Anna Olson felt a tinge of pride last spring when the demand for flour and yeast became so great that grocery stores couldn鈥檛 stock their shelves fast enough.
The professional pastry chef and Food Network Canada star was thrilled to see people turning to baking and cooking in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, sharpening culinary skills they never felt they needed before.
But pandemic cooking, borne out of necessity, comfort or boredom, soon evolved into a means of connecting with others at a time when social interactions were drying up, Olson says.
Whether it was cooking together as a household, dropping off baked goods on neighbours鈥� porches, calling relatives for recipes from childhoods, or texting photos of kitchen masterpieces 鈥� and disasters 鈥� to friends, many Canadians have strengthened their connections over the past year through food.
For Olson, it was the regular texts from her stepdaughter, and the 鈥減lay-by-play鈥� phone calls from her mom describing her latest Instant Pot creations, that helped reinforce bonds between her family.
鈥淲e were always into food together, but we鈥檝e got this new relationship, exchanging photos, constant conversation 鈥� it鈥檚 like: 鈥榳hat are you eating? What are you cooking right now?鈥� Olson said.
鈥淚 expect the five o鈥檆lock text from (stepdaughter) Mika to come in: 鈥極K, I just bought this cut of meat. How do I cook it?鈥� And we walk through it together.鈥�
Olson, a recipe developer who鈥檚 also a judge on Food Network Canada鈥檚 鈥淕reat Chocolate Showdown,鈥� says the early COVID lockdown allowed her to delve deeper into new creations for the first time in years.
She misses the impromptu dinner parties she鈥檇 throw at her Niagara, Ont., home after perfecting large quantities of a recipe, but Olson says she adapted by dropping off boxes of her test goodies at neighbours鈥� doorsteps 鈥� and getting to know them better in the process.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 physically dine together, but cooking is still bringing us together,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very important.鈥�
John Axford, a former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher who lives in Burlington, Ont., says pandemic cooking has allowed him to bond with his sons in the kitchen.
The eight- and nine-year-old boys help their dad prepare meals and desserts when they stay with him 鈥� bumbleberry pie is the trio鈥檚 specialty 鈥� and Axford has been trying to introduce more complex recipes to their palettes.
He doesn鈥檛 always throw strikes though.
鈥淒efinitely a couple times I was like, 鈥榳ow, I messed this up bad,鈥欌�� he said with a laugh.鈥溾�楤etter get some hot dogs going.鈥欌��
Axford, who spent 10 years in the major leagues, rarely had to cook for himself over that span as MLB teams employ chefs and nutritionists for players, who typically eat two to three meals a day at the ballpark.
While he misses the ease of walking into the clubhouse and grabbing some grub, Axford says he feels a sense of accomplishment from the skills he鈥檚 honed over the last 12 months.
He gets recipe inspiration from memories of dining with teammates on the road 鈥� the Old Bay-seasoned crab they鈥檇 have in Baltimore, or the catfish and cheesy grits in Houston 鈥� but he tweaks them by taking advantage of time-saving tools, including the air fryer.
鈥淏eing able to make certain foods quicker, I can save those 30 minutes,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I鈥檓 saving those 30 minutes for right now, but it鈥檚 still nice.鈥�
Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and COVID expert at the University of Ottawa, says gadgets like the air fryer, bread maker and Instant Pot 鈥� which he calls 鈥淕od鈥檚 gift to lazy men鈥� 鈥� have transformed complex recipes into easier feats.
Being able to find any recipe on the internet is another bonus, Deonandan says, aiding his constant quest for creating new vegan dishes.
鈥淭en years ago, this would鈥檝e been impossible for me to do well,鈥� he said, adding that while he always enjoyed cooking, he was never good at it before.
鈥淣ow my house smells like a restaurant all the time.鈥�
Deonandan says it makes sense to see people embracing cooking during lockdown.
He says many of us, pre-COVID, were losing the desire or ability to prepare meals for ourselves, either from time constraints or dependence on restaurants.
鈥淏ut (with the pandemic) we retreated back to our homes,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he impulse was to become a little more self-sufficient, a little less reliant on things like meeting friends for dinner.鈥�
Deonandan, like Olson and Axford, says he鈥檚 nourished relationships with relatives over the pandemic, habitually calling his mother to walk him through traditional Indo-Guyanese recipes of his youth.
While his attempts never come out quite the same, he says the process of cooking those dishes makes him feel closer to his mother, who lives nearly 500 kilometres away in Toronto.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this feeling of realness that comes from home-cooked food,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing quite like it.鈥�
Olson expects people will return to dining out often once the pandemic subsides, but she thinks the last year may have also changed the way many of us view our culinary abilities.
鈥淲e鈥檝e set a new standard for the way we cook at home,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we appreciate the work that goes into cooking a meal.鈥�
Melissa Couto Zuber, The Canadian Press
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Want to support local journalism? Make a donation here.
