As the spread of Covid-19 confines millions of us to our homes, we go behind closed doors to hear how people all over the world are using food and cooking to help them through the crisis.

Graihagh Jackson speaks to an artist from Iran who has found inspiration in stories of shared recipes, a sense of healing in her own cooking, and hope for a more peaceful future. A young lawyer from Italy tells us that lockdown meals have helped her reconnect with her family, but that her mother’s exuberance in the kitchen has posed a problem for her waistline. And an Azerbaijani living alone in Barcelona explains why she set up virtual tapas parties to replace the physical ones she’d enjoyed with other expats before the pandemic.

We also hear listeners’ quarantine cooking stories: a Sri Lankan who now lives in Australia tells us how the crisis has reminded him of growing up amid civil war and driven him to reconnect with the food and culture of his birthplace; and a newlywed from Vatican City tells us how discovering a passion for cooking has helped him express his love for his new wife, and that the kitchen has made him a better person.

Let us know what you think about the show, or share your own quarantine cooking stories by emailing [email protected]

(Picture: A man in quarantine taking delivery of groceries. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)