Your stories: Dunn with me – virtual cooking classes

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that many of us are finding ourselves at home with some extra time to learn new skills. As the absence of flour in supermarkets shelves can attest, cooking and baking have been particular favourites.

When the lockdown started, the Dunn School of Pathology student and postdoc associations set up a virtual ‘social club’, where anyone in the department could suggest or organise social activities. We wanted to make sure that ‘physical distancing’ did not mean ‘social distancing’. The famous ‘Dunn School spirit’ did not disappoint, and from Dungeons and Dragons evenings to mid-morning coffee breaks, we have been able to keep the social soul of the department going in these testing times.

Homemade Anzac cookies

One exciting new addition to our departmental social calendar has been ‘Come Dunn with me’, our new cooking masterclasses. Organised by Sophia Fochler, (president of our Graduate Student Association), the zoom gathering sees a different person leading a live cooking masterclass every fortnight. The only criteria - the recipes have to be accessible to all and use ingredients that are relatively easy to source. So far, we have cooked Austrian dumplings, New Zealander Anzac biscuits and a delicious pear crumble with home-made custard. The results are not always… consistent, but we are enjoying experimenting with new recipes and learning more about each other’s cultures and cuisines!

‘I've always wanted to learn how to make a cake rise properly’ said Sophia ‘and establishing this cooking masterclass series was my sneaky way of getting a free private tutorial. Win-win.’

‘I've discovered yet another creative way to consume carbs!’