COVID-19 – Making online chefs of all us

COVID-19 has sent the population in many directions and none more so than the kitchen. At the start of the lockdown many people suggested this as a period to learn, take up new hobbies, take new classes, begin meditating, become fit, read more books and much more. But the overriding common theme has been cooking – and sharing the results – online.

Two Wicklow resdidents have gone for gold and now attract huge audiences online. Guy Sinnot, working for MCD, has more than 16,000 followers in Instagram (from a mere 800 pre COVID-19) and comedian Danny O’Brien is now in advanced talks with publishers for his DOBcooks cookbook.  Here are their stories:

Guy Sinnott

Guy Sinnott loves cooking. He always has. He grew up above his parents’ restaurant and learnt first hand how to cook when working in the kitchens. He might have been a porter or dishwasher but he watched the chefs and picked up loads of best practice for cooking. Now he works for MCD, the major events company, and is quarantined at home with his fiancée in Wicklow. He is just so thankful that they moved from Dublin 8 just before Christmas as the house and garden are so much more comfortable than city dwelling, especially when in quarantine.

So cooking is his passion and he would often in the past have posted pictures of his meals on Instagram (yes, he is that person) but when he went into lockdown something else happened. He decided to film the meals that he was cooking. So on March 13^th he filmed his first dish and posted it on Instagram. And again the following the day, and again the next. In fact for a full month Guy filmed his meals and posted them online.

He only did it for the craic and to show how easy it was to cook, often giving away tips on how to make an ordinary dish that little bit better.

“My spaghetti carbonara was a big hit.” He pointed out you didn’t need to use cream and that by returning some of the pasta water you could give the dish that restaurant glazed look.

“It went a bit ballistic from there. I had about 800 followers when I started and now I have over 14,000.”

He has also been featured on radio and in papers. He calls his films the Quarantine Cook A Longs. He does them with one hand, while cooking with the other. “It’s not the most flashy but people can see how easy it is to cook.”

Guy has opted for simple food, comfort food he calls it, such as roast chicken but with all the trimmings complete with Yorkshire puddings. He has made a version of the spicy Buffalo chicken wings so beloved of the Temple Bar favourite, Elephant and Castle. He loves his steak. Guy is quick to point out that these are not original recipes and he credits the source as he cooks.

He survived the first month filming every day but in April he has slowed down a bit to just doing one film every second day.

“I would wake up anxious about what I was going to cook that night so I cut myself some slack and reduced the filming.”

It is still about joy and spreading joy for Guy. He is amazed at how people have reacted and is still bemused that his videos are being watched by so many. “It’s about what food you have in your cupboard and how you can make something tasty from ordinary stuff.”

Well, with 16,000 followers and climbing, his followers can’t all be wrong. Check out his feed on Instagram – @guysinnott and join in the cooking party.

Danny O’Brien

Man walks dog – saves World

That is a headline I have wanted to write for a long time. And it’s not a lie. It’s just one of the things that we can do to save the world, or at least our community. Meet Danny O’Brien, Ireland’s, if not the world’s, hardest working comedian. In 2018 he did no less than 400 stage shows and also performed a number of times on television and radio. Given that we only have 365 days in a year that is some feat.

We talk on the newly launched Wicklow Good News podcast (details below) and Danny says the total number of shows was probably higher. Since 2018 his career has picked up a pace and now he finds himself continuously flying backwards and forwards to the UK to appear in shows, but he still considers Ireland his home and would not like to move abroad.

In fact, just before the COVID 19 virus became a thing he was busy appearing in theatres in the States with a follow-up five week tour planned for New Zealand. His whole life is traveling and being on the go.

“And then it just stopped, overnight. My career just stopped. Friends had been messaging me saying to come home and I realised this was serious, so I luckily got on one of the last flights out of America. In just 72 hours everything had changed.”

When Danny first arrived home he found that he was bombarded with negativity. His routine was out of kilter. He was out of kilter. He was sleeping in and lounging about.

“It was really tough until I discovered my local gym was doing classes on Zoom and signed up.  I felt a bit of an idiot but so did everyone else. Then I went for a run (within 2kms of course) and I felt so much better.

“Structure and exercise, it is really good for the brain and your mental health.”

Another aspect of the life of a comedian is typically they aim their premier show to an event, such as Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Normally they would start with an outline, then refine it throughout the year aiming for the finished show. Now with everything cancelling, Danny was unsure how to motivate himself to write his new show.

“So I took the whiteboard that I use for writing – and cleaned it. I basically started my show. This is a big mental thing for me. It’s like looking at your house and saying I could really give the bathroom a deep clean.

“Nothing is ever finished,” he added.

For the first time in three years this is most amount of time Danny has been at home. He and some comedian friends locally have teamed up together to get around the challenge of aiming for the now cancelled Edinburgh Festival. They have opened a What’sApp group and are trying to bounce ideas off each other and stay motivated.

Ironically last year, Danny did a show called Lock-in which was based on Irish prisons. He reckons the same prisoners are probably laughing at him now.

While Danny’s career has skidded to a certain halt, he is also aware this predicament is universal to everyone in Ireland.

“There is no point in counting up all the loses because everyone has something. There is not one single person in Ireland who has not lost something: it might not be money or a job, it might be grandparents not being able to see their grandchildren, or visit them for their birthdays. We need to remember this and not compare ourselves with others. We’re all in this together and the question what can we do to make things better?”

That’s where Danny got to walk the dog, a Doberman called Pony. A friend contacted him to see if he could help as the owner has some serious immune issues. Turns out the dog owner was also a regular visitor to his comedy show which was a funny coincidence. Danny always wanted a dog, but his constant travelling meant it was not practical. Now he is really enjoying walking the dog and the dog owner is not feeling guilty. It is a win-win situation according to Danny.

“And I saw another beautiful of human kindness in my local village shop. A college student had posted a notice saying if anyone needed any help – to call her. Shortly aferwards I bumped into (at a safe distance) kids who had put their old books into a box down on the beach with a sign saying – If you are bored, please take one.”

Danny did his first virtual comedy show last weekend for the Irish Cancer society. He and number of other comedians wanted to raise money for the cancelled daffodil day fund raiser. They set a goal of €10,000 but were flummoxed to raise an impressive total of €42,000.

But it was a weird gig – playing to no audience. Danny has played to big crowds and small numbers but playing to a dog – well that was some experience.

“It’s amazing how much a comedian feeds off an audience’s reaction, even a very small audience.”

In between writing his new show, walking Pony the Doberman and doing online gigs, Danny has turned to cooking. His Instagram account is now home to tasty recipes from spoon cut slow roast lamb to cheeky cheese fajitas. He advocates for healthy eating from local produce.

“We are going to be in lockdown for a long time, we don’t want to come out waddling from our quarantines, do we?”

The best way to find Danny online for comedy or food is on Facebook where he is @DannyOBrienComedy or @DOBComedy on instragram. He has yet to succumb to Tic Toc.

Listen to their stories at the Wicklow Good News Podcast

See more on Jill’s podcast here

https://wicklowgoodnews.buzzsprout.com/970561/3461044-wicklow-good-news-8-ferg-brown-of-roasted-brown

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