Ways Chefs can utilize this Lockdown Period Effectively

-Arun Choudhary

With COVID 19 in the air, and many of us being stuck at home, this has definitely got everyone’s lives to pause. Many of us are suffering through anxiety or thinking of ways to handle this situation as numerous questions race through our minds.

How can we handle this lockdown? or Is there a way to pass this time? and What will be the duration of this lockdown?
Just because we don’t have the answers to these questions or we can’t step outside it doesn’t mean that we should stop living our lives.

Often we blame ourselves for the lack of knowledge or the lack of time for not being able to do the things we have always wanted to do. The lockdown period is like a blessing in disguise to think in one way. We have received another great opportunity to be creative, gain more depth, develop new skills, and keep on finding new ways to improvise like:

Hone your skills and develop a new one

For many of us in self-isolation, it can feel like the coronavirus has put the world on hold as we wait for release from our temporary imprisonment but what we are forgetting is that this is an opportunity.
Right now is the apt time to hone skills. This is a time to appreciate the smaller things we typically take for granted. This is a time to get really good at life and business. Self-study, observe, research, ask around, and practice every day.  Aside from this, we can learn some more new skills like photography, videography and video editing using your phone or DSLR (if you have one ) Thanks to the internet, there are loads of websites that offer a plethora of courses to choose from. And knowledge never goes to waste, whether it’s a course that will help you hone your skills professionally, or it’s something you want to learn for fun. Now is the time to invest in yourself.

Websites like Skillshare, Udemy are giving 2 months of free subscription to learn new skills. Whatever your ‘it’ is this is a time to get up and get after it!

Create new recipes

During this lockdown, many of us have limited access to fresh ingredients and have to use whatever is available at home. How about we get more artistic with recipes by using something different and applying other techniques to reinvent the favourite dishes?

How about using the common “Parwal” or “Pointed gourd” and turning it into a sweet dish called “Parwal ki mithai”? Instead of eating the regular parwal aloo recipe with the easily available fruit and protein ingredients at home and trust me it will rock.  Or are you craving for a pizza? Have you ever thought of making ‘Tawa pizza’  with no oven and no yeast? It’s easy to make one with only the remaining ingredients at home. If you own a restaurant or are working somewhere and on leave, this is really a perfect occasion to revamp the menu, so that when the lockdown ends you will come up with something more advanced which was never invented before, i.e. your own signature style menu.

Hobbies

You’re staying at home and contributing to the global fight like most of us. But what do you do after you have finished your work or your daily chores and have all this time left to yourself?

Develop or take up a new hobby, of course.

It can from losing weight to working out to gardening or landscape painting, doing yoga, origami, pampering yourself with your own homemade spa, listening to music,  playing indoor board games with your family, video, or photo-documenting your activities and inspiring others to do the same. You have unlimited freedom.  Do anything to protect your mental health.

Creating more content

Since we have free access to the internet 24/7 we can use the social media platforms by making it more creative and decluttering it, writing tools and make courses whether it’s an ebook or a video regarding new cooking recipes, baking, making your own perfect cocktail with whatever is available at home during this lockdown.

Spending time with family and friends

Lockdown gives families an opportunity to spend time together which we have been missing for a long time. Get to know them better by spending some quality time and do things together whether it’s helping around the house or talking. You will understand each other better. Missing your friends? How about giving them a call, streaming a show or a movie and watching it together or playing games with them.

Network with other people from your industry

Whether you are a freelancer, business owner, influencer, beginner, etc you have to learn to communicate and network with other people. Networking is essential for everyone. It is what helps you grow, gain knowledge, learn from other’s experiences, give more opportunities, develop more, and make you more successful.  The lockdown is the best time to focus on it. This is what separates successful ones from ordinary ones. It doesn’t matter what niche you are in. Doesn’t matter what you do. It doesn’t matter how many followers you have in your social media. Always remember your network is your net worth and you cannot grow your net worth without your network.

In the end, be compassionate and kind towards the underprivileged. Take out a bit from your ration and give it to the daily wagers or the strays in your neighborhood. Feed the stray animals too. Trust me a feeling of satisfaction is ensured.

Stay home and stay safe.

(The author owns Mr Moustache’s Cakes and is available in mrmoustachescakes@gmail.com. The views expressed are his own)