People

The Day – People are losing their taste and smell to COVID-19. Now there’s a cookbook to help.

Mitchell R. Lajoie 3 weeks ago

On a Sunday afternoon last March, Gillian Dixon was cooking roast beef for lunch, which would normally fill her home in the United Kingdom with a distinct savory scent.

That day, though, something was amiss: “I suddenly thought, ‘I can’t smell the beef,'” Dixon, 53, recalled.

Her concern mounted when she took a bite of the roast and couldn’t taste it.

Back then, Dixon was unaware that she was experiencing a symptom of COVID-19, and that she would become a COVID “long-hauler,” with her sense of taste and smell disappearing for nearly a full year because of the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Ryan Riley is a British chef who has spent the past several months concocting an array of science-based recipes to help people like Dixon enjoy food even though their sense of smell and taste is compromised.

He co-wrote the cookbook “Taste & Flavour,” which has recipes that

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Kenya’s COVID-19 lockdown is forcing people to make difficult food and household energy decisions

Mitchell R. Lajoie 3 weeks ago
lockdown
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was estimated that 85% of people living in Nairobi’s informal settlements were food insecure. This means they could not afford to pay for sufficient quantities of food. Food insecurity was mainly caused by poverty due to high rates of unemployment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made matters worse for the over two million people living in the city’s informal settlements—about 56% of the capital’s population. Because families are not growing their own food in such urban areas, paid work is crucial to ensuring they purchase enough to eat. Unfortunately, over a million Kenyans lost their jobs and livelihoods under measures imposed by the government to curb the spread of the corona virus. These measures include lockdowns, curfews, business closures and travel restrictions.

At the end of 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, we surveyed approximately 200 families living in Mukuru, one

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Kosher food pantry at synagogue serves people of all faiths

Mitchell R. Lajoie 1 month ago

The Alix Rubinger kosher food pantry is about the size of a closet, according to its volunteers. And it may feel even smaller to those who work inside, as the shelves are typically filled with nonperishable goods and condiments.

But volunteer Fran Rosen, of Massapequa, is quick to note: “It’s a very little room, with big hearts.”

The kosher food pantry was first established in 1998 with Congregation Beth El in Massapequa. About five years ago, the synagogue merged with the Bellmore Jewish Center and became Congregation Beth Ohr in Bellmore. Since then, the food pantry has had more volunteers than ever before.

Iris Astrof has been running the pantry since it began. Before the coronavirus pandemic, people came by to pick up food twice a week during designated hours.

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Side jobs for people who love food

Mitchell R. Lajoie 2 months ago

You don’t have to be a top chef to make money as a foodie. There’s a plethora of side hustles for food lovers, such as doing food photography and reviews, offering cooking classes, and working at restaurants, bars and — eventually — events.

Food photography

A recent job posting at Creatively seeks skilled cooks and food photographers to prepare and photograph recipes for Serious Eats, a website for cooks and foodies of all stripes. This side hustle is a remote freelance position, but there are some in-person gigs.

Google “jobs in food photography” in Los Angeles and you’ll get multiple results, including one from Your Super. The Venice start-up wants to hire someone who would like to “get in the kitchen and play.” The idea is to dream up, prepare and photograph recipes that include the company’s products.

Culinary reviews

Serious Eats’ parent company, Dotdash, is looking for

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