YOUR SOUL FOOD FOR

Dr Jessie Goldberg, an emergency medicine registrar working at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, shares her thoughts with Dr Ashna Basu about the role food plays in her wellbeing.

them. She shares a phrase by Jewish comedian and satirist, Alan King, “A summary of every Jewish holiday: They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat!” In the face of adversity, food can serve as a unifying and nurturing element that brings people together.

This connection to food proved invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working in a busy emergency department during wave after wave of the pandemic and various lockdowns, Jessie was separated from her family. She found solace in regular Zoom cook-a-longs with her mother and co-hosted a Zoom cook-a-long for a Prince of Wales Hospital charity fundraiser. At a time where there was little else to do, Jessie and her housemates found excitement in planning elaborate Saturday night meals, transforming a mundane day into a momentous (and delicious) occasion. At times, Jessie has taken her love of food to social media, documenting her experience making every recipe from Bill Granger’s Australian Food, and reviewing different restaurants with her friends. At one stage of the pandemic, the only way to see her family and close friends was during walks. They devised a routine of walking to various bakeries and eateries, sampling local creations. This inspired her mother’s new Youtube show, Walking up an Appetite (www.youtube.com/@ walkingupanappetite). Jessie recently walked across Sydney with her mother and the film crew, enjoying Sicilian gelato in a brioche burger bun!

After a long day in ED, cooking is a helpful way to delineate her work and home life. To Jessie, the act of cooking is a form of mindfulness – nothing keeps you in the present moment like three pots on the stove and a dish in the oven! I can personally attest to the fact that Jessie’s love for food is a gift to those around her; she enjoys bringing treats into work, and cheekily admits that she loves the compliments from people enjoying her food. To Jessie, food is not just a way to nourish the body; it is a means to nourish the soul. dr.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr Ashna Basu is a psychiatry registrar and President, Medical Women’s Society of NSW.