Cooking Via Virtual Videos With Some Greater Phoenix Chefs

Cooking videos on social media are not a coronavirus-related outcome, but the uptick sure is. Not to knock MasterClass or The Great Courses Plus, but if you’re hoping to polish your culinary skills while spending more time at home, a few Valley chefs are aiming to teach. The Jersey dudes at Saint Pasta, Chef Samantha Sanz at Talavera Restaurant at Four Seasons Scottsdale, and Urban Margarita in Glendale are putting together some useful, virtual, instructional videos.

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Make the pomodoro sauce from Saint Pasta in your home kitchen.

A post shared by Saint Pasta (@eatsaintpasta) on Mar 25, 2020 at 11:50pm PDT

Saint Pasta

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a sauce boss? You can currently find two instructional sauce videos via the @eatsaintpasta Instagram account. Narrated by Joe Cetrulo, chef and co-founder of Saint Pasta along with Racan Alhoch, the videos list (verbally and ticker-tape style along the bottom) the ingredients, then film each step. The Saint Pasta Pomodoro recipe calls for up to six cloves of garlic, one medium onion, olive oil, salt and pepper, two one-pound cans of whole peeled tomatoes, salted butter, and some basil. The video lasts nearly seven minutes. For a quicker tutorial, the Jersey-style vodka sauce video is just over two minutes. These videos are to-the-point, no nonsense, much like Saint Pasta’s food.

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A post shared by Samantha Sanz (@chefsammysanz) on Mar 25, 2020 at 10:20am PDT

Samantha Sanz

Recently nominated by the James Beard Foundation’s 2020 awards for Best Chef, Southwest, Samantha Sanz is the chef de cuisine at Talavera in Scottsdale. But it’s no secret why she’s such a talent in the kitchen. As in it’s actually not a secret at all, she’s currently sharing cooking videos on Instagram at @chefsammysanz. Since grocery stores are quickly running out of meat and other obvious proteins, Sanz has posted a two-part, plant-based recipe. And no need to transcribe the tutorial — she’s created a single post listing all the called-for ingredients. Spoiler, the result is a colorful curry dish. You can almost smell it.

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A post shared by Urban Margarita (@urban_margarita) on Oct 14, 2019 at 10:15am PDT

Urban Margarita

For the next three Fridays in April, Urban Margarita is making its way into home kitchens through Facebook Live with its 30-minute virtual cooking classes. Led by the west Valley restaurant’s co-owner David Borrego, these complimentary classes provide preparation and instruction tips, which guests may access via Urban Margarita’s Facebook page. At 2 p.m. MST on April 3, it’s Hatch green chile tamales (and pork-shoulder braised carnitas on April 10, then braised prime short ribs on April 17).