit of a character, being referred to as ‘the Willy Wonka of the wine world’, and this week you have the chance to be entertained and informed by the man himself, while drinking a lot of wine in the process. The tasting, hosted by Wine Online, costs €135, for which you'll get six wines from down under (RRP €170) delivered to your door, a wine and food pairing masterclass, and a booklet of Aussie recipes to compliment the wines, like seared scallops with parsnip puree, and slow-cooked lamb shoulder with gremolata and parsnip mash - not too shabby for a Thursday night during mid-term. You'll need to be quick for this one as orders close tomorrow at 12:00 (so they can get the wine to you in time), with the event taking place on Thursday evening at 20:30, but if you miss this one they have others coming up in March. Book a place here.

The Blind Pig's Cocktail Masterclasses

You may have missed the Valentine’s Day cocktail masterclass with The Blind Pig but there are still plenty of private masterclass slots available, and the next public one is scheduled for St. Patrick's day - shamrock shakes be gone. Participants are sent a list of required ingredients ahead of the class along with household suggestions to replace the more professional cocktail equipment, after all, not everyone has a bar cart crammed with pourers and jiggers to get the job done. You will also be sent a pdf to keep with step by step instructions. Private classes have the option to level up and have cocktail ingredients and/or equipment delivered, along with a hard copy of the manual. Prices from €20. See all the details here.

Fermentation Classes From River Run Ferments

Apparently fermenting is the new baking, and one thing's for sure, making our own miso, kimchi and kombucha would save us a small fortune (anyone else eating kimchi by the kilo? All about that microbiome...). If you could do with shaving a few hours off level 5 lethargy, and develop a skill that's actually useful, River Run Ferments in Co. Wicklow run monthly online workshops at a cost of €30 a pop. The classes are delivered via zoom on weekends so taking part won’t interfere with ‘working from home’ and each workshop is limited to 15 people. See what's coming up here.

Cookery Classes From Sprig Cookery School

Professional chef Eamon Lynch (formerly of Brother Hubbard and The Dublin Cookery School) has set up Sprig, a new cookery school that will be operating virtually for the moment, and moving into a real-life premises whenever possible - imagine being in a room with strange humans again, will we even cope. His classes are inexpensive and look educational while not taking themselves too seriously. Tomorrow from 18:30 you can learn to make three different types of breads, on Thursday it's pasta making (no machine needed), and other upcoming classes include brunch entertaining and a Mexican masterclass. See what's coming up here.