As New Yorkers (willingly or unwillingly) spent more time at home, and with restaurants shuttered, cooking at home received magnified attention. Learning to make do without the luxury of frequent food shopping, New Yorkers turned an eye to shelf stable comforts–beans, pasta, soups–in lieu of the daily fresh produce to which many were accustomed. With more time on their hands people experimented with cooking and baking projects, as witnessed by the multitudes of social media accounts. Serious criticisms of mainstream food media began in late spring, and began to highlight some of the material inequities that people of colour experienced in the field. Missing their normal routines and interactions, people turned to Zoom and other platforms to maintain some semblance of important and needed socializing through food and drink. Whether an enjoyable task that brought satisfaction and comfort, or yet another chore on top of the stressful double duty of work and childcare, home cooking became imbued with multiple meanings. By the end of summer 2020, as grocery stores regained stable supplies, and restaurants increased dining capacity, the media’s emphasis on cooking and eating food at home began to attain a “new normal.”
Click here to see archive entries on the at home cooking experience.
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