The kitchen can be a lifesaver, especially when everything else appears to be falling apart. Simple acts like applying butter on toast, slicing an onion, or watching the yolk of an egg, slip out of its shell, unbroken into a pan, can make us feel more in control. The experience hasn't been any different for Mumbai-based home chef Ragini Kashyap, who runs the supper club, Third Culture Cooks. "The kitchen has become my playground. Despite the horribly hot weather, I spend an average of four hours a day [inside it]. There is a definite enjoyment here. Also, it's been such an amazing way to connect with people," says the self-taught cook.

Kashyap started by sharing recipes and photographs on her social media page, but the lockdown saw her experiment with cook-along sessions, where she'd cook remotely with her followers. "Simultaneously, like many other people, I felt helpless, watching the reality of the Coronavirus outbreak unfold, not just for patients and their families, but also for thousands for whom the lockdown or social distancing had been difficult." After talking to her husband, Kashyap wanted to raise money to support those working on the frontlines. The result is a new, self-published e-book, Quarantine Cooks (R680), comprising 40 recipes from Kashyap's Instagram page, plus those from her journeys around the world, which inspired her Bordered Series, a pop-up of food from conflict-ridden lands. Hundred per cent proceeds from the book will go to charity.