In a time of plague, the best way to protect yourself is to be self-sufficient.

As we begin an unprecedented era of loneliness, we must accept that it is the time to become self-sufficient. We cannot rely on the network of retail and service professionals that we once took for granted. It was unfair for us to always expect them to be there for us.

Learning to cook can be an intimidating subject because it combines our fear of failure with our fear of waste. In a discipline in which you must eat your mistakes in order to learn from them, the fear that we could waste valuable food is enough for most people to want to delegate the responsibility to someone else.

But now, with many people choosing to self-quarantine, it is more important than ever to learn to be self-sufficient. You will make mistakes. You will eat charcoal. But every recipe attempted gains you a little more experience. Eventually, you’ll make great food – and by cooking for yourself and those in quarantine with you, you’ll help fight the spread of COVID-19.