Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 44 MARCH 2021 L I V E + P L AY Why just watch HGTV or the Food Network when you can DIY at home with a live instructor? That's the beauty of interactive online classes that will elevate your Zoom cocktail parties to fun, hands-on events, often with ingredients and supplies delivered to your door. Here are a few local options to get you started. C H A R C U T E R I E A N D F LOW E R A R R A N G I N G Pre-pandemic, Boston-based Alice's Table ran in-person events at venues like Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, but online classes and private parties are just as fun. Expert instructors teach participants how to create Pinterest-worthy charcuterie boards and ower arrangements, and just like with in-person classes, Alice's Table provides all the materials you'll need, whether it's farm-fresh owers or a selection of meats and cheeses from Harry & David. e only dierence is they're delivered to your door. "We send you everything you need the week of the workshop," says Laura Campbell, head of product and customer experience for Alice's Table. Look for early spring flower arranging classes like "Spring in Antibes," which features blooms like mini green hydrangeas, pink roses, white spray irises, white calla lilies, and thistle, and "Four-Leaf Clover," an arrangementwith orange roses, peach spray roses, trick dianthus, white spider mums, and bells of Ireland. alicestable.com/events Alice's Table hosts online classes in floral arranging and how to make a charcuterie plate. PHOTOGRAPHS, TOP TO BOTTOM COURTESY OF ALICE'S TABLE, BY JARED CHARNEY snooze. "It's an interactive class where you're learning something together," she says. Ranjan shifted from in-person to online classes during the pandemic, and now she offers a mix of scheduled classes and private sessions where she cooks along with participants to make dishes like chicken tikka masala, palak paneer, and mango lassi. Students "can see what's happening in my pan," Ranjan says, and can ask questions as they work, since the classes are intimate and interactive. Before each class, Ranjan sends students a list of ingredients I N D I A N C O O K I N G Hanging out with friends on Zoom can be… boring. But add a few Indian spices, a delicious recipe, and an engaging teacher like Shilpi Ranjan, owner and culinary instructor at Andover-based EZCompliments, and you'll have an amazing night that's anything but a Raksha Soni, owner of Burlington-based Brush & Paisley