COVID Cookbook
Professor Jill Miller’s class Food Fight/Art 160 has released the cumulative project of the semester: COVID Cookbook. Created collaboratively by students in the class, the cookbook is a compilation of drawings, texts, and suggestions for nurturing the mind and body while living in isolation, created during the Shelter in Place order in California.The intricately designed and illustrated cookbook features a guide to making bubble milk tea, a matrilineal Punjabi hair mask recipe, prompts for gratitude meditations, advice on dyeing with food scraps, meditations on how to maintain romantic relationships while apart, and more.
From Professor Miller’s Introduction:
When COVID-19 became a global pandemic, courses moved online and our campus changed dramatically. The change was disruptive to the personal connections, live interactions, and demonstrations that are the foundation of studio art courses. We felt this acutely in Food Fight, since the projects were driven by community engagement and collaboration. Our final project would have launched on May 7: a pop-up diner that distributed free meals and a publication about low- and no-cost food resources for students.
Sharing public meals is pretty much the last thing that people should do these days; staying apart is the new way to stay together. So while we cannot invite you to our pop-up restaurant, we offer in its place this collaborative publication created by the incredible students in Food Fight. In these pages, you’ll find DIY recipes and tips for staying relaxed -- and perhaps finding joy -- while sheltering in place. From making tea out of wild edible flowers to exploring ways to express gratitude, the students’ suggestions are homegrown and earnest. These are humble offerings, not meant to solve big, wicked problems but created to provide a moment of lightness and relief in a most distressing time. We sincerely hope this collection will give you a few moments of peace, comfort, and delight, wherever you are.
To read the COVID Cookbook or to purchase a softcover edition of the book, click here. All proceeds go to The Basic Needs Center at UC Berkeley, which assists students in need of housing, food, and other essentials.