Or back online. Whatever the case, Kim O’Donnel, former host of the ‘What’s Cooking’ chat on washingtonpost.com, will start dropping knowledge (god, I’m so dated) now at Culinate.com. Her debut is today at 1 p.m. EDT.

Since unceremoniously losing her post.com gig last month, O’Donnel had been hosting a makeshift chat on facebook for the most die-hard of her fans. The Culinate site should make it easier again for O’Donnel to interface (didn’t I say I was dated?) with home cooks who need a little help in the kitchen. For starters, they won’t need a facebook account (although, really, with 200 million members, doesn’t everyone have an account now?). Second, Culinate will alert you to O’Donnel’s weekly chats—-for the price of your personal e-mail.

O’Donnel e-mailed this morning that today’s “chat will be an open forum — think of it like opening day of baseball season (or the farmer’s market?) — to give us a chance to get comfy with the new software. We do plan to make chats topical in the coming weeks, tho, including one dedicated to meatless stuff.”

Y&H has a meeting today, but will try to catch some of O’Donnel’s debut on Culinate. If you take part, let us know what you think of the new site and new chat.