Cooking Together, Separately: A Recipe for Sharing

Staying in touch with friends and work comrades has been a challenge this past year, but four ladies in Germany have managed a weekly work-around that allows them to cook, chat, and dine together. When confronted with the lockdowns a year ago, these co-workers at SAP determined to find a way to keep in touch. Of course, preparing and eating meals together was the obvious choice. Since they all work at a technology company, they have what they need at home: a laptop with a big screen, a camera and microphone, and fast Wi-Fi. And, using the free application House Party, they began their events last April.

Our friend Simone Puhe, one of the ringleaders, shared the story with me. Simone explained that the group learned after two sessions that trying to prepare a full menu – appetizer, main dish, and dessert — was too complicated. So the group decided that a best practice would be to focus simply on one main dish for each get-together. Before each meeting, the responsible host or moderator selects a recipe and e-mails it to the rest of the group. The group decides on a mutually convenient weekend evening.

New experiences with international cuisine

Recipe and ingredients in hand, they start preparation early, about 5 p.m. “We begin with a conversation, a little wine, and we talk about the recipe. Sometimes someone notes that she couldn’t find a particular ingredient, and we chat about ideas for a substitute,” she said. “That time is a good warmup, a good icebreaker.”

Then it’s time to get cooking. Everyone trains her computer camera on her kitchen area. “We watch each other, looking at the chopping and show each other what is cooking in the pots and pans. We talk and we learn, and many of us get out of our food comfort zones,” she said.

One of the friends, who is originally from India, often recommends recipes from her homeland. Simone, who had never cooked Indian food before, said that finding the right ingredients was not difficult since they live near Heidelberg, a university city with a diverse population and many specialty stores. Since SAP, a multinational firm, is headquartered nearby, Heidelberg has attracted a sizeable Indian population. “We did ask her to go easy with the chilis, as they were a little hot for European tastes,” Simone said. “I’ve never cooked Indian before, and the Indian lady had never cooked Italian before. It was a good experience for both of us.”

Convivial virtual dining

Once the cooking is completed and the comparisons made, they move to a dining area where they continue to converse over the meal. “It’s wonderful because we can share and we can talk and look at each other,” Simone said. Simone’s niece Sophie Ketteler joined the group several times. “When the lockdowns came, it was hard to adjust at home. I was unhappy and missed the conversations. This is one time when we can cook together and take advantage of the opportunity to connect.” Sophie added that her boyfriend’s family was even inspired by this group to host a virtual meal for his father’s retirement party.

As for the meals themselves, the April menus this month have included red snapper with bananas and curry onions; fish and pumpkin, baked; and zucchini with salmon filling. The next meal scheduled for May 2, which Simone will moderate, calls for monkfish with sepia noodles and rosemary potatoes on lemon foam with polenta.

“We help each other, but when it is all done, even though we have the same cooking time and ingredients, the dish often looks different,” Simone said.” (See her photo of the group’s vegetable lasagna with bechamel sauce above.) “Don’t ask me why.” She prepares the full recipe, which she often shares with other people – her landlord and “a lonely bachelor” – who live in her house. It’s truly an occasion for sharing, on many levels. Speaking of sharing, one of the foursome is working on a cookbook to showcase their recipes.

How about you? Have you had similar experience with sharing and food over the past year? Please share them here by commenting below.

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