Good Food
Transformation: cooking, eating, and lending a hand one year into the pandemic
It’s now 52 weeks since the restaurants, bars, gyms and schools first shut down, not knowing what the future looked like. Good Food speaks with chefs, activists, and farmers about their experiences over this year of transformation.
By Evan Kleiman • • 56m ListenIt’s now 52 weeks since the restaurants, bars, gyms and schools first shut down, not knowing what the future looked like. Good Food speaks with chefs, activists, and farmers about their experiences over this year of transformation. Musician and rapper Hugh Augustine turned to vegan cooking when his promotional tour was canceled. Lisa Gross moved her intimate classes at League of Kitchens to a digital platform. Yoonjin Hwang shares the ups and downs of her restaurant, Spoon by H, in this week’s installments of “In the Weeds.” Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Executive Director Michael Flood reflects on the assistance provided to Angelenos over the last 12 months. Ricardo Castorena is the man behind the party van in the Central Valley, distributing PPE and good vibes to farm workers. At the farmer’s market, purveyors recount the last year using one word.
In this episode
6 storiesBeats to bowls: bringing vegan food to Leimert Park
"I totally see what I'm doing with the cooking as a form of activism. Where I live, it's known as a food desert — a place that lacks healthy, nutritious food that is also affordable to the people in the community," says Hugh Augustine.
Read the story9 minLeague of Kitchens: global female superheroes at the stove
Lisa Gross founded League of Kitchens , a New York-based group of home cooks from all over the world who host intimate gatherings, teaching people their recipes.
Read the story12 min‘In the Weeds’: Koreatown darling Spoon by H’s roller coaster ride
Spoon by H is the food world’s equivalent of a Cinderella story.
Read the story11 minLA Regional Food Bank stepped in when many Angelenos needed aid for the first time during shutdown
"We've heard this over and over again from people telling us this is the first time they've ever had to seek food assistance in their lives. They were doing fine, but when the COVID-19 situation hit, and parts of the economy started closing down, it put them in a situation of needing food assistance overnight," says Michael Flood.
Read the story7 min25,000 miles and counting: How Ricardo Castorena helps farm workers across California
Richard Castorena coordinates resources to California farmworkers through his organization Binational of Central California.
Read the story10 minReflecting on the pandemic from farms to the farmer’s market
“Farming is always a gamble,” suggests farmer Alex Weiser, who’s a fixture at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. Workers never know what a harvest will look like.
Read the story8 min
