The Corona Diet
The world has gone into standby mode like never before in the past century and we have a microscopic virus to blame for it. All for the better as some say, the pollution figures have never been less haunting, and we have birds in our colonies and dolphins in our seas. Nevertheless, the times to come stand changed for this one major pandemic, and here are a few predictions from my side as also ways to adapt to the new normal.
Stricter Hygiene Certification: Now it isn’t for me to say what meats one must eat or how long should they cook them for. But no matter the type of F&B establishment, as long as it dispenses a comestible which will be accessed by the public at large, we will have stricter controls and checks in place to ensure that we don’t find ourselves in this mess here again.
Home Deliveries: The best restaurant in the world, to me, has always been the cosy confines of my living and dining rooms because of its endless options with regard to the cuisine on the menu. If I am not tossing something simple but special together on my own, I have others at home who can do a fabulous job of it. And then, when our innate creativity runs out, we have a bevy of establishments to fall back on which will happily conjure up some truly lovely meals and have them sent over in very precise packaging to ensure that flavour and texture compromises are minimised.
From Nomad pizzas to Burgerama burgers, traditional Delhi 6 fare to some very lovely Southeast Asian from Noshi, these are some top spots that I have used for some time. But going ahead, in the shadow of this lockdown, even full format restaurants like Fig and Maple have begun delivering meals so the choices (and the competition) are only getting warmer and we as consumers stand to benefit hugely from it.
Sustainable Conspicuous Consumption: Going ahead, one change that I will certainly make to my diet is to be more mindful of what I eat—the provenance, the seasonality, the environmental impact of it not just being grown but even transported to me. In other, I would happily forego a discount or an online deal as long as it leaves a less lasting footprint on the ecosystem. I practice these habits when travelling abroad but lesser so in India somehow. Time to level that playing field.
Fair Trade: At the risk of repeating myself, it’s not just the provenance that will matter, it’s also ensuring that every link in the supply chain gets its fair dues. I love to support the local businesses over the online supermarket kinds, even if it means paying more for ingredients. Mind you, this doesn’t include all those fancy-schmancy Bobo farmer markets, which are all the craze nowadays and milk this empathy for all it is worth to ensure a tidy profit for themselves.
I hope that the administration, which governs what defines organic, can also set down price points so that the real farmers who do all the work stand to benefit from it. It would also help eliminate all these hipster middlemen who, while hawking the right stuff, don’t entirely do it for the right reasons. In other words, if you want to ensure that what you eat is right, you will need more data about where it came from and who grew it. This will drive up costs, not just for food at home but even at restaurants where chefs are passionately and personally concerned with this.
Preserved Foods: The value and ancient practices of preserving foods for use later in the year have never been more relevant. From Tarhana soup in Turkey to drying and preserving mushrooms and vegetables in various forms, from pickling to preserving in mild vinegar to revive later, to making jams and other extracts, we need to learn to maximise usage and cut down on seasonal wastage. No matter how little we manage to achieve in this regard, it will still add up to a significant lot if we do it collectively and continuously. Chemically preserved or processed foods don’t count. The writer is a sommelier. mail@magandeepsingh.com