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Food writer Lauraine Jacobs told a gathering in Matakana this week that the general discovery of the fun of cooking was one of the positive aspects of the Covid-19 experience.
“I’ve been trying to get people to cook for more than 30 years, but it took a pandemic to make it happen! It seems that making sourdough became an obsession during the lockdown and it was interesting how many people suddenly became cooking teachers.”
Lauraine was the guest speaker at the inaugural Going Forward talk, held at the Brambles Café in Matakana, on Monday (June 8).
The event was organised by Annie Mellor who welcomed about 50 guests to the hour-long event, saying that the forum provided “locals” with an opportunity to re-connect and be inspired during a time of significant change.
Both Annie and Lauraine have found themselves facing different futures in the wake of the Covid-19 upheavals – Lauraine lost her position as a columnist with the NZ Listener when Bauer closed its stable of NZ magazines and Annie’s position as ‘the cruise queen’ with House of Travel has also evaporated.
But underpinning that every cloud has a silver lining, Lauraine believes Matakana is set to become one of Auckland’s top destinations for months, maybe even years, to come.
“There are two things that make this area exceptional – Matakana Village and the fruit and vegetable stalls along Omaha Flats Road.
“The fresh produce on those stalls, sold by the people growing it, is a continued source of inspiration for me.”
Lauraine said the loss of “the best food writing job in NZ” meant she now had to try to reinvent herself.
