Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Chris Holen prepares to make brioche buns fi lled with devils club shoots, oyster mushrooms, spruce buds and spring onions from Forage and Farm for his next video.
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his information again. Finally, he gets to
fi lming. After fi lming, he edits the video,
which takes between eight and 10 hours on
average, he said.
“The value in this is being able to learn
more about an ingredient but also being
able to share this with people. It might
inspire them to cook different foods, to
get out of their house, to create their own
video, to do something,” Holen said.
Aside from having a videographer the
fi rst couple videos, and a couple guest
appearances, Holen has fi lmed, directed
and edited the videos on his own.
Cooking during a pandemic
“At the end of the day I’m putting
myself out there and it keeps things a bit
normal. It’s my current normal,” Holen
said. “The silver lining is we’ve made
tons of food at home, we’ve cooked
together as a family and this has helped
us decide what to grow in our garden this
year.”
On the fl ipside, the videos have kept
Holen busy while he’s been in limbo wait-
ing to reopen his restaurant. Since closing
the restaurant, Holen hasn’t received any
revenue, he said.
“I’m in essence unemployed,” Holen
said. “I’m trying to keep it simple by not
buying anything. I think I’ve spent $80
total. When I say, ‘This video is brought
to you by,’ they didn’t pay for it. This is
about how I can help other people … I
don’t expect anything in return.”
Creating the videos has given Holen
a chance to consider other ways he can
stay connected to cooking, like teaching
classes, creating videos or writing books.
“We’re in the least sustainable business
there is right now. We’ll be OK for a few
months but I have no idea what’s going to
happen,” Holen said. “Opposed to getting
worked up about it, it’s an opportunity to
think outside the box and recognize that
things will likely never be as they were
and what does that look like.”
Interested in learning how to cook?
Holen suggests starting with his videos
on making sourdough bread and mother
sauce.
“Once you understand the classics, you
can do anything you want,” Holen said.
Chris Holen’s notes, spices and oils sit ready to help with cooking.
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 // 5