Astoria's Zenon Taverna Launches Virtual Cooking Classes

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A family-owned restaurant in Astoria is taking its traditional Greek recipes from dining room to Zoom by launching a series of virtual cooking classes.

Instead of opening their restaurant to indoor dining, the owners of Zenon Taverna are opening their kitchen to home chefs with remote lessons on how to make classic Greek dishes like pastitsio and tzatziki.

Participants have the option to order all the necessary ingredients for delivery or pick-up.

The classes, offered in partnership with the Astoria at Home Cookbook, are an effort to boost Zenon's name recognition while the pandemic limits restaurant operations, co-owner Elena Papageorgiou Ioannidis told Patch.

Ioannidis' parents have owned the 31st Avenue taverna for decades. Before the pandemic, private events and off-site catering made up a bulk of their business, Ioannidis said.

"To go from having all these events to a delivery and takeout model was close to not even sustainable for us," she said.

Ioannidis started toying with the idea of virtual cooking classes late last year.

She said the program, which launched last week, likely won't be enough to keep the restaurant afloat during the pandemic, but it will at least boost Zenon's name recognition.

Upcoming offerings include a wine tasting later this month and an April class on how to make koupepia, or Cypriot stuffed grape leaves, and the creamy yogurt-and-cucumber sauce known as tzatziki.

Ioannidis is taking suggestions for future cooking classes on the restaurant's website. Private virtual classes are also available.