We’ve loved hosting events in our Eater Test Kitchen in NYC — book club, wine chats, one-off dinners with our favorite chefs — and we’ve whipped up a way to bring them to life on screen. The best part? You don’t have to be in New York to tune in. We’re inviting you all to hang out with us with Eater @ Home, via Instagram Live and Zoom.
To kick things off, join a cook-along to tackle a recipe from a brand-new cookbook, featured in our spring cookbook guide; talk about wine with Eater Young Gun Kae Whalen; and hear all about Persian food from a YA author.
Here’s the full calendar of events this week:
Tuesday, March 31: Eater Cook-Along with James Park and Adam Moussa, cooking from My Korea(6 p.m. EST, Instagram Live)
Wednesday, April 1: Eater Talks discussing why social distancing at home has turned us all into bread bakers, cake makers, and recipe testers (6 p.m. EST,Zoom)
Thursday, April 2: Eater Book Club with YA author Adib Khorram, reading from his food-filled novel Darius the Great Is Not Okay(6 p.m. EST, Instagram Live)
Friday, April 3: Eater Wine Club with Kae Whalen of LA’s Kismet (6 p.m. EST,Zoom)
And there’s lots more where this came from! Check back each Monday for a new schedule, featuring voices from Eater and around the food world, and sign up here to hear the latest about all our events.
In this time of shelter-in-place and social distancing, while restaurants have switched to delivery-only or closed entirely, eating — and finding the pleasure in eating, wherever we can — has taken on a whole new urgency.
Eater at Home is the source for anyone who wants to feel deeply engaged with food and dining culture, which now, more than ever, is in our homes. Of course, dining culture has never been limited to restaurant spaces and restaurant food; it’s about feeding our curiosity toward new experiences (including, for some of us, consistently cooking at home for the first time). It’s also about the the books, shows, and movies that center and find meaning in what and how we eat. And it’s about the little things that provide fleeting moments of satisfaction — like making all those delivery meals feel more restaurant-special.
From the classics (“The Joy of Cooking”) to the new (“Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat”)
First, let’s get one thing straight: There is no one best cookbook for beginners, just like there is no one best cookbook for baking a cake or for large-format entertaining. What makes a cookbook ideal for beginners is almost as subjective as the beginner in question; while some newbie cooks want to know everything about why cooking works the way it does, others just want a five-ingredient recipe that will, in 30 minutes or less, result in a meal.
So with that in mind, here is a list of 10 great cookbooks for beginning cooks, presented with the recognition that regardless of their goals, every cook — new or experienced — wants a cookbook that offers the opportunity for a happy ending. Some are recent, some are not; what all of them have in common is that they offer, through an alchemy of recipes, voice, and explanation of methodology, paths into the kitchen that are as welcoming as they are diverse.
“Anyone can cook anything and make it delicious,” begins Nosrat’s blockbuster 2018 cookbook. That reassuring sentiment is reinforced throughout the book, which rests less on recipes (although there are 100 of them) than on explaining the four titular elements that determine the deliciousness of the meals we make. Nosrat’s message — that you can learn to build food by trusting your instincts — is delivered with contagious enthusiasm, and further sweetened by Wendy MacNaughton’s winsome watercolor illustrations. This is an ideal book for anyone as interested in the “why” of cooking as the “how.”
by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker, John Becker, Megan Scott
There’s a reason this glorious doorstop of a book is still going strong 88 years after Irma Rombauer self-published its first incarnation. Revised this year by Rombauer’s great-grandson John Becker and his wife Megan Scott, the book remains a master class for anyone who wants to learn the basics — all of the basics. It contains more than 4,500 recipes for everything from popcorn to emu fillets, along with charts, diagrams, and a three-page spread on how to mix and match salad greens — enough, in other words, to more or less qualify as a culinary school with page numbers.
Do not be scared off by this book’s 958 pages, or the use of the word “science” in its title. Its recipes are accessible, thanks in large part to the care (and humor) López-Alt employs in explaining the, yes, science behind them. Even the ostensibly simple act of boiling an egg is given its due, with six pages — including a graph that charts boiling point versus altitude — dedicated to it. This is basically a nerd fantasia, one that’s as likely to appeal to the seriously inquisitive newbie as one who simply wants a foolproof recipe for macaroni and cheese.
This is a terrific book for anyone who wants to approach the seemingly monumental task of cooking by breaking the process down into bite-size pieces; as its title implies, Turshen is a master of recipes that are achievable without being mundane. Her book’s recipes are organized into lessons designed for self-empowerment, with tips for spinning them off to make them your own. In Turshen’s hands, even the task of making homemade gravlax seems eminently doable, a small victory in and of itself.
First published in 1997, this remains the grandmother of vegetarian cookbooks. Its fully revised 2014 edition boasts some 1,600 recipes and begins — crucially — with a primer on building flavor. Even if you just want to figure out how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, Madison has you covered, with an interlude that puts forth one-paragraph recipes for no less than 10 variations on the theme. The book is perfect not just for vegetarians, but anyone who wants to explore a plant-based diet but doesn’t know where to begin.
For a lesson in the basics — whether it’s the basics of knife skills, kitchen tools, or pots and pans — this one is hard to beat. As its title implies, this is a great cookbook for a beginner who wants an endlessly accessible, broad-spectrum introduction to cooking (the sauce and condiments chapter alone could be its own book). The completely revised twentieth-anniversary edition, published this October, contains hundreds of recipes that emphasize simplicity and convenience — many of them are designed to be cooked in 30 minutes or less.
If cooking is daunting for beginners, then baking tends to resemble a locked black box full of fear and abject failure. But this very comprehensive — and homey — tome makes a winning case for thinking of baking as the simple byproduct of trial and error, as, uh, illustrated by the lengthy prologues that explain exactly how the editors perfected each recipe. Step-by-step illustrations of everything from chopping nuts to cutting out rounds of parchment for lining cake pans provide extra reassurance, while the recipes themselves — blueberry muffins, glazed lemon cookies, focaccia — prize simplicity over showiness.
Sometimes the best way to ease into the kitchen is to learn to make one thing you really like eating outside of it. If that thing is cake, then Simple Cake, with its roster of 10 quick, unfussy cake recipes and 15 toppings (and numerous suggestions for combining them) is an ideal gateway to both baking and cooking. Packed with practical advice, it presents cake as an attainable everyday pleasure, and provides the easygoing assurance that, as Williams writes, no matter your baking experience, “you’re more than qualified, and, over time, your confidence will grow.”
In Nguyen’s expert hands, Vietnamese cooking is a pleasurably laidback endeavor suitable for any weeknight. Aside from relatively concise lists of ingredients, part of what makes the recipes here so approachable for first-time cooks is that, where possible, Nguyen provides substitutions and workarounds to ingredients that may not be accessible to everybody. Potentially complicated instructions, such as Viet caramel sauce, are accompanied by step-by-step photographs, where Nguyen’s steadfast advice speaks to her years of experience as a cooking teacher.
Ina Garten’s appeal has always lived at the intersection of classy and comforting, a combination that makes many of her books ideal for any cook looking for something simple, but with a little zhuzh. This book is a sound choice for the beginner confronted with the specter of entertaining: large-format recipes like rib roast, saffron risotto, and five-cheese penne offer satisfying, unfussy solutions to the problem of how to feed people, and feed them well.
Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see ourethics policy.
Stack of sourdough photo by Cavan Images/Getty; hand with magnifying glass photo by Bahrudin Yusoff/EyeEm/Getty
If you want to get into making sourdough bread, you need a reliable recipe, a starter, and some basic tools.
Over the past two weeks, as millions of Americans started working from home and sheltering in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 across the country, King Arthur Flour’s website saw its highest traffic since the day before Thanksgiving. Bill Tine, King Arthur’s VP of marketing, told Eater’s Meghan McCarron that usually the site’s top post is a recipe for easy cheesecake. But since the pandemic hit, millions of people, homebound and bored, have flooded King Arthur’s servers in search of recipes for bread — more specifically, sourdough bread, in all of its glorious forms.
To those who are taking this quarantined time to get into baking bread, can I just say: welcome.
I started baking bread regularly at home a few years ago and have learned a few things along the way, namely that you need very little to make a loaf of bread that’ll feed many and please all. A mixture of flour, salt, water, and wild yeast will result in a delicious loaf, no matter how you do it, and while the process may feel intimidating at first, just remember: Humans have been doing this very thing for millennia. We just didn’t always have Instagram to make bread-making appear harder — and the resulting loaves more perfect — than it need be.
Guides in hand, the first thing that you’re going to need to make bread is a sourdough starter. A starter — also known as a levain, a mother, or a pre-ferment — is a lively mixture of flour and water combined with wild yeast and good bacteria captured from the air. It’s the ingredient that enables your sourdough bread to rise and what gives it its signature tangy flavor.
If you don’t have a starter right now, don’t worry. This King Arthur Flour recipe will teach you how to make your own at home, and though the slow process means you won’t be able to make bread right away (you’re waiting for your starter to come alive — you’ll start to see some activity after three days), you’ll get bragging rights for having made yours from scratch. Alternatively, Cook’s Illustrated’s Andrew Janjigian is teaching people how to make their own #quarantinystarter through his newsletter, and baker Lexie Smith has enlisted volunteers through her site Bread on Earth to send dried sourdough culture to interested parties around the world. You’ve got options!
If you’re hoping to utilize this time of social distancing to learn this new skill in the absence of, say, taking up water skiing or bocce, there are a few tools you can invest in to make the most of your bread-making process.
A kitchen scale
Most every baker will encourage you to invest in a kitchen scale, as nearly every bread recipe is written out in weight rather than volume. Different flours have different weights by volume and with a scale, you can get more precise measurements on smaller quantities of your ingredients, like salt and starter. I recommend the My Weigh KD-8000 scale, though any scale, preferably digital, should do.
A flexible razor blade
I’d say the third most important tool to bake a successful loaf of sourdough is a good pack of flexible household razor blades — they’re about $10 for 100 of them. You’ll use one of these to score the top of your loaf right before it bakes, and you want to have at least a few extra in your kitchen drawer to swap in as the previous blade starts to dull. Typically, bakers will use a tool for scoring called a lame, which is a razor blade attached to a handle. It makes the process of scoring slightly more ergonomic and precise, but I’ve found a simple razor blade alone works, too, especially if you’re not looking to get too decorative or detailed with it.
A banneton
Some at-home bakers and most, if not all, commercial bakers own wicker baskets called bannetons (otherwise known as brotforms or proofing baskets). While they are not necessary, they do help bread keep its shape during the proofing, or fermenting/rising, stage so it’s not too slack and loose when you’re ready to put it in the oven. I find bannetons to be useful when I’m working with wetter doughs, as they wick away some of the surface moisture and encourage the dough to keep its shape. Bannetons also come in a variety of sizes, though ovals and rounds are the most common. In the absence of a banneton, a large bowl with a floured tea towel is a perfectly acceptable alternative for when your dough is rising, whether overnight or over a few hours.
A Dutch oven
When it’s time to bake your bread, at-home bakers enlist Dutch ovens with lids to create the steamy environment necessary to give their loaves a crusty, crunchy exterior. This Lodge version is $45 and is perfectly serviceable for this purpose, though you can use most any heavy cast-iron or enamel pot, as long as it has a lid. (I bought my used Le Creuset from a reseller on Etsy, where they’re much cheaper and just as good.) If you’re not in the market for a new pot, there are alternative methods: I’ve used a baking sheet topped with a pasta pot as a jury-rigged solution. Just make sure that no matter what you use, you preheat your oven to 500 degrees at least 45 minutes before baking, preferably with your pot in it. Don’t have a lidded pot but you do have a loaf pan? I’ve put loaves of sourdough in this King Arthur 9-by-5 loaf pan plenty of times. Just tent the pan loosely with tin foil when you do, removing the foil 25 or so minutes into the baking.
What you don’t need
One thing you do not need is a dough whisk. Don’t bother!
Further Reading
If you want to understand more about the health benefits of sourdough bread, Vanessa Kimbell’s Sourdough School: The Ground-Breaking Guide to Making Gut-Friendly Bread gives great background. And for using your sourdough starter in many non-bread baked goods like banana bread and rye brownies (do it), Michelle Eshkeri’s Modern Sourdough: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Margot Bakery is a fun resource. (One technical note: Shipping is likely delayed on these and the above titles through Amazon, so try your local independent bookstore online. Many are still fulfilling orders through their warehouses. In a pinch, I’ve downloaded one or two of these on my Kindle.)
All of these things — or, if you prefer, almost none of them, save for a sourdough starter — should help you hit the ground running in the sourdough bread department. If you want even more tips, Bread on Earth and the Fresh Loaf are good resources for any and all questions. And remember: While sourdough is a type of science, it’s certainly not rocket science. It should be fun and weird and cool and — above all — a good way to pass the time. I believe in you.
Dayna Evansis a Paris-based writer with a bread-baking newsletter you can subscribe tohere.
Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see ourethics policy.
Everything you need to know about relying on kitchen staples to do more cooking than ever before
Once your pantry is fully stocked , and you’ve settled in to an extended period of staying at home, it’s time to get cooking. While you may not be firing off restaurant-level dishes at home every day, there are plenty of chef-driven recipes that hit at the nexus of delicious and doable. Better yet, many make use of a mix of pantry staples and a few fresh items that should be easy to come by even on socially distanced, once-a-week grocery outings (once people stop panic buying, that is).
But in the black hole of the internet, those actually-doable recipes can be hard to uncover. So we’ve gone ahead and rounded up those that are both interesting and reliable.
Before you get started
Organize your pantry and refrigerator in a way that allows you to see and grab all ingredients easily. Group things like pastas, grains, canned goods, baking supplies, fresh produce, pickled/fermented things, spices, and oils and vinegars together, so you’re not scrambling to find a bottle or jar that’s floating in space. And make sure everything is visible — you’d be amazed at how easy it is to lose track of a bag of rice or a can of tomatoes, for example, when they’re shoved into the dark recesses of your cabinet.
Use the “first in, first out” mentality when it comes to fresh items — that means cooking and eating the most perishable goods first. It’s partially because that’s when they taste best, and partially to reduce waste — the goal is to make every meal count.
Along those same lines, remember that whole “nose to tail” dining trend a few years ago, followed by its produce-centric cousin, “root to leaf”? That use-it-all mentality chefs love to wax poetic about applies in the home kitchen, too. Veggie stems, roots, and leaves can be turned into stocks, sauces, and pickles (here’s a good primer) that are often more flavorful than what you’d get in the store, and have the added benefit of keeping you... away from the store. Odd bits of meat and bone can be saved to add flavor to soups, sauces, and stews, or collected to make a stock that serves as a foundation to countless dishes.
Still, at some point, you will probably have to restock. Be swift and strategic when you go outside to shop; now is not the time to be running around to three different specialty shops in search of some hard-to-find vinegar. Recipes are, at their best, a template; the idea is to use them as a guide, but modify them to suit what you have and what you like. Ingredients can often be substituted (even in baking — here’s a handy guide to common swaps), and part of the pleasure of cooking is in learning to trust your own taste. As New York Times cooking editor Sam Sifton puts it, with a suggested tweak: You don’t [always] need a recipe.
Got all that? Okay, good. Now to the recipes, from acclaimed chefs and tried-and-true resources, grouped according to ways of cooking a meal.
One-Pot Wonders
Cut down on dirty dishes with these all-in-one recipes from the pros, all of which lean heavily on pantry ingredients.
A sheet pan (also known as a baking sheet or cookie sheet) is one of the most useful pieces of cooking equipment you can have — to make on-trend, full multicomponent meals, yes, but also to roast big batches of meats or vegetables to keep on hand for mixing and matching into meals.
Sure, this is a nice time to experiment with new recipes. But it’s also a great time to sink into something a little more comfortable — and these recipes are classics for a reason.
When you’re craving something that feels fresh, turn to these restaurant-level recipes that make good use of both pantry staples and all kinds of produce.
If you’re one of the millions of people who already know and love the Instant Pot, great. Carry on. If you are, like me, one of the people who remains perplexed by the appliance, now is as good a time as any to get to know it.
Have you heard of this thing called bread? It’s pretty cool and you can make it at home. You can also spend a few minutes making extra-thick chocolate chip cookies, or a few hours making extra-gooey chocolate babka — dealer’s choice.
A shopping list to make your cooking that much better
With the restaurant world continuing its devastating free-fall and more cities issuing stay-at-home orders, it’s a fair assumption that you will be cooking at home, potentially more than ever.
If you’re used to going out to restaurants, this can feel like a jarring transition at first. Professional chefs are professionals for a reason; they have an arsenal of techniques and ingredients that few home cooks — even the most enthusiastic ones — can match. That said, there are a few things you can do to load your pantry with both the basics and a few restaurant-style secret weapons to take your home cooking to the next level.
A few things to keep in mind: There is no one-size-fits-all shopping list. Take a look at what you already have, and think about how you actually eat. Sure, beans are so hot right now, but do you like beans? Be realistic with your cooking plans and ability — if spending hours on an intricate pastry project is soothing for you, by all means, but if you just need to get a meal on the table for you and your family, that’s absolutely okay too. Not every meal needs to be blockbuster; even the most food-obsessed among us sometimes just eat to live.
When it comes to shopping, make a list and have a plan so you can get in and out of the store quickly. If the store doesn’t have what you need, it’s probably not worth going to another — be flexible and try something you maybe wouldn’t have picked up before. It’s also worth noting here that many restaurants are selling pantry items and produce as part of their takeout packages — check their Instagrams or websites for up-to-date info on where to shop.
Stocking your pantry: the basics
Consider these items the foundation of a well-stocked kitchen — essential building blocks to cooking all kinds of dishes. Many of the items here are shelf-stable, and we’ve provided tips for shopping and storing meat, dairy, and produce as well.
Pasta and grains
Long pasta, short pasta, tubular pasta — whatever you can get your hands on, really.
Grain-wise, rice is an obvious choice (short and long grain, all colors), but don’t forget whole and ancient grains like farro, barley, bulgur, freekeh, and quinoa.
Canned and jarred goods
Canned tomatoes (whole provides the most versatility — you can always crush or blend them yourself)
Coconut milk for enhancing soups and curries, cooking rice, or poaching meat
Stock/broth (though you can also make your own, it doesn’t hurt to have backup)
Jarred salsas/simmer sauces (great for tying together a bunch of refrigerator loose ends in a pot)
Nut butters
Pickles
Condiments (mustard, jam, soy sauce, etc.)
Beans and legumes
Nutritious and long-lasting, and can be eaten on their own, or added to soups, stews, salads, stir-fries, and more. Dried beans are all the rage, and generally taste better if you’re willing to put in the time to cook them, but canned also work.
Yes, you should definitely get chickpeas and cannellini beans, but don’t forget lentils, split peas, and black-eyed peas, too.
Baking supplies
Flour (and alternative flours if that’s how you roll)
Sugar (brown, white, confectioners)
Baking soda and powder
Yeast for that bread you’re going to make
Bread
Homemade or not, can be pre-sliced and frozen for easier heating
Oil, vinegar, spices
Olive is standard, though grab canola too, which is better for high-heat cooking.
Vinegar (apple cider and rice are good starting points)
Whatever spices you frequently cook or bake with — allspice, bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon, chile flakes, oregano, paprika, pepper, vanilla, etc.
Produce
Lemons, limes, onions, garlic, and root vegetables (potatoes, squash, carrots, beets) last a long time.
Hearty greens like kale and collards will keep for a week, as will most uncut fruit.
Frozen fruit and veggies are also an option, and you can do it yourself — on the fruit front, berries, bananas, and mango do well; veggie-wise, peas, corn, kale, and edamame are easy to throw in a plastic bag, squeeze all the air out, and pop in the freezer.
Fresh soft herbs such as parsley, cilantro, and mint can keep for up to a week if washed, dried, and covered loosely in the fridge. If a bunch is on the verge of collapsing, blitz it into pesto, chimichurri, or an herby vinaigrette. Fresh herbs can also be chopped or pureed with oil and frozen in ice cube trays.
Dairy and eggs
Hard cheeses like Parmesan (in block form) last for weeks; cheddar, Gruyere, and feta are also safe bets.
Eggs are good for breakfast, baking, and tying a bowl of odds and ends together; they keep in the refrigerator for several weeks, as does butter (which also freezes well).
Meat and seafood
The best meats to freeze are cuts that can stand up to a long cook (braising or roasting) without losing their integrity — think ground meat, bone-in chicken legs and thighs, beef brisket or chuck. Frozen shrimp and fish filets are also convenient to keep on hand.
Stocking your pantry: the not-so-basics
Consider these your next-level flavor enhancers — not strictly essential but the welcome-if-you-can-get-’em ingredients that chefs frequently employ to add more depth, spice, tang, or zip to a dish.
Texture boosters
Fried shallots: Fried shallots make it easy to add crunch to rice and noodles, salads, and baked pastas or casseroles. Buy a big bag at an Asian grocer, or turn to the classics (French’s fried onions) in a pinch. They’re also easy (if a little time consuming) to make yourself if you bring home enough shallots from the market.
Chile oil/chile crisp: Add a spicy, garlicky, crunchy kick to everything from rice to veggies to chicken and fish. If you’re feeling frisky, try it on vanilla ice cream.
Fermented and pickled things
Kimchi, sauerkraut, pickled beets, and miso are all instant flavor enhancers and keep indefinitely in the fridge. Miso in particular is a versatile umami-booster that’s at home in soup, marinades, cookies, and more.
Preserved lemons: They last forever, add a cured citrus brightness to stews, curries, grain dishes, and more, and are easy to make.
Cured meats and tinned seafood
Tinned fish: anchovies for melting into sauces and dressings; sardines, mackerel, salmon and/or oil-packed tuna for snacking or flaking into a salad or pasta.
Charcuterie: In addition to being good snacking material, cured meats like salami and smoked meats like bacon keep well, and can be added to broths and stir-fries, and baked into or on top of bready things.
Spreads and stir-ins
Fancy dairy: Labneh and/or creme fraiche are exactly the type of rich, creamy, tangy, dairy-based comfort that can pump a dish up. Throw a dollop on top of roasted vegetables, soups, or baked goods.
Tahini: Use the creamy ground sesame paste in salad dressings, veggie dips, and baked goods.
Next-level seasoning
Turmeric: It’s been popular in India for thousands of years, and with good reason — its vibrant golden hue and electric flavor enhance everything from curries to cakes to eggs to smoothies.
Harissa: A spicy North African chile paste that zips up sauces, eggs, marinades, dips, stir-fries, and more.
Finishing salt: Kosher salt is the type most commonly called for in recipes, but finishing dishes with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt (Maldon for purists, Jacobsen’s for modern tastes) is an easy way to feel fancy at home.
Jamie Feldmar is a Los Angeles-based writer and cookbook author. See more atjamiefeldmar.comand follow her@jfeldmar. Photo credits: Kale photo, Lew Robertson/Getty; Olive oil photo, George Clerk/Getty; Dried pasta photo, Brian Hagiwara/Getty; Loaf of bread photo, Diamond Sky Images/Getty; all other product images courtesy vendors
An on-stage celebration during last year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards | THEODORE LIM/AFP via Getty Images
The organization plans to launch new initiatives to support the hospitality industry in light of the coronavirus pandemic
There will be no World’s 50 Best Restaurants list this year. Both the awards ceremony set to take place in Antwerp, Belgium on June 2 and the announcement of the ranked fine dining restaurants will be postponed until 2021. Instead, according to a press release, the organization will direct its efforts to “supporting, connecting and uniting the global gastronomic community,” now struggling in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision marks a shift in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants approach to handing out awards in light of COVID-19. Last week, the restaurant-ranking organization released its list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants during a virtual event that replaced the usual awards ceremony. In a post to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants website, content director William Drew wrote that the announcement would go on “in a bid to shine some positive light into the darkness.”
World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ new direction mirrors that of the James Beard Awards, which postponed the announcement of its semifinalists and the awards for all categories and launched a relief fund and other initiatives designed to support restaurants.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has yet to outline its exact plans for “meaningful initiatives that will bolster the restaurant sector,” but promises reformatted content and future digital programming. Says Drew, “Today we make a pledge that even though there will be no celebration of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants this year, we will act to support and defend restaurants today and in the future.”
The stimulus is meant to put cash — up to $1,200 — into Americans’ pockets, to prevent widespread economic collapse amid mass lay-offs, a volatile stock market, and a panicking population. For business owners, it offers forgivable loans to help pay rent, utilities, and mortgage interest payments, kicking the can down the road for those and other expenses until businesses can open to the public again. If they can reopen to the public again.
The stimulus doesn’t do enough for the restaurant industry, and so it doesn’t do enough for the rest of America. The restaurant industry and its workers, which were uniquely vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic, are an all-too-perfect stand-in for the parts of America and its economy that politicians claim to support the most, and yet listen to the least — small businesses built on the backs of hard-working Americans.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 657,000 food and drinking establishments in the U.S. in the fall of 2019, totaling 6 percent of all domestic businesses. Statistics from the National Restaurant Association suggest that the majority are what we’d consider “small business” (7 in 10 restaurants are single-unit). More than 12 million people work in restaurants, according to the BLS; industry estimates put the number even higher. Per Planet Money, 1 in 20 American workers works in food preparation and service. Restaurants are not only a cultural backbone of America’s small-town main streets and its biggest cities, they’re an economic one, as well.
Estimates by the National Restaurant Association suggest the industry will sustain a $225 billion loss in 2020 — a loss in a year the organization previously expected the industry to generate some $899 billion in sales; for scale, that’s equal to roughly 4 percent of the GDP. Of nearly 1,500 respondents to a survey from the James Beard Foundation — which included chefs, restaurateurs, and beverage professionals — more than 60 percent of all respondents said that they didn’t “have enough operating capital to sustain a closure for one full month,” and had to let go of 78 percent of their hourly workers and 58 percent of their salaried employees.
A one-time, $1,200 check for those who made under $75,000 in 2019 and unemployment insurance that is temporarily more generous — eligible workers will receive an additional $600 a week until July 31 — is meant to soften the blow. Certainly cash in hand won’t make things for these workers worse, but it’s not just that these workers are out of a job; for many, they’re out of a career. Livelihoods are at risk of collapsing, at an incomprehensible scale.
For small businesses, there’s some hope to be found in the newly established loan program, but it’s not enough. The forgiveness provisions of the promised small business loans are heavily weighted toward companies that rehire staff by the end of June, a measure that sets a high bar for restaurants without cash reserves to reopen, as Sutton explains. It looks like fast-food franchise locations are allowed to apply, too, potentially crowding out small operations from accessing funds. And the loans — even loans that function more like grants — won’t change the fact that restaurants have had to operate on scant or no revenue, potentially for months. Too few restaurants have the cash reserves, especially after weeks (if not soon months) of forced dining room closures, to make fully accessing this benefit possible.
Restaurant workers, like the rest of America, have faced rising costs of living when it comes to rent, slow wage growth, and uneven access to employer-provided health benefits. A check and better unemployment pay won’t change the fact workers will have ongoing expenses and uncertain job prospects, even after the pandemic subsides. For undocumented workers, it’s even worse, as the stimulus bill says it does not apply to “non-resident alien individuals,” even though undocumented restaurant workers pay taxes out of their paychecks.
Restaurants and its workers have been especially devastated by the effects of social distancing, even as many continue to put their health on the line to keep working. Now, an entire network of small businesses could be crushed out of existence by a public health crisis the federal government did precious little to protect us from; millions of workers face precariousness compounded by the preexisting structures that left so many to live paycheck to paycheck in the first place.
It’s in that precariousness that the restaurant industry holds a mirror up to the rest of the country, which may soon see itself reflected back. A stimulus plan that leaves them without all of the aid they need demands all of us ask: What will our main streets and cities look like without restaurants that aren’t part of enormous chains? And how will we care for the millions left without jobs because of that consolidation? What will happen if the rest of us need the same level of support?
Because it’s not just that our economy won’t fully recover if we leave these small businesses and service workers holding the bag. It’s our communities, which rely on restaurants as a public theater, a backdrop and setting for life’s celebrations, on the one hand, and daily routines, on the other. It’s us. We won’t recover if they don’t.
The “Little Women” actor cooks meals from her LA home and answers questions from fans
In times of hardship, we tend to seek comfort in life’s purest pleasures: food, sleep, and British actor Florence Pugh. Like the rest of us, the star of Midsommar and Little Women is staying home to do her part to flatten the COVID-19 curve and is channeling her anxiety into cooking. Pugh has been sharing her culinary creations (and cactus surgeries) on Instagram for a while now, amassing a fan base devoted enough for their own t-shirts.
As Pugh noted recently, now is a particularly “weird time” and we should engage in happy activities whenever possible. And for those of us whose happy activities include “watching Florence Pugh’s Instagram stories,” we’re in luck, because she’s doubling down on turning out content from her annoyingly gorgeous LA home. Watch her make ratatouille, won’t you, and listen to her dulcet voice say “oregano” with the emphasis on the re. For your next course, curl up and watch as she makes butternut squash soup with a side of potatoes and chorizo. And then shake it off by joining her for a dance in her garage.
The soothing and delightful videos, featuring a variety of angles and switching from straight-on to selfie views, showcase Pugh sharing her cooking and food philosophies: no food waste, always wash your vegetables (“Not just during corona”), how she prefers her potatoes with skin, garlic and garlic breath is great (“It’s actually more like perfume”), and how she learned to cook from her parents and television chef and cookbook author Jamie Oliver.
The best part is Pugh just having fun and distracting herself by distracting us. She “boogies,” smiles, says hello and shows off her dog, she pours glasses of white wine with ice cubes, takes far-away videos because her phone is on the charger. She answers viewer questions, and more importantly, like any good food video personality, she records herself tasting her creations. Plus, she has good taste in music, recommending indie singer-songwriter Jay Som’s “Tenderness.”
Her videos are visual Xanax and her dishes accessible — even if the kitchen she’s cooking in is not. You have to don’t take my word for it: take Paddington Bear’s. Oscar-nominated actor interacts with fictional bear in hat — these are our times.
Workers for grocery delivery app Instacart plan to walk off the job on March 30. | Photo: Tada Images/Shutterstock
Gig workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic want hazard pay, safety gear, and extended sick pay
Instacart gig workers are planning a nationwide strike on Monday, March 30 over the grocery delivery service’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, citing the company’s failure to implement “proper safety precautions” as requested by workers.
Instead, Instacart shoppers and the Gig Workers Collective write in a Medium post published today, Instacart “has turned this pandemic into a PR campaign, portraying itself the hero of families that are sheltered-in-place, isolated, or quarantined.”
The shoppers allege that the delivery app’s promise to provide 14 days of pay to “any part-time employee or full-service shopper who is diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed in mandatory isolation or quarantine, as directed by a local, state, or public health authority” rings hollow, as it has been “virtually impossible” to meet the qualifications while the U.S. has struggled with testing shortages. (An Instacart spokesperson told Eater that the company does not require a positive COVID-19 diagnosis for a shopper to qualify for the extended pay policy, emphasizing that the other possible condition of the policy is being placed under “mandatory isolation or quarantine, as directed by a local, state, or public health authority.”) The workers’ statement also notes that Instacart’s extended pay policy had been set to expire April 8, before the period that experts predict could be the peak of COVID-19 across the country.
The workers write that the March 30 walkout will continue until Instacat agrees to provide the following: safety gear including hand sanitizer, disinfectants, and soap; hazard pay of an extra $5 per order, plus a default of 10 percent tip in the app; an expansion of the extended pay policy that would cover anyone who has a preexisting condition who has been advised by a doctor to self-quarantine; and an extension of the benefits window beyond April 8.
Instacart, in a statement provided to Eater, said:
“The health and safety of our entire community — shoppers, customers, and employees — is our first priority. Our goal is to offer a safe and flexible earnings opportunity to shoppers, while also proactively taking the appropriate precautionary measures to operate safely. We want to underscore that we absolutely respect the rights of shoppers to provide us feedback and voice their concerns. It’s a valuable way for us to continuously make improvements to the shopper experience and we’re committed to supporting this important community during this critical time.”
In a blog post published on March 27, the grocery delivery service highlights updates to its health and safety measures for shoppers, including extending the sick pay policy through May 8, and offering bonuses for in-store shoppers. None of the listed updates directly address the specific demands that Instacart workers put forth in their walkout statement.
“While Instacart’s corporate employees are working from home, Instacart’s [gig workers] are working on the frontlines in the capacity of first responders,” Vanessa Bain, a lead organizer of the upcoming walkout, told Motherboard, which first reported news of the strike. Instacart’s corporate employees enjoy benefits like health insurance, paid time off, and sick pay, while the gig workers whose labor is the basis of the service get none of these, Bain said. “Without [us], Instacart will grind to a halt. We deserve and demand better.”
Willamette Valley | Photo by George Rose/Getty Images
An independent winemaker considers her options in the face of the coronavirus pandemic
Brianne Day is an American winemaker working in the Willamette Valley, just south of Portland, Oregon. There, she owns and operates Day Wines, an eclectic indie label of lauded wines sourced from throughout the state of Oregon, as well as Day Camp Winery, a tasting room and winemaking facility home annually to around 10 other independent winemakers.
Day Wines launched in 2012, and soon after scored a scene-making invite to RAW London, the influential international wine fair. She now makes 6,000 cases annually, with standouts including a benchmark Oregon petillant natural, “Mamacita,” as well as a five grape Willamette Valley white blend, Vin de Days, modeled on the white wines of Alsace.
But since the spread of COVID-19 forced restaurants and wine bars to close and bottle shops to pivot their business models, independent winemakers like Day have been faced with a range of uncertainties covering every step of the winemaking process. The timescale of wine involves making plans in March, such as purchasing contracts with vineyards and taking sales trips, that will impact decisions in September, from how many wines to bottle to how much help to hire. Now, Day must ask herself some big questions: How can I support my staff and the farmers I depend on for grapes? How much wine should I make this year? Should I even be making wine at all?
This ought to be a joyous time for Day — following a 2019 in which she broke personal sales records, in early 2020 Day received her first James Beard Award semi-finalist nomination, in the Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer category. Instead it’s a different moment entirely. I spoke to Day from her home in Portland, Oregon. — Jordan Michelman
The last few weeks have been awful. Business has ground to a complete halt. This time of year, distribution sales are the bulk of my income. I was fortunate that February was the best month of sales I’ve ever had, but the majority of that is for invoices that are still outstanding. Distributors in the wine industry pay on 30 to 60 day terms, and I don’t anticipate I’m going to receive that money soon, if ever. So many of the distribution companies I work with are small, family run operations, and I don’t know how they’re going to survive without restaurants or retail shops operating normally.
Wine retail is able to do some business right now, curbside pick-up and things, but restaurants really make up the bulk of my customers. I’ve gotten emails from distributors and they aren’t feeling very optimistic right now. If the majority of restaurants reopen in two or three weeks, we might pull out of this but if it drags on for months there are many, many small makers like my winery that aren’t going to make it.
So far I’ve had to lay off two of my three employees, because wine tasting rooms have had to close just like bars. There’s no point in having tasting room staff there. I’ve taken on all online sales and all of our customer service, in addition to managing the winemaking. I’ve been completely over my head. You might hear some people say things like “Oh, I’ve got all this time off now,” and it’s like — I don’t.
My son Viggo is two and a half, and he’s with me 100 percent of the time right now. I’m trying to keep my son at home while I do the bookkeeping and run the entire business. I have managed to keep my assistant winemaker for now, and we’re preparing to make wine in April — I have wine in tanks and a date scheduled with the bottling truck, but I have no idea how we can manage operating the bottling truck while maintaining a six-foot distance.
When you’re bottling wine you are typically right next to each other, working in the same area. Small wineries like mine that either can’t afford to pay for their own bottling equipment or don’t want to deal with really fussy machinery, can hire a bottling service to bring a whole bottling operation directly to their sites — this sanitized, perfectly functioning operation shows up with all the equipment you need to bottle wine, and then all you have to do is hook up a hose from your tanks into the truck. You load up your bottles, corks, and labels and get to work.
The bottling company supplies just one staffer to manage the truck, and I usually hire a crew of around six more people to run the operation: to dump glass, to put bottles that are finished into cases, to send those boxes down a conveyor to waiting workers who build and wrap pallets, before handing them off to a forklift driver to stack. The operator of the truck is inside keeping an eye on things, making sure all the labels are going ons straight, and then I’ll typically bounce into the truck every 20 minutes or so to check in with him, making sure he’s got enough corks and labels and that the bottles look consistent. The truck is really loud — in order to keep over six-plus feet away from somebody I’m going to have to really shout.
People are on top of each other the whole time throughout this process; I don’t know how to have someone labeling and stamping boxes and then not have someone come up next to them to grab the boxes. It’s going to end up slowing the whole thing down considerably in order to be sensitive to the six-foot rule. We’re going to need to have a plan.
It’s really hard to predict what’s going to happen next harvest. I had a conversation with one of my grape growers earlier this week, because they of course are seeing all this too. The growers want to know if they should farm their entire vineyard, because farming costs are calculated per acre, and every acre costs money. If they aren’t going to be able to sell the grapes they won’t be able to farm their own vineyards. We’re trying right now to predict how soon this will be over when it comes to grapes in the fall — will there be demand for wine, or is that just stupid of us?
I won’t make as many wines as I normally do this year. I just talked with my distributor in New York and they’re still doing retail sales, but so much of what’s selling right now is in the under-$25-per-bottle price range. That part of the sales market will probably rebound the quickest. By-the-glass pours and low-priced bottles are going to be so important, so maybe those should be the only wines I make. Or maybe, I should make a lot less wine overall, and focus on those that fall into a pricier bracket so I don’t miss a vintage altogether. Looking at the inventory we’ve got now, it could last a while, but I hate to miss a vintage, and I don’t want to pull out the rug from my growers either. But it’s so hard. We’re having to make all these decisions now, and they could end up being the wrong decisions. I just don’t know.
It feels like the years I’ve spent building a sales market for my wines has all come undone. We’re being set back five years which is devastating for a small company like mine. I’ve lost sales trips. I’m supposed to be in the Carolinas right now, and my direct sales manager is supposed to be in Ohio right now — all canceled. This week was supposed to be the announcement for the next round of the James Beard Awards, and that’s been postponed. Believe me, I did not have high hopes for getting shortlisted, but I felt like, “Wow, finally maybe I can stop hustling so hard because of what this will mean for my reputation.” I was keeping my fingers crossed as hard as I possibly could, but obviously it’s all not happening right now. We’ve had local events canceled here in Portland, too. Nobody is scheduling anything. There are no wine promotions.
I wish the government would just pull the trigger and make everyone stay put for two weeks. The sooner we can get everyone on board with being in quarantine, the sooner we can go back to normal life. But this dragging our feet, half-ass quarantine with no enforcement isn’t going to do anything. It’ll just drag on and on and on, which means the longer it drags on, the longer restaurants are out of business and venues like our tasting room are closed.
The wine industry has been mostly quiet so far, but the restaurant industry has been vocal, which I appreciate. In the wine industry we can put things on hold — we can put things in barrels, wine can sit in a tank, we can wait. We aren’t hurt by this immediately like the restaurants, so my primary worry is for the health of my loved ones. My sister works in emergency medicine and I worry about her constantly. I feel like we need to buckle down and close everything for two weeks and put the health of our healthcare workers and our sick relatives ahead of everyone else. The health of my family and everybody else’s families is more important to me than how we’re going to make businesses work. We’ll make them work somehow — I can’t see how right now, but I know something will work out. Although I do have to say: I don’t know what the point is of [stimulus package] loans nobody will be able to pay back. Why aren’t those grants? Why are they lending when they need to be granting us money? I think it’s fucking bullshit.
I’ve been a mortgage broker, I’ve been a locksmith, I’ve been a restaurant server and a wine director, and I know I will be able to take care of myself and my son whatever happens. It might not be in such a dreamy way as it has been for the last few years: owning my own winery and making wine. Maybe that part of my life will come to a close. I’ve had a blessed existence the last couple of years and if that’s not how it is forever, it sucks, but we’ll move on. But I won’t be okay if something happens to my sister. If wine goes out of business in America tomorrow, or goes back to the Stone Age and we’re all stuck drinking Gallo [the largest commercial winery in California] again, it’s not the end of the world. It will suck, but it’s not the end of the world.
One pro’s recommendations for kitchen organizational tools, from the Strategist
Even if you’re the type of New Yorker who regularly cooks in your tiny apartment kitchen, it’s very possible you didn’t think much about a long-term food storage — save for a couple of washed-out takeout containers you use as Tupperware when you made too much pasta — until you were asked to stay indoors for the foreseeable future. You can of course still grocery shop, but it’s smarter to go less often by stocking up (not stockpiling — five cans of chickpeas? Sure. 50? Please don’t). The best way to socially distance is to avoid crowding commonly used spaces, like a supermarket. Preparing your kitchen to house more food for longer stretches of time requires a bit of extra pantry, fridge, and freezer organization.
As someone who develops and tests recipes regularly for work, I’m typically in possession of a few more groceries than the average home cook. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that a bit of planning will turn food chaos into (only slightly overwhelming) order. Through vertically stacking, combining smaller packages of the same dry goods into large containers, and using as much freezer real estate as possible, you too can optimize kitchen storage and feel confidently supplied, not like you’re living in an apocalypse fallout shelter or the bean aisle at Whole Foods.
For dry goods in the pantry
Madesmart Dots Stacking Cabinet Shelf
Start by making more space in your current kitchen shelving situation by embracing vertical stacking. Set up these Madesmart steps in your existing pantry for instant additional area to store canned goods, spices, and other containers. You can stack these shelves on top of each other, too, for even more space.
Mepal 5-Piece Airtight Storage Set
For dry goods like beans, lentils, pasta, rice, and other grains, differently sized packages can take up extra room in the panty. Same goes for baking ingredients that come in smaller quantities, like cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, and chocolate chips, as well as nuts and seeds. These can all be transferred into Mepal containers, which come in different sizes but each have the same width and length, as well as a lip around the lids, making them stackable. This means they fit nicely into my kitchen’s built-in pantry and the open shelving unit I put in for extra storage.
Oxo Good Grips POP Container
A few boxes of cereal, granola, or oats can be poured into one of these giant 4.4-quart Oxo containers, as can (often leaky) large bags of flours, sugar, and other large-quantity dry goods. Though they don’t stack on top of each other, the wide base helps these containers balance easily in places that weren’t necessarily designed for food storage but are often used as such, like the top of the fridge. The pop-in button on the lid also creates an airtight seal, which keeps all your dry ingredients fresh for a long time.
For refrigerated goods
Ball Glass Mason Jar with Lid and Band
Small-batch leftovers, quick pickles, cooked grains like rice and quinoa, even your sourdough starter can be stored in these tall, wide-mouth mason jars, which seal airtight and can be neatly arranged in the fridge (or pantry). They’re ideal for keeping tender herbs fresh for longer, too: Just fill with an inch or two of water and drop in your bunches of parsley and cilantro, stem-down. Narrow jars are also the perfect vessel for regrowing scallions: Snip them an inch from the root end, place in a jar with enough water to cover the roots, and leave in a sunny windowsill.
Vejibag Storage Bag
To keep vegetables as fresh as possible for as long as possible, slightly dampen Vejibags and place in your greens, carrots, radishes, and celery. The higher humidity helps them stay crisp for up to two weeks (though writer Mattie Kahn told the Strategist that they kept her kale fresh for 16 days).
Bee’s Wrap 3-Piece Reusable Food Storage
I use Bee’s Wrap almost anywhere you’d use plastic wrap — blocks of cheese, cut fruit and vegetables, loaves of bread and baked goods. It can be washed with cool water and soap, air-dried, and stored in a pantry for about a year, then is totally compostable. (It’s been featured on the Strategist before, too.)
One food safety note: Though Bee’s Wrap is washable, it can’t be sanitized and is therefore not recommended to use for raw meat, as the beeswax could spread bacteria to the next item you wrap. So for uncooked burgers, meatballs, and whole cuts of meat, the most food-safe choice is to continue using plastic wrap or containers that can be washed with very hot water and soap or run through the dishwasher.
For frozen foods
Safeware 8-, 16-, 32-Ounce Deli Plastic Food Containers (40 Sets)
If I had to pick one container to store items in my pantry, fridge, and freezer, it would be these deli containers. They keep leftovers fresh and pantry staples organized, and the uniform mouths mean the lids fit every size container. I fill them with big batches of brothy beans and red sauce and store in the freezer indefinitely. When it comes to reheating, these containers are microwave safe, which is ideal for when I need to defrost leftover canned tomatoes quickly or don’t feel like using a bowl for my leftover stew. (Extra tip: If you’re having issues with your multi-size spice jars, transfer the goods into half-pint deli containers. Label the front side of each container with the spice name, then neatly stack them in one tall pile.)
Souper Cubes Freezing Tray with Lid
While larger containers are great for soups and sauces you plan to reheat all at once, Souper Cubes are an excellent choice if you want to defrost just a cup or so of chicken stock at a time for a specific recipe. It sounds sort of gimmicky, but once you start using them you’ll understand. Of course, regular ice cube trays work just the same, but it’s vaguely annoying to use a tray of half-ounce stock cubes to yield one measly cup.
Rezip 4-Piece Essential Reusable Storage Bag Kit
No matter what kind of food you’re looking to store – from lasagna Bolognese to veggie burgers to a loaf of bread to chopped greens – these bags are a dream. Essentially a heavy-duty silicone zip-top bag, Rezip bags come in myriad sizes — from one-gallon to the equivalent of a “snack bag” — and are totally washable. Stasher bags, which have been featured on the Strategist, are also a great choice here (I own a few myself!), but the largest bag they make is a half-gallon, so if you want something larger, go Rezip.
I freeze fruit like sliced bananas and washed berries on a sheet pan first so they don’t stick together, then transfer to a Rezip bag. When it comes to storing food like lasagna or cooked burgers in these bags, it’s less messy to freeze individual servings wrapped in plastic, foil, or Bee’s Wrap before placing in a Rezip bag. The food should then be slowly defrosted in the fridge, not on the counter. Before reheating, I unwrap the individual servings and place in my usual baking dishes or skillets.
For keeping it all clear and labeled
One tip to keep in mind, regardless of which of these storage options you employ: Get a roll of masking tape and a Sharpie for labeling items once you’ve transferred them to containers. With clear containers, you can of course see the difference between your green lentils and brown rice, but I find it’s nice to see words to take stock of what you have before putting together a grocery list. For fridge leftovers, it’s also a good idea to mark food with the date so you remember to eat items in the order with which they’ll go bad. I sometimes have more than one batch of chicken stock in my freezer, so I’ll label those with the date prepared, just so I know to use the older one first — even though the freezer essentially halts time.
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Stack of sourdough photo by Cavan Images/Getty; hand with magnifying glass photo by Bahrudin Yusoff/EyeEm/Getty
Photo by Orlando/Stringer/Getty
An on-stage celebration during last year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards | THEODORE LIM/AFP via Getty Images
David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Florence Pugh/
Workers for grocery delivery app Instacart plan to walk off the job on March 30. | Photo: 
Willamette Valley | Photo by George Rose/Getty Images
Courtesy of Food52
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