Chef-cam live

Coeur d’Alene chef Anthony Hall is an innovator. He brought the first tapas bar to Coeur d’Alene when he opened Anthony’s Midtown Bistro six years ago, and now tapas is available in several locations throughout the Lake City. In a matter of weeks, Hall will launch his latest endeavor: “KITCHEN VOYEUR,” an online cooking experience.

“There are no guidelines,” says Hall. “This is not syndicated television — it’s live Web. If I cut myself or cuss in the kitchen, you’re going to hear it.”

He’s not just selling recipes; rather, he will be teaching cooking techniques and methods, and acting as an online reference. You should pay attention. Hall was voted “Best Chef” in 2008 by a North Idaho Business Journal readers’ poll, and he is a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

This is not to say he doesn’t like to keep it simple, because he does. Yet he consistently turns out savory fare from the kitchen of his 42-seat restaurant, where he is the only chef. The plan is to help you, the cook at home, save money with tricks and techniques that help simplify the cooking process.

Hall says that being a chef is the best job in the world, because there is nowhere in the world that you can go and not get a job.

The kitchen at Anthony’s is set up with three cameras, with an additional camera in the baking station. Live cooking instructions and a live Q-and-A chat with Hall will be online five afternoons a week (Tue-Sat from 1-5 pm). From 5 pm until closing, you can watch, listen and learn. Hall expects all English-speaking countries worldwide will be his audience. He can only talk to one student at a time, so “like in class, you raise your hand,” Hall says.

For viewers without microphones, he will be able to read your questions and answer them.
Hall points out that most cooking classes by other chefs run $45 to $50 for three hours without much hands-on activity. With “Kitchen Voyeur,” you can watch for a month for $40, and you get 168 hours of live video and chat — plus you can archive or download techniques of special interest. That, Hall says, is the value.

— LINDA BALL