QuaranTime: @quarantinecookz

@quarantinecookz serves up home-cooked meals over Instagram. Sam Weil/@quarantinecookz

By Hansi Zhu

As boredom begins to settle on quarantined lonely Exonians, many students have turned to cooking as a joyful, socially distant activity to pass the time. To remain connected with their peers, students have created social media accounts to post recipes or photos of their creations. Seniors Leah Cohen, Rose Coviello, Lilly Pinciaro, Tatum Schutt, Sophia Chang, Sam Weil and Carly Kirsch, for example, run @quarantinecookz—one of the many Exonian-run food blogging accounts on Instagram. 

Cohen recalled their initial inspiration for creating the account.“Tatum was sending photos [of food she had cooked] into our group chat, and I was like, ‘We should start a cooking Instagram! This is a perfect time to do it. We have nothing else to do, so we might as well cook,’” she said.

The two decided to get some of their other friends involved as well, thinking it would serve as a “good bonding activity that we are invested in together, even if we’re not [physically] together,” Cohen added.

Kirsch explained that she was pleasantly surprised to see the account gain popularity among the Exeter community. “I originally thought it was just going to be our friends and family interacting on the account, but then more and more people started following it, and it turned into much more fun,” she said. “Every morning, I wake up and think about what I want to cook or bake, [and it] has been a really nice distraction from what’s happening in the outside world.”

When asked about why they chose to pursue cooking out of all potential pastimes, Coviello’s answer was simple. “We like to eat, so we know food,” she said. 

Though they have garnered much attention, maintenance of the account still requires substantial effort from all of its moderators. “We don’t have cooking experience beyond the average Exonian,” Pinciaro said. 

Yet, this hasn’t stopped the group from posting pictures of their dishes on the near-daily. @quarantinecookz has accumulated over 240 followers since its launch on March 14. They have certainly fulfilled their catchphrase, “[S]mall quarantine big eatz,” with their feed showcasing an assortment of foods, ranging from sumptuous desserts to Exeter eatery Laney & Lu-esque brunch platters. 

The group draws their inspiration largely from the recipes in the NYT Cooking App by The New York Times, but they also spark creativity within each other. “I love seeing what my friends are making,” Chang said.

Pinciaro enjoys baking sugary desserts, and her favorite products so far have been a strawberry rhubarb pie and a gluten-free almond chamomile cake. “It’s been fun making things that my family and I also like to eat,” she said.

Coviello has experimented with making pasta and tortellini from scratch, though she often returns to her favorites, such as fish tacos. On the other side of the food spectrum, Chang has whipped up the likes of bread pudding, rice krispie treats and banana bread.

From their parents’ coworkers to Italian chef Lorenzo Giorgi, @quarantinecookz has garnered attention not only from an audience outside Exeter, but also within the cooks’ own households. Coviello shared that her family is extremely enthusiastic about the meals she makes. “It has definitely brought us together more,” she said.

Cohen’s mother is equally excited about the content. “She’ll be like, ‘No, that presentation isn’t good. We need to put it on a different plate.’” The mother and daughter pair have also used this as an opportunity to cook together, which is “something [my mom] has always wanted me to do,” Cohen said.

Cooking has certainly been a productive way to take advantage of the extra time afforded by the Academy’s cancellation of on-campus classes this spring. “If we were in school, we wouldn’t be able to do this, and [since we are] going to college for the next four years, it’s nice to get this experience under our belts,” Coviello said.

Of course, co-running the Instagram account has aided the group of friends in keeping up with each other’s lives. Pinciaro appreciates that she can stay in touch with her fellow chefs through such a creative platform. “We always send each other pictures of what we [want to make], and it’s been a fun way for us to maintain a friend group community while we’ve been far away from each other and having very different experiences in quarantine,” she said.

“It’s fun to see that everyone’s cooking at the same time,” Chang added. “Even if we don’t talk to each other every day, we can still stay connected by looking at the posts and commenting.”

Kirsch agreed with Chang’s sentiments. “[It] has been a great tool for me and my friends to bond with each other, as well as bring some joy to the rest of our community through pictures of our yummy creations.” 

@quarantinecookz is open to community submissions via Instagram.