Audience Shot #8
Comfort during COVID: what’s on the menu in lockdown?
If you’re currently wearing out the floor on trips to the kitchen, you’ll know that one of the major changes in our lockdown lives has been our relationship with food.
It’s not just the rise (pardon the pun) in people making sourdough — a study released earlier this month found that during this time of stress and uncertainty, we’ve been increasingly turning to comfort foods, with sales of crisps, biscuits and chocolate all up on pre-pandemic levels.
As the report by brand consultancy The Brand Nursery states: “Many of us are trying as hard as possible to maintain as much normality as possible. Familiar ‘comfort’ foods were cited by a number of respondents as being the things they sought out and were enjoying most.”
Time spent home baking has increased, with 67 minutes a week now spent at the mixing bowl, compared to just 41 minutes pre-Covid. Banana bread, cookies and chocolate cake are proving to be the most popular treats. Thirty-seven per cent of lockdown bakers said it took their mind off things and 22% said it helped them deal with the stress. One in eight have taken up baking as a new hobby, with 42% vowing to continue baking more often once lockdown is over. And 12% said they were inspired to start baking by TV cookery programmes and slots on shows like This Morning.
Online, global views for online cooking shows have leapt by 45%, according to YouTube. Unlikely influencers have emerged such as the Italian Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura, whose Kitchen Quarantine show on Instagram is viewed by hundreds of thousands every day, earning him 1.4million followers, Meanwhile, established wellness influencers like Joe Wicks have been increasingly sharing healthy recipes on social.
The average household is now spending almost seven hours a week cooking meals, compared to six hours previously. In the survey, commissioned by Tesco, 89% said they’ll keep making meals from scratch once lockdown is lifted.
As Chris Blyth, Brand Nursery director explains: “This is both delivering comfort and a greater sense of wellbeing. Being in full control of ingredients and preparing ‘fresh’ meals provides the opportunity to ensure our families are getting the best possible nutrition, as well as occupying the greater time that many of us have now.
“There has been a growing awareness of the benefits of eating well, but this crisis may well have tipped good intentions into actual action for many.”
As a result, UK grocery sales have surged, shooting up 14.3% in the 12 weeks up to 17 May, according to figures just released (27 May), with online grocery shopping jumping to record levels as we stay indoors.
But for most of us, maintaining a sense of normality is the main aim in what we currently buy, cook and eat. For many Muslims who recently celebrated the end of Ramadan, it was important for them to eat the same meals, even if they couldn’t share them with family and friends in person. Mothia and Saleh Begum created their Cooking With The Begums YouTube channel. Their daughter Ayesha explained: “Our friends and family have been trying out my parents’ recipes during Ramadan and have been sharing their photos with us. [It] makes it feel like we’re all cooking the same thing together and breaking our fast by eating the same dishes as we usually would — just in different places.”
All this considered, it seems there’s much more thought around lockdown food — we’ve even cut food waste by more than a third.
As Chris Blyth concludes: “More ‘mindful’ shopping has become a necessity in these curious times as we place greater importance on what we buy and eat. As we emerge from lockdown, this might be the most significant and long-lasting change to emerge from our Covid-19 world.”
