Many of us have had to cancel or postpone travel plans since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
And with a (necessary) overseas travel ban and even local border closures, it looks like we'll be staying put for the foreseeable future.
While we daydream about our next holiday or visit to family overseas, we found people to help us travel through food.
Atlas Dining brings the world to your kitchen
Chef Charlie Carrington is used to travelling for inspiration. His South Yarra restaurant, Atlas Dining, changes cuisine every four months.
"Everything comes in the box and some of the ingredients are pre-prepared.
"The whole idea of the box is that I want people to learn something, but we want to take the work out of the cooking so that cooking for your family might take only 15-20 minutes," explains Carrington.
The first box, which has sold-out, provided ingredients to cook Vietnamese dishes like turmeric fish cakes and mushroom pho. Next up is Israeli then Korean.
"Most of my staff are internationals and won't have a chance to survive unless we do something. That's why I created this concept, to keep them working. They all kept their full-time job," he says.
"Overseas workers are a huge part of the hospitality industry, which I love. I want to do everything I can so they can survive the next few months."
More classes from around the globe
Online cooking classes have been flourishing in the pandemic. In Italy, 84-year-old nonna Nerina gives live pasta classes, and chef Massimo Bottura demonstrates how to prepare simple dishes from his home kitchen.
The Jewish Food Society has launched Tradish, a series celebrating family recipes. The New Orleans Culinary Institute is hosting pay-what-you-can Zoom cooking sessions with a chef.
And while it's not new, Maangchi's YouTube channel dedicated to Korean cuisine is always a hit. Start with her cheese buldak for something easy requesting only a few ingredients.
Try new spices and ingredients
Take the opportunity of being housebound to try different ingredients and recipes. Gewurzhaus sells over 350 spices and spice blends online. Their Moroccan spice rack will transport you to North Africa with concoctions like chermoula and ras el hanout.
EXPLORE A MYRIAD OF FLAVOURS
The sisters working a modern spice trade in Australia
Co-founder Maria Konecsny says, "It's a nice way to kind of travel to Morocco. You can cook quite a range of different meals with them and they have different intensity of heat."
One of their best sellers is the butter chicken blend. "I have young kids so we probably do butter chicken once every two weeks. We make some naan as well, put on Bollywood music and get into it," she says.
We make some naan as well, put on Bollywood music and get into it.
For native ingredients and herbs available online, check out Mabu Mabu, Bush Food Shop and Outback Chef.
Your local international grocers will also have a wealth of ingredients for you to try. And as a bonus, you get to support an independent shop instead of a supermarket.
Virtual wine tasting
Did you have to cancel a wine tasting trip in the South of France or Margaret River? You can recreate the experience at home. Wineries like Healesville's Innocent Bystander and Orange's Printhie Wines live tasting sessions on social media.
You just have to order the bottles beforehand to follow along with the tasting.
Order in
Eating a bento at your kitchen table is not the same as ordering nigiri at a standing sushi bar in the heart of Shibuya, but it still tastes pretty good. Since I couldn't make it to Tokyo this month, I've decided to spend the next few weeks supporting my local Japanese restaurants like Cibi, Ima Project Cafe and Tamura Sake Bar.
Until you can slurp Bún bò Huế in Vietnam or devour empanadas in Chile again, order them for delivery or takeaway from your local restaurants.
Watch and read
A few TV shows to watch or rewatch. On SBS Food and SBS On Demand, we have Destination Flavour, Food Safari, New Scandinavian Cooking and Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam. If you prefer fiction, browse the Dinner and a Movie collection.
After an interesting book? Recent releases include One More Croissant for the Road, Only in Tokyo, The Boba Book: Bubble Tea and Beyond, The Food of Sichuan (updated edition), Food of The Italian South and Tel Aviv, which should give you plenty of inspiration for your next trip or next meal.
FOOD IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
10 ways with canned chickpeas
