Delicious UK - (05)May 2020

How the crisis gave me

the confidence to cook

I’vestruggledwith

cookingforyears.

I lovea recipebook

andknowallsorts

oftheory,yetin

practiceit allfalls

apart.I canbodge

simplemealsformyselfbutwith

a cookinghistorythatplayslikea

bloopersreelofculinarydisasters,

I’velearnedtoleavecooking to

thosemorecapable.

Untilcoronavirus.Lockdown

changedeverything.Myhusband,

whousuallydoesthecooking,has

beenworkinghisnormalshiftsas

a firefighterwhileI find myself with

moretimeonmy

hands.Myusual

excusethatI can’t

cookdoesn’tquite

seemtowash.

Withtimetoplan

andtherealisation

thatsomething

goingwronginthe

kitchenis theleast

ofourproblems

rightnow,I’m

practising– and

improving.Sofarthere’sbeenapple

cake,goatcurryandevenperfectly

executedporkchops– allfromthe

personwholastyearservedup

a rawroastchickenforthefamily.

I’mnotalone.Foodblogger

VictoriaMeasures,29,fromMilton

Keynes,usuallyreliesonfrozen

pizzasortakeawaysratherthan

cookingbut,shesays,“Sincebeing

onlockdownI’vespentmoretime

researching home-cooked meals

andI’veevenboughta slowcooker

anda newhealthyeatingrecipe

book.NowI’vegotmorefreetime

I’vequiteenjoyedgettinginto

cookingusingfreshfood.”Mum-

of-threeEmmaKavanaghis the

same,whippingupcakesand

home-cookedmealswithher

daughters,agedfour,eightandten.

“Inbetweentrampolining,dancing

andswimminglessonswedon’t

oftenhavethetimetocook,”she

says.“Overthepastweekwe’ve

bakedthreecakesanddelvedinto

thecookerybookstorustleup

homemadeburgers.I’mnotsure

I recognise thepersonI’ve

become...”

Sowh at ’s

drivingthis

suddenurgeto

getcreativeinthe

kitchen?Is it just

a caseofhaving

moretime– or

somethingdeeper?

Counsellorand

psychotherapist

KaterinaGeorgiou

putsit downto

severalthings,includingtheneed

tomaintaincontrolandconsistency.

“We’reina timeofuncertainty,”

shesays.“Thiscreatesanxietyand

therewillbea naturaltendency

toestablishsomekindofcontrol,

routineandconsistency.Foodand

eatingarea commonareapeople

seektocontrolwhenfeeling

powerlesstochangeanythingelse.

Whetherthat’schangingourdiet,

going vegan or cooking nutritious

orcomfortingmeals,therecan

bea senseofcontrollingthechaos

throughfood.”Alongsidethis,

theconsistencyofcookingdaily

bringsanelementofcertainty

inotherwiseuncertaintimes.

Guiltis anotherfactor,says

Georgiou:“It’sa common

experiencerightnowforpeopleto

feellike‘othershaveit worsethan

them’.If you’refeelingguilty,then

doingsomethinglikewatchingTV

orrelaxingcanfeellikea luxury.

Butbecauseweneedtoeat,cooking

canprovidethatpermission under

theexcuseofnecessity.”

Formeandmynew-found

culinaryconfidence,it couldbe

anyoftheabove.Maybeeven

allofthem.AllI knowis it took

coronavirustogivemethe

confidence to cook.

Whenmuchofyourlifeisspentwritingabout,talkingaboutandeatingfood,

it’s assumedyou’rea superstarinthekitchen.Surprisingly,perhaps,thetwodon’t

necessarily go hand in hand, as journalist Ellen Manning confesses

There’sbeenapple

cake,goatcurry

andevenperfectly

executedporkchops

fromthepersonwho

lastyearservedup

a rawroastchicken

for the family

Formoreonhow
thecoronavirus
hasaffectedour
ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES psyche, see p128

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 139

talking point.