From family ties to world wide: Connecting through cuisine in the midst of COVID crisis

Three weeks ago, Sheldon Hudlin of Bonaire, started the Facebook Group, “Whatcha Got Cookin’?” as a way to bring people together during this time of pandemic.

“I was like… Is there nowhere we can turn to see good news…because you’ve got to have an out. I don’t want people to turn to drugs or alcohol,” Hudlin said, noting that isolation can lead to depression. “I want people to go somewhere, be happy, enjoy themselves and carry on.” Hudlin explained that he sought to have something where people could be brought together on a common ground.

Hudlin said that the thing that came to mind was that everybody loves food. “Nobody’s ever mad at bacon,” Hudlin explained.

In the group, members have come together to share recipes, pictures of food, and ideas. In addition to the recipes, Hudlin later added, there are those that have shared videos of how to prepare dishes and they teach others. Hudlin said that when he created the group, he had no idea that it would grow in the way that it has. Hudlin shared the group gained 200 members in 24 hours, and as of Wednesday, one day before the three-week anniversary of the group’s creation, membership had reached over 8,000.

According to Hudlin, the group has attracted people of different religious backgrounds, races and political backgrounds, as well as diet preferences including vegan, health food, poultry, and pork lovers. Hudlin informed that according to the Facebook insight statistics for the group, there are members from countries such as Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Guam, Afghanistan, and Brazil—among others—and more than 101 cities in the United States. Activity wise, Hudlin shared, the group has had over 180,000 reactions, posts, and comments since its inception.

“There’s a place in this group for everyone, and that’s what I love,” Hudlin shared.

The group also caught the attention of Chef and Television Personality Paula Deen, who commented on the group in a video.

“It is so very good,” Deen said of the group in the video, adding that the recipes being shared looked “out of this world,” and how much she enjoyed the fact that “no ugly is allowed” in the group.

Hudlin explained that he also loves to cook and joked that if you could name the cooking apparatus, he probably has one. This love of cooking, said Hudlin, stems from him and his two brothers watching his late mother, who cooked all of her life.

“Cooking draws me closer to her because I know it’s something she loved, and she taught us to love it, and we do,” Hudlin said.

Hudlin said that his mother raised her children to be independent and cook and clean, and that love of cooking has spanned two generations, to her grandchildren as well.

“I thought this was a way to draw people together and honor my mom and continue to have her in the forefront of my mind,” Hudlin explained.

Hudlin mentioned that he has seen positive language in the group, pointing to the use of words and phrases like “yummy,” “that looks great,” and “awesome” and shared that people seem pretty much on the same accord. People are being drawn together.

“People are loving on people, and that’s what it’s all about,” Hudlin shared.

Hudlin explained that people on the page may not cook, or have not cooked in a long time and have been forced by the isolation to prepare meals more often. In turn, he has seen people finding new ways to do things that they have been doing. Hudlin noted with work shortages, people may not have all the money in the world, or all the time in the world with children being out of day care and school, and that this is a way to still draw people together. Hudlin further explained that one can go into the group for five minutes and there will always be something for them to take away from it.

Hudlin said in this time where people are mandated to be apart, it is important to find creative ways where individuals can come together and stay apart at the same time, and this is his way of giving back.

HHJ News