The rise of the at-home masterchef during COVID-19

Back when coronavirus hadn’t disrupted the everyday psyche of us all, I bought six Jamie Oliver cookbooks as part of a set that I had been gifted one of for a previous birthday. I have a whole shelf of cookbooks at home, which may get a flick through sometimes for inspiration, and on the off chance succeed in that mission, but I usually think of a classic meal I love and make that instead.

But since March? I’ve gone through the bookmarked pages of my cookbooks, making everything from pho and lamb ragù in the slow cooker, to Sicilian salads and roasted mushroom risotto.

We’ve seen all the memes about everyone baking banana bread and carrot cakes far more than usual, so why are we?

Aside from the obvious being that we have more time at home, we simply have more time to consider dinner as an enjoyable end to the day, rather than an after-work rush. This also applies to breakfast and lunch, which we can perhaps take at a slower pace than usual.

Younger Australians (13-24 y/o) have been the most prevalent users of recipe websites, with a 144% increase since mid-March.

Nielsen reports that the demand for fresh produce has meant retailers are having to reduce or withdraw their fruit and veg advertising to cope with demand. In March, there was a two-year high in fresh produce sales, up in volume by 5.1%

We’re also stocking up on more tinned/canned and frozen fruit and veg options which are cheaper and can last longer. Both of these categories’ sales have soared.

Taste.com.au’s Click-to-Cart option in partnership with Coles has been temporarily suspended due to high demand.

“Classic”, “easy” and “simple” have all been key search trends recently, and vegetarian recipes are continuing to be popular when searching for nourishing meal options, according to Food Corp data. Consumers seem to be keeping checked in with their health and eating more fresh food to up their immunity, which has also been a rising search request. There have been less searches for diet-specific recipes, such as low fat, as we look to maintain general health.

Easter spent in iso also accounted for at least three digit-level increases in baking recipes. Think Easter cakes, cookies and desserts to celebrate at home and get kids involved in the fun. The term “Easter desserts” had a WoW increase of 1526% during the weeks prior to the long weekend. (Nope, that’s not a typo.) [1]

What changes have the HG team seen in their food and cooking behaviours?

ANGE: The food thing! It's so a thing. I've ordered veg boxes from the market, I'm making my own coffee, and my freezer is packed. I'm watching more chefs on social too— IGTV especially. I will follow it as I make the recipe.

JO: I never realised how little I ate at home – my girlfriend and I always had breakfast/lunch at work! Having all of our meals at home + meals with her parents makes me realise my fridge ain’t big enough for this life, ha!

DEMI: I’m finding that I am cooking the same amount but that I have more time to research new recipes and use ingredients I haven’t used before. So far I’ve made dumplings, soba noodles, udon soups, lots of different curries and unsuccessful cookies. My next experiment will be making cashew milk from scratch.

SARAH: I've made 3 x banana bread and 1 x carrot cake. Also eaten 3 x banana bread and 1 x carrot cake.

STEVE: I feel like we're cooking more, but also ordering more from local places... so I could just be eating more than usual. Will do more research and get back to you.

KYLIE: My partner has reduced work hours, so I have a personal chef now. I'm spending more time eating, less time cooking. Blissful.

[1] Thanks to Food Corp for these insights.