Cooking During Quarantine

Cooking During Quarantine:

lessons from John, Catie and Julia

by LeeAnna Tatum

Photos provided by: @cookingwithjohnandjulia

Like most Americans, life as they knew it for Savannah friends Catie Duncan and John Villarrea was thoroughly disrupted by COVID. From an active social, work and school life to working and studying from home with limited social interaction, the pair found themselves searching for their new normal.

Shopping the weekly farmers market and cooking daily meals helped to add structure to their days while also providing opportunities for safe social interactions. The process of preparing and sharing meals together became a healthy way for Catie and John to deal with stress and keep their outlook positive during the global pandemic.

Add to that a slight obsession with Julia Child and their desire to maintain those social connections with friends and family from whom they were separated and you get an Instagram account devoted to food, fun and some french-inspired “cooking with John and Julia”!

It’s not too surprising that these two would turn to cooking during a time of turmoil. Both Catie and John grew up in families where food and cooking were integral to the home.

Catie, originally from Florida, grew up in the Middle East. Cooking and sharing meals together were an important part of family life for Catie’s mom. When she was older, Catie did a lot of traveling abroad and enjoyed trying and learning different cuisines.

“I lived overseas for a little bit and I also traveled. In almost every country I’ve been to I’ve tried to take a cooking class because I love the flavors. I love to try new recipes,” Catie explained.

Cooking was also a big part of family life for John growing up.

“Both of my parents love cooking. My dad comes from a Hispanic family so cooking is big in the culture. And my mom’s family is very big on passing down recipes. My mom learned the Mexican and Latin techniques ... and she’s really good at improvising. My dad loves to cook as well. So cooking has always been something important in my family.”

John also spent time abroad and learned some new cooking techniques while living in Italy.

“I learned to make homemade pasta from this little Italian lady, Josephina in Continella Italy. In this little bitty village where I was restoring 13th century frescas. That’s where I learned to make homemade pasta because that’s not something my parents really knew how to do.”

When the shelter at home orders started, Catie and John lived within walking distance of each other and would often have dinner together. Then they decided that instead of facing the quarantine alone, it would be more manageable to stick it out together. Cooking meals together soon became their new normal - providing both a sense of normalcy and a way to add joy to their day.

“It became our new routine,” Catie said. “To go from not being able to see your family and I travel for work normally and I was grounded. It was just a lot, it was very overwhelming. Cooking just brought some peace for us. We just started really having fun with it.”

The friends loved the movie Julie and Julia. (For those not familiar, it’s based on the true story of a woman who decided to cook her way through Julia Child’s iconic cookbook one recipe per day and blog about her experience.The film also weaves in the story of Julia Child’s early years of learning to cook in France and the writing of Mastering the Art of French Cooking).

During quarantine, they also began watching episodes of Julia Child’s cooking show The French Chef which originally aired during the ‘60s and ‘70s (now streaming on Prime Video). It became the background noise to their daily quarantine life and quickly influenced their behavior in the kitchen.

“We watched her so much we just started naturally mimicking her in the kitchen,” Catie said with a laugh.

But it wasn’t just Julia that influenced their cooking. Catie and John also started doing the bulk of their grocery shopping at Forsyth Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. The open-air market offered a safer alternative to shopping at the grocery store.

“It’s safer really to go to the market than the grocery store,” John explained. “During COVID, having this nice ability to see people and be social, plus the food is all fresh and local. And that was amazing.”

Their combination of Julia-inspired dishes made with fresh seasonal ingredients along with their antics in the kitchen started getting noticed when posted on their individual Instagram accounts, so the duo decided to create a unique account just for their food postings and @cookingwithjohnandjulia was born.

“We didn’t go through it (Julia’s cookbook) in order, we would shop at the farmers market and then see what we could make using those ingredients,” Catie explained. “We did the beef bourguignon which we had on sourdough from the market - it was delicious.”

“Sometimes the things we cooked were epic fails,” she continued. “We were just doing it because we were laughing, but if you were laughing at us cooking and having epic fails or huge successes at least you were entertained.”

Cooking just brought some peace for us. We just started really having fun with it.

Their lives have begun to return to a more preCOVID normal which means that they are no longer living together and do not cook shared meals every day. And although their lives have returned to a busier schedule including work, classes (both are in grad school) and a bit more socializing, there are lessons learned and habits developed through the experience that they plan to hold on to.

“We had tons of fun. It’s like therapy for me,” Catie said. “To start the process of cooking dinner every night, it’s therapeutic. After a day of working … cooking is a way to wind down. I think not a lot of people do that any more. So, when we got back into it because of COVID it was like - I need to do this even when it’s not COVID!”

“I think Catie and I both have this aspect to dinner parties,” John explained, “to bring people into the process. I really like to have people participate, it’s just fun that way.That’s how it is in my dad’s family.. Everyone is together making tamales or tortillas … there’s talking and laughing.”

Since quarantine protocols relaxed, Catie started up taco night with her brother and other friends. Rather than one person doing the cooking, everyone brings together things like leftovers or items they already have to create a special time of sharing and creating food together.

Shopping at the farmers market continues to be part of their regular routine.

“The whole going to the farmers market every week … I wish more people would do that,” Catie said. I go at 9:00 and I’m home by 10:30. It starts you off for the weekend … As you shop the farmers market more, you know what you want and don’t want and you don’t spend a fortune.”

“We all have our own s**t going on in our lives,” John said “ … it’s really nice to have this aspect of … if I’m going to stuff my face with food because I’m stressed, best believe it’s fresh and local!”

The quarantine really helped to emphasize to the pair the importance of people coming together around food. Whether it’s the relationships developed through regular visits to the farmers market, friendships strengthened through the shared experience of preparing meals together, or even connecting with neighbors by dropping off a prepared dish; food is a wonderful way to connect with others and create community.

John said it well, “No matter the circumstances … There’s a way to bring this feeling of community - share food with other people.”