The Chef Group Launches Online Cooking Classes
FREDERICTON – A New Brunswick entrepreneur is bringing chefs into your home during the coronavirus pandemic – virtually, of course.
Rivers Corbett has launched CHEFtorial, which aims to help chefs make up for lost income and create connections during social distancing. The platform offers live online cooking classes taught through Zoom in groups or as private sessions.
Corbett started the platform as a division of his company The Chef Group, which was already providing chefs to Sobeys stores across Atlantic Canada for cooking classes. The plan before the COVID-19 outbreak was to expand the workshops into people’s homes.
After hearing how social events like paint nights had successfully moved online, he began reaching out to chefs about the idea of replicating the concept for cooking.
“A lot of them were laid off. A lot of them were looking for other revenue opportunities,” Corbett said. “A lot of them were looking for, ‘what do I do during this downtime to keep myself creatively engaged in the industry?’”
With 15 chefs on board, CHEFtorial started offering its first classes this week, which range from six to 15 participants. The cost is $16.50 and includes the recipe and ingredient portion sizes. Most of the revenue goes to the chefs, with CHEFtorial taking a percentage of ticket sales.
The platform, whose target audience is women ages 35 to 55, strives to stand out amid other online cooking courses by offering an interactive and social experience. Customers can ask the chef questions and get to know them, and the Zoom link will stay open for an hour after events to allow people to dine together.
“It really becomes social – you don’t just get off after the class,” Corbett said. “You can stick around and meet new people and hang out with your girlfriends or best friends, and just enjoy the meal you just made.”
CHEFtorial is looking to expand as a virtual team building activity for companies during the pandemic. A corporate client has booked 16 private sessions to conduct customer focus groups online.
The online workshops are Corbett’s latest venture into the New Brunswick food industry. He founded Relish Gourmet Burgers in Fredericton, which started to grow into a national restaurant chain before filing for bankruptcy in 2017 after expansion plans didn’t pan out.
Corbett was also the province’s entrepreneur in residence.
With CHEFtorial, the chefs are invited to choose what type of cuisine they would like to teach.
“I want them to teach what they’re passionate about because then their personalities will come out,” Corbett said. “This is not just about great chefs. This is also about great personalities and great entertainment.”
He expects the online classes will continue after the pandemic but in conjunction in-person events.
“The beauty of the online piece is that the restriction of getting to the locations and booking times, having people show up and so on is less of an issue,” Corbett said. “It will probably be bigger than the actual physical piece of what we’re doing because now we have a global audience.”