HOT OFF THE PASS | This week in food news: April 2

As we settle in to the second week of lockdown, housebound people around the world have been taking to social media to show off their cooking skills — or lack thereof.

Some are striving for MasterChef status by posting snaps of the elaborate meals they've been preparing.

Others still have to get to grips with the basics. “How much water do you put in when cooking popcorn? It’s been 40 min [and] nothing[s] happened,” tweeted a gent from Mokopane.

It's safe to say members of the latter category are unlikely to win any awards for their cooking. Sadly, legitimate chefs will be missing out on certain awards this year too.

Little to celebrate

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of some prestigious culinary awards ceremonies have decided to postpone their events until 2021. This includes The World's 50 Best Restaurants, globally, and Eat Out, locally.

This proves that even titans of the award scene aren't immune to the effects of the global Covid-19 crisis.

Chef Luke Dale Roberts — whose flagship eatery The Test Kitchen has twice featured on The World's 50 Best Restaurant's list — announced some devastating news this week. He's had to retrench the staff of another of his Cape Town hot spots, The Shortmarket Club.

In a heartfelt letter on The Shortmarket Club website, Dale Roberts writes: “I will honour my pledge to my staff to find every last one of them work when this nightmare passes.”

He's also set up a staff welfare fund for them — donations can be made here.

In light of this, it's understandable why Paulo Santo, MD of Aurum Restaurant in Sandton, is wondering whether lockdown is actually a death sentence for SA's independent restaurants (read his thoughts on the matter here).

Order groceries from the couch

But it's not all doom and gloom: one sector of the hospitality industry that's on the up is grocery deliveries.

Local foodie favourite Yuppiechef is the latest online store that our government's greenlighted as being an essential service provider. This means they can deliver pastas, flours, nut butters and more to your door.

If steering clear of the supermarket appeals to you, check out our round-up of online grocery shopping apps and meal-kit and ingredient-box delivery services here.