Stuck at home, thanks to the Coronavirus? Excellent, you’ve got all the time in the world to whip up some tasty titbits. Luisanna Messeri, a famous face from the TV programme La Prova del Cuoco (Cook’s Challenge) on RAI 1, has decided to take her cooking onto social media. Every day at 17:30 she will open the doors of her kitchen in the Mugello via her Facebook page and live-stream her “Quarantine Recipes“, to the delight of her 37,000+ followers.

Another way of being together and part of the community even while staying at home, and of kicking the quarantine blues. Luisanna cooks live, in the company of her fans, under the benevolent eye of Pellegrino Artusi: a sketch of the author of “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiare bene” looks out from behind the ovens. Artusi has been a constant source of inspiration for the TV chef, and is also the protagonist of the most recent book published by Giunti Editore, celebrating 200 years since his birth.

“These are recipes for times of crisis:” Messeri explains, “simple, easy and good. Every day we make them together while streaming live on Facebook: it’s half an hour of escapism, which is what you need in a difficult period like this. A bit of chatting, a bit of cooking with my beloved Artusi, and that’s not all. My recipes are also inspired by Petronilla, an anonymously-authored column that appeared in the Domenica del Corriere during the 1920s. I believe that little can be done with a lot, and that with a few simple ingredients, and a bit of recycling, you can come up with mouthwatering new dishes. Never eaten a Lentiburger? Or a dessert made with beans? A cake without butter, eggs and sugar? With Luisanna, anything in the kitchen is possible.