JPR Senior Producer Natalie Golay and our resident food enthusiasts explore the tension between modern convenience and the soul of cooking.
While meal delivery services flourished by aiding the elderly and those with busy schedules, critics highlight concerns regarding high costs for quality sourcing, excessive packaging and a repetitive "sameness" in taste.
Return to analog methods
As AI-assisted kitchens and smart appliances promise personalized recipe suggestions — even generating recipes from photos of the fridge — some cooks are moving in the opposite direction. Many food lovers are embracing a more tactile and communal approaches to cooking, including:
- Cookbooks and handwritten recipe cards, which keep hands off screens and reconnect cooks with the physical act of cooking.
- Communal cooking and shared bulk orders from local farms, a way to cut costs while strengthening social ties.
- Simple, essential tools, sharp chef’s knives, zesters and quarter sheet pans are favored for their versatility and longevity over high-tech gadgets.
Embracing winter produce
The foodies highlight winter as the peak season for citrus and hearty greens like cabbage. They recommend simple, technique-focused dishes, including roasted savoy cabbage with miso, citrus salads with arugula, and pureed white winter soups. Ultimately, cooking is viewed as a way to feed the soul rather than just providing fuel for the body.
Recommended recipes
Guests
- Erika Bishop, owner of The Pot Rack
- Will Smith, host of the podcast Savor
