The year 2020 sucked for so many reasons. But one area it shone was in the creativity and kindness of the food and small business community. We saw laid-off chefs launch their own pop-ups in restaurants that couldn’t stay open for service; other restaurants cleared out the dining rooms and opened up onto the street to create a market of local home and kitchen goods, some selling meal kits so regulars could make their favorite dishes at home. Chefs donated hundreds of lunches and dinners to health-care workers and opened their doors to share family meal with unemployed service workers. Small businesses selling condiments and spices faced supply-chain delays and limited product launch opportunities, yet found ways to keep their customers engaged; a museum where guests used to eat together created virtual spaces to share a meal and a conversation.
It’s with all this brilliant work in mind that we wanted to share these stories with the Food52 community, superlatives-style. Allow us to present: the first (and hopefully, only) Quarantine Awards.