‘I’ve spent more money on quality products, like organic flour’
Lee Macgregor, owner of Mitchell Macgregor PR firm in Edinburgh, has shunned snacks and used lockdown to increase her volume of home cooking to an almost industrial scale.
“I think lockdown has revolutionised the way we approach food and cook.
“I've always cooked from scratch. I used to make something that would last a couple of days, but now I'm doing a lot more batch cooking and make lots of portions to stick in the freezer. We just look in there to decide what to have for tea. Tonight it’ll be Thai curry.
I definitely think more like a chef, as far as meal planning goes, than I used to.
"My son, Jed, has recently moved back to Edinburgh from Glasgow after losing his job, so I cook for him too and Is how him how to make his favourite dishes. It's reignited his love of cooking and he feels inspired. We talk about food all the time now and he helps me. I've started making my kitchen into a sort of "takeaway" on Saturdays and Sundays. I like to make curry, using seasonal vegetables, and we always have soup, with split peas, lentils and barley.
“During lockdown, I’d say I've spent more money on quality products, like organic flour, which my husband, Gavin, uses to make pizza bases. It took about eight weeks for him to get the recipe just right.
“At Christmas, we bought a quality piece of venison, and I visit more speciality shops, like the Chinese market, to get ingredients like fish sauce. I spend a lot more at local shops now”.