We are on the horns of a dilemma. Here we are, in the middle of one of the greatest cities in the world, surrounded by some of the best restaurants in the world and deluged with torrents of cajoling emails from ‘Deliveroo”, “Uber Eats” and now, “Supper”, which claims only to deal with the most high end of the Capital’s establishments. So far, so good. I sit at my computer for nearly an hour, happily scrolling through the cuisines of the world. and relishing the taste of every dish in my head. Finally, I put together my perfect meal from one of my favourite Chinese restaurants, desperate for the sharp flavours I can’t seem to reproduce in my own kitchen. I wave my list of spare ribs, soft shell crab, hot and sour soup, and other delectable items at my husband and suggest he prepare his own and I will phone in the order. He agrees, turns, there is a pause, and then he casually enquires, “But is it safe?”.
I know him well enough to understand that a breezy “Oh, I’m sure it is” from me, won’t reassure him. We have both seen, often enough, the food delivery boys lounging on their bikes outside restaurants, food bags slung casually over their shoulders, empty ones jammed against the lamppost on which they’re leaning, full ones going cold as they chat. They don’t look particularly hygiene – conscious, but, then, what young man does?
I have what amounts to a reverence for the people doing deliveries at this treacherous time. Jumping on and off bikes, in and out of vans, traipsing from one household to another, not knowing what awaits them when they turn up, liistening to the alarmed shouts of “Can you leave it on the floor outside?”. Surely that must feel like an insult? I notice they’ve stopped taking the envelopes filled with the small change of gratitude I leave out for them. Of course they are as frightened of catching it from me as I am from them and I do worry about the selfishness of allowing them to put their lives at risk so we can live in comfort.
I Google “Is it safe to eat takeaway during Covid-19″ and get, as you would expect, both negative and positive answers delivered with the same assurance. Yes, so long as you remove the food from the packaging with an implement, transfer it to a plate, then wash your hands. No. You don’t know if the kitchen staff might be infected so you should never eat cold food and, although there is no proof that the virus can live on food, you might want to microwave it when you receive it, just to been the safe side.”
I end up more confused than when I started. My conviction is that it would be perfectly safe but there is enough doubt in the replies to unsettle me. After all, if there is “a safe side” to be on, there must also be an “unsafe side”and, since “The Writer” is already anxious – it’s looking very much like another night of baked beans on toast.
Locked down in London 