Australian celebrities share the meals they’re cooking during lockdown
Right now, we are all stuck on Lockdown Island, cooking our way through isolation. Here are some of the best and worst celeb meals.
NSW Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro ended his Covid isolation period on Wednesday and with one of the strangest culinary experiments in recent NSW history.
Since attending the budget day drinks superspreader event, the Nationals leader has spent his 14 days in quarantine cooking up a storm with the tinned meat Spam.
“In previous years I’ve showcased some of our best regional produce with Barra’s Regional Food Tour and during last year’s lockdown I made lasagne and veal scaloppine,” he wrote on Instagram. “This year, I’ll be spamming your socials with SPAM.”
Meals made from the canned meat described by former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as “a wartime delicacy” include baked Spamish eggs and spam tacos.
Barilaro “kicked off” the freaky food festival with a “smoky pulled SPAM burger and delicious SPAM fries”. Unfortunately, he has emerged from isolation into full lockdown so the meat-based menu may continue.
And it’s not just Barilaro.
Right now, we are all stuck on Lockdown Island, cooking our way through isolation in the worst case, or simply the lockdown, where we are told not to leave the house for anything except essentials.
Michelle Rowland, Labor MP for Greenway, has been whipping up seared salmon and green goddess puree, while her Liberal counterpart in Wentworth, Dave Sharma, has been smashing the comfort food with lasagnes, roasts and (perhaps taking a leaf out of his leader’s cookbook) chicken curry.
NSW Labor leader Chris Minn has flown the flag for fiscal responsibility with “cheap cuts” of beef turned into an eight-hour slow-cooker stew.
Celebrities are stuck in the kitchen as well. Guy and Jules Sebastian are getting on with “being positive” while Nine News’ Amber Sherlock has been at home making osso bucco.
And winter’s been no barrier to the barbie for 2GB’s Jim Wilson, who has been making beer can chicken.
Yet in other parts of the world things are getting back to normal. The old line about it being the best of times and the worst of times has definitely seen plenty of tours of duty.
THE GREAT DIVIDE
But when looking at how all of us — whether private citizens or pollies — are coping compared to other places, it’s not hard to think about the divide between Australia and the rest of the world.
In Cannes, they’ve gotten their famous film festival back off the ground, with no masks but a lot of Covid testing.
Anyone who has friends or relatives overseas will know the feeling of seeing British mates heading off to Spain, or American relations boarding a plane for Honolulu.
Meanwhile, here in Sydney, we are threatened with a $1000 fine every day at 11am from a finger-wagging copper if we so much as contemplate a drive to the mountains.
The government will tell anyone who will listen that things are on track, by the end of the year everyone who wants a jab will have gotten one, and if we just hold tight things will get back to normal.
And to be fair to it, things are looking up. Tuesday was a record for jabs; 165,475 administered.
WORLDS APART
The problem is, the rest of the world is moving faster, and the number of vaccinations per day will likely have to be double that if we are to reach the sort of numbers that will allow us to move through the phases that are supposed to let us free anytime soon.
While the government is fond of using the measure of how far along Australia is in its vaccination program compared to how other countries were tracking at the same day of their program, by its own figures we are lacking.
On Wednesday (day 134, for those keeping track at home), Canada’s jab program caught up with ours. A week or two ago, we were lapped by Japan.
Of all the major countries the government compares us to, only New Zealand is further behind us at this stage.
FALLING DOWN
Like Homer Simpson forgetting to buy Marge a present for her birthday, the question will hang over the Morrison government’s head forever: Just what the hell were you doing for the past 12 months?
Particularly since, from the very start of the pandemic, the Prime Minister was keen to tell us vaccines were going to be our way out. The flip side, of course, is that these countries that are opening up are experiencing illness and death. On July 5, the most recent day for which numbers are available, the US (population 330 million) lost 41 people to Covid.
In Australia, that would equate to three or four Covid deaths among our 26 million — something we are told we would never, ever accept.
Never mind the average 463 Australians who die every single day from auto accidents, suicides, heart attacks, plain bad luck, and all the other things that, one way or another, will do us all in.
At least we’ve got our cooking.
GUY AND JULES SEBASTIAN
Jules: “This breakfast frittata was a goodie. Lots of vegies and protein for the whole fam. I’m also trialling some of the fun new recipes from TikTok, and the pasta chips were a huge hit in our house. We are bunkered down again – lots of food, Lego, movies, and bike rides with the boys. Hobbling next to Guy and the boys with my broken leg while they are bike riding is certainly a challenge though – not something I imagined for this lockdown!”
Guy: “I keep telling Jules that I don’t need to follow a recipe when I cook. I think the way you cook is the reflection of your personality. Jules is pretty much a rule abider, following the recipe to the tee, and I literally have no plan and do everything by feel with the assumption that it will be sweet … or in this case savoury. I’m a positive person and I always know that there are people worse off, so I always try to find the positive in everything. The biggest positive to come out of lockdown is how much time I’ve spent with my family, and also the value that a family home has. We are always all so keen to get out of our homes, but a family home is something that I’ve come to really value and appreciate. Lockdown has also given me an opportunity to tackle other projects musically, which I am thankful for.”
ANDREW TIERNEY - HUMAN NATURE
“Although my wife and I are both Aussies, our little girl Violette was born in Vegas and her favourite dish is Mac & Cheese. This is a healthy version of the classic comfort dish that we all love and is perfect to make during lock down … or any time really.”
JOSH HOLT – TEN NEWS
Lockdown has been an opportunity to try and improve my culinary skills. This is a Beef Ragu I whipped up.
ALLISON LANGDON – TODAY SHOW
“My go-to Sunday winter dish is slow cooked beef stew with risoni. After an afternoon of this cooking away, the house smells amazing and, as a bonus, the kids love it (even the vegies). It’s a win, win!”
LUKAS RADOVICH – HOME AND AWAY ACTOR
“My housemates and I made this to kick off another weekend in lockdown together. We’ve been trying to entertain each other with different meal ideas during the week. We don’t usually cook together so it’s been fun.”
CHRIS MINNS – NSW LABOR LEADER
My specialty is an 8-hour slow cook beef stew.
One kilo of beef chunks (cheap cut) coated in flour and paprika – brown on the stove.
Chuck in potato, carrot, onion, and celery into the hot pot – add the browned off beef and put in the slow cooker for 8 hours.
Then do the gravy! – beef stock, flower, wine, tomato paste cook on the stove top until it’s no longer lumpy and then add it to the cooker.....Then wait! it’s the best for winter and the best for a Covid lockdown.
ERIN HOLLAND – SPORTS PRESENTER, MODEL
I’m a huge snacker at the best of times, but during lockdown I swear the snack monster comes out to play! This is such a quick, easy and healthy solution to all your snacking needs – I love having this on hand in the fridge, particularly for after a workout. Just have to hide them from (partner) Ben (Cutting) … these are Apricot coconut bliss balls from a recipe I found years ago.
AMBER SHERLOCK – 9NEWS AND WEATHER PRESENTER
My new favourite dish at the moment is a slow-cooker Osso Bucco. I have rediscovered my slow-cooker during lockdown as it’s so easy to put on in the morning and let simmer away until dinner time. I’ve been spending my lockdown juggling work and my two kids. We are going on lots of local bushwalks!
Recipe: I use this recipe from Taste.com.au
JESSICA VANDER LEAHY – MODEL
“While I love a food trend, developing an irrational fear of pasta was one I resisted — I love it too much! I like my carby winter staple to be complimented with simple, home made sauces and fresh herbs. Frankly, I’m not Nigella so anything easy that I can reheat as a leftover is great for me.”
JIM WILSON – 2GB DRIVE HOST, SPORTS PRESENTER
Now I love a roast chook and I do enjoy a frothie, so here’s the best of both worlds.
Beer can chicken absolutely rocks and is so easy. I’ve done it on the bbq and in a pizza oven but the latter is much more time consuming getting the pizza oven up and going.
You need a tall skinny can of beer, empty the top third and we know the best way to do that – hello !
And into the can, shove a couple of cloves of squashed garlic and some thyme or rosemary if you have some.
Put the chook on the beer can legs down and rub chill with olive oil, salt (truffle salt if you can be stuffed, it’s wow factor with this) and carefully place chook on pre heated bbq with hood down.
Chook has to be in tray and away you go, give it a half turn every 20 mins until it’s cooked.
Add veggies to the pan and use pan juices to make gravy.
Now if you can be really bothered, potatoes in duck fat in the oven or bbq absolutely rock to accompany the beer can chook and other veggies.
It’s simple and breaks it up from the bbq steak or snags that I’ve lived by throughout the lockdown.
Throw in the odd night of pasta and lockdown can be a culinary delight – a silver lining of sorts during the crisis.
PS Don’t drink the remainder of the beer once the chook is cooked, you’ll burn your mouth
More Coverage
Covid cases surge in NSW as 2023 death toll revealed
Covid cases are on the rise in NSW, and the true toll of the virus this year has been revealed, with almost 4000 Australians dying from the virus in 2023.
Revealed: The Aussie age group still dying from Covid
Twenty-three Australians are dying every day from Covid-19 - but one age group continues to dominate the numbers. Find out who is most at risk.