Why I finally started resting my meat

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The sheer variety of bad habits developed during the pandemic makes one proud to be British: the irregular sleep schedules, the blurring of work-life boundaries, the unwavering belief that all social plans are now optional. Many of these have been hard to shake — indeed, people are still posting about their sourdough starters.

My version of cope manifested largely in ordering food for delivery. This wasn’t an altruistic attempt to support local businesses or an early adoption of 2025 online discourse, in which some have suggested that getting high-quality meals dropped off at your door is somehow cheaper than cooking. It was because the French restaurants were shut and I was mysteriously saving money.

Of course, not all Deliveroos are made equal. There is the self-evident quality gap between, say, the local chicken shop and a Michelin star restaurant suddenly pivoting to delivery. But you also must be guided by the head, not just the stomach. Ask yourself: what types of food will actually travel well?

Chips are the first staple to go. In any sort of packaging — whether cardboard or plastic — they instantly start to steam and arrive heartbreakingly soggy. Natural ventilation wasn’t just crucial for reducing the risk of Covid transmission — someone, please think of the carbs.

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Similarly, even the most delicately of poached eggs will congeal into semi-solid yolks by the time thy doorbell rings. Ultimately, one can’t go wrong with layered, sturdy ingredients that don’t rely on crispness. Think burrito bowls, noodle dishes and curries.

The biggest downside to ordering out rather than dining in — aside from there being no waiter to say “Excellent choice” — was temperature. No matter how seamless the delivery — and living in a block of flats at the intersection of two streets, ours was never seamless — the food would never arrive piping hot. This was just a sacrifice one had to make, like an NHS key worker, but without the Thursday evening rounds of applause.

But as Covid receded, I put the apps away and once again started alternating between meals out and cooking at home — and realised I’d wasted the whole pandemic. Sure, no one wants to be served room temperature chips, but it turns out that so much of what we eat is best enjoyed warm rather than scorching. Friends: I have finally started resting my meat.

Roast chicken, leg of lamb, pork belly — I remove it from the oven, place it on a metal rack and… wait. For smaller cuts, that might be five minutes — barely long enough to steam the vegetables. But for entire roasts? We could be talking 20 or 30 minutes. The Times restaurant critic Giles Coren suggests half as long as it takes to cook, but even I don’t have that kind of time.