The Rise of Cooking- Online

6 min readMay 14, 2020

A Conversation on Creativity and Remote Work with Toronto Chef Amanda Huang.

Toronto based chef and founder of Earth Made Kitchen, Amanda Huang, teaches online courses, where customers can learn healthy cooking recipes.

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Amanda and I’m a cooking instructor. I currently run cooking workshops through my venture called Earth Made Kitchen. I also work at a recreational cooking school during the day, so I split my time between that and running Earth Made Kitchen at the side. Due to the current situation, my day job has been put on pause, and I’m currently running my business full time.

Is creativity important during this pandemic?

I think it is important, especially that a lot of people have a little more time on their hands. I think creativity is a good distraction, and that it can also get your mind moving in so many different ways, whether it’s through wellness or even through work. Creativity is a good way to add some positivity to your life, and through difficult times like these.

Where does creativity fit against everything else going on in your life?

I feel like I’m pretty creative all the time, every day, and even more so with this whole pandemic going on. It’s part of my job, and my life. Whether it is from my day job or my business, I have to be naturally creative.

Obviously, there’s a lot of admin work involved as well, and non creative tasks, but as a cooking instructor, I have to constantly create new recipes and create new workshops and classes. I have to figure out different food combinations and get even more creative during these times — like using pantry items — because that’s a huge thing right now. And getting creative online…I actually have a background in digital arts, so I am definitely getting more creative with all my online tools and camera!

Weeks into the pandemic, what are you noticing about your creative process?

I feel like I’m getting more creative because I have more time to get creative. I feel like there’s also more work on my part to do that. Like I said earlier, I’ve been transitioning online. And I have to get really creative and think of ways to teach people online and inspire them with new recipes.

I guess I experienced less creativity in my day job because I work under other people and follow their recipes, and not create my own. But now I have more time to really focus on my business by creating recipes, workshops and events online; and also get my blogging going again. It’s a mix of culinary and digital creativity going on for me, and it has definitely increased over the past 4 weeks!

Amanda’s cooking performance is a mix of balancing creative and administrative work for her cooking startup.

What’s been different and what stayed the same in your creative practice?

I think that there’s just more creative work happening for me than before. What’s different now is that I’m taking my work online — I’ve been wanting to go virtual for a while actually, and I was writing out a plan on how to do this. I primarily teach in-person workshops and events, but I wanted to reach people that were not in my city. The online world has been a different, and a positive experience for me. Although that part of my creative practice is different, my values and culinary creativity remain the same for the most part — which include events, workshops, recipes, my mission, my goals, my recipes, and more.

What might be true for you, a year from now?

I think that I will actually still continue to teach online, as well as in-person. I will be teaching more people from more cities.

How do you remain present in your work?

When it comes to the media, I don’t let it bother me too much. I’m aware of the situation and follow the rules in my city. I stay present in my work by simply focusing on my work and connecting with others online. I don’t really have a strong division line between personal and work — personal is work, and I always have to be present. I don’t let the media get in the way of my work too much.

Where do you find inspiration when you’re isolated and restricted during quarantine?

Online. A lot. I find it through the food pictures I come across on Pinterest, the people I meet on Slack, and new music to listen to when I feel like it. I’ve always been cooking, and cooking more so than ever before, so I also find inspiration through my grocery store runs! Just through teaching my virtual workshops have helped me find inspiration, from meeting people from all over the world.

Amanda leveraging online tools like Zoom to reach a wider audience outside of Canada.

What does your financial reality look like as a chef during this era?

Thankfully I’m not laid off from my day job; I’m just put on pause, so I will have somewhere to go back to immediately after this whole thing is over. The Canadian government has been very helpful in providing funds for those who are unemployed or are having difficulties in keeping their business doors open. I was able to receive those funds.

As an entrepreneur, there are always financial ups and downs. I’ve learned to create multiple streams of income for myself, because if one doesn’t work out, there’s always something else. Right now there are financial downs — but soon, there will be financial ups again.

In what ways has your identity as a creative chef changed during this time?

I am now working on my business full time right now, which has made me more of a creative chef than before. I was running Earth Made Kitchen on the side, which only allowed me to be creative a few times a month. Now, I’ve grown to be creative everyday. I feel more confident with what I do, and I feel like my identity has shifted to becoming my own boss, not just a “side hustler”.

How has COVID-19 changed the importance of community in your work?

What’s interesting is that when I was building Earth Made Kitchen, I wanted to create and reach a global community. What better way to create a community than through food? I didn’t really know how to do it in the beginning, but I knew eventually, I would have to go online to do this. Late last year, I joined several groups on Slack and Facebook, and in early February, I actually created a Slack channel for my business. COVID19 has allowed me to get connected and create the global community I wanted to have, and I believe we need a community now more than ever. It is important to be connected, and in my work, I’m continuing to build (and find!) community virtually and globally.

Is there anything positive you can imagine happening for chefs, if when this finally gets behind us?

I think chefs are getting very creative these days, like hosting online cooking classes and adding alternative services to what they offer. For example, catering companies are now adding meal delivery services. I think that they might actually continue these services and grow their online presence — which can continue to exercise their creativity and add financial abundance to their work.