Covid NSW: Families turn to baking to survive Sydney lockdown

With Sydney entering its seventh week of lockdown, many families have found themselves baking their way through isolation. Share your photos to #SydneyStrong.

The pandemic has transformed the humble oven into a vital tool for fatigued families battling their housebound blues and a lifefine for a number of businesses scrambling for revenue streams as the lockdown continues to keep their doors shut.

Families across Sydney have already found themselves baking their way through the isolation, cooking sweet treats as a way to both alleviate stay-at-home boredom while still getting kids learning to measure and mix.

Kelly Lawler with her kids Gemma and Max who have enjoyed baking together during lockdown. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Kelly Lawler from South Penrith said baking was often the activity “for a rainy day” in her household but is something her kids, Gemma 8, and Max, 1, has enjoyed while stuck inside during lockdown.

“Baking is great to teach Gemma about measurements and ingredients and how they are important when making something,” Mrs Lawler said.

“It’s something productive we can do and then you also get to eat whatever you have baked at the end too. Choc chip cookies are our favourite.”

Keith Thomas shared what he’s been baking in lockdown to #SydneyStrong.

Natasha Scott shared what she’s been baking in lockdown to #SydneyStrong.

It has also meant a business opportunity for Caitie Baker, the owner of Western Sydney Dessert Shop “Bake and Decorate”, who has been busy delivering “cookie decorating packs” for families in lockdown across Sydney.

Caitie Baker with products from her business Bake and Decorate. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“I send the cookies and kids use edible makers and sprinkles to decorate them with their siblings and parents in lockdown,” Mrs Baker said.

“It’s baking and decorating has been really popular because families can still stay at home, be creative with their kids and show them how to follow a recipe.”

Willoughby restaurant La Botte has also tapped into the oven-based opportunities with take-home kits containing all the ingredients to allow households to create a traditional Italian pizza that will feed the family and entertain the kids.

Alison Bower shared what she’s been baking in lockdown to #SydneyStrong. "My first attempts at fancy buttercream piping. I called her Marie Antoinette."

The restaurant’s owners, husband and wife Terissa Perego and Shipon Shazadul, said they had tried to create the experience that families would normally have when they dine in by providing the same quality dough and fresh ingredients they use in-house.

“We give them three toppings. We’re a big believer of keeping things simple. We wanted them to be able to create a crispy pizza like the ones that they get when they come to us,” Ms Perego said.

Chef and Owner of La Botte Pizzeria Shipon Shazadul with the Willoughby restaurant’s takeaway pizza kits. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“Kids are just stuck at home, and we want to make their day a little bit more interesting.

“We’ve got four kids ourselves and being stuck in lockdown it’s so hard for them to be busy and stimulated and have some sense of achievement.”

Meanwhile celebrity chef Luke Mangan has turned to his own ovens — and to the humble pie — to survive lockdown 2.0.

Mangan has now swapped his fine dining restaurant, glass, for the van, delivering over 400 pies a day to locked-down Sydneysiders.

Chef Luke Mangan, along with a limited number of staff, are cooking and hand delivering up to 400 pies a day. Picture: Richard Dobson

The award-winning chef said “business has pivoted down 95 per cent.”

“We’ve had to stand down hundreds of staff and I was trying to think of a range of delivery food we could introduce and I went back to basics and started making pies.

“I didn’t want to recreate what we were doing in the reasturants because it’s very hard to get restaurant quality food to travel in a takeaway environment so I decided to stay away from that and thought what people are really after is comfort food.”

The restaurateur is serving up a beef pie, chicken pie, vegetarian option and favourites including “Luke’s favourite mash potato” with a Luke Mangan wine as well.

Mangan and a limited number of returned staff are delivering the pies within a 50km radius from Sydney’s CBD, seven days a week.

“I’ve been able to bring staff back but now our waiters are delivery drivers,” Mangan said. “Some of the staff are also helping pack boxes and the chefs are making the pies.”