World-renowned caterer and regular micenet columnist Tom Rutherford hasn’t let being stuck inside dampen his creativity. In fact, quite the opposite.

With all of his events cancelled, Tom has used the time to host virtual dinner parties where he sends recipies through to his friends who each cook the dishes before logging in to Zoom to eat and critique as a group.

His last dinner party engaged 12 of his friends from Sydney, and featured a three-course menu comprising peking duck pancakes, yellow fish curry and creme caramel. Those who weren’t keen on cooking, he told us, were allowed to buy the dishes and join in for the social bit.

When he hasn’t been dining online, Tom has been busy in his workshop making tables and chairs for his house, an effort which will see him feature in this weekend’s addition of The Weekend Australian magazine.

When asked about his predictions for the industry post-COVID-19, Tom said he believes people will be apprehensive about in-person events for quite some time.

“I think we’re all going to be gun shy, and there will be a lack of enthusiasm for some time, potentially years,” he said.

“The virtual world will expand exponentially, same as working from home.”

Despite the obvious setbacks, Tom said he believes that we as people will come out of this crisis even better than before.

“This is giving us time to reflect and catch up, so I believe the outcome will be better,” he said.

You can follow his adventures on Instagram here.