The directive to stay at home may cause many to head for the kitchen.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But, as supermarket shelves remain bear, culinary creativity becomes the requirement.
Commercial cooking teacher at Wagga's TAFE, Fiona Bance is encouraging even the most novice chef to become creative with the ingredients "you didn't even know you had".
"I sort of know what can go together, but a lot of people don't do that," Ms Bance said.
"It's being creative, experimenting and getting back to cooking from scratch. Even if it doesn't work, there's still pride in having made something, and maybe you'll know for next time what you can make."
When stocking up the fridge and pantry, Ms Bance recommends keeping an eye out for the sometimes hard to find foundation ingredients - flour, butter, milk.
"With those you've got your basics for bread, quiche, scones, but sometimes you have to find a work around without them," she said.
"Last time I was at the shops, there were other types of flour. You could experiment with rice flour.
"Fruit seems to be quite easy to find. You can stew some pears or apples, there seems to be plenty of those. You could make a pretty easy apple with some pears thrown in."
Related:
Ms Bance expressed her own feelings of nostalgia in a world where creativity in the kitchen is becoming a necessity.
"I'm off a farm where my mum and my grandmother used to make everything," she said.
"I was driving home on the weekend and I started thinking about toad in the hole, which is something I haven't had since my mother used to make it probably 35 years ago now.
"I tried it out again and my kids absolutely loved it. It's something so old fashioned but it's still so great."
For those who have managed to get their hands on some of the carbohydrate staples, Ms Bance recommends a bit of experimentation with some home favourites.
"Pasta bake is always a good thing. Have a look in the fridge, what's there? Pasta bake can hide a multitude of vegetables, including frozen veggies," she said.
"If you like going out for that restaurant schnitzel, try making that at home. It's just as good, if not better because you can use better crumbs, add some herbs and some Parmesan cheese. It'll just make it a different dish."
If the emptied supermarket shelves are anything to go by, Ms Bance expects there will be a number of households in need of a pantry clean out, which may upturn an unexpected amount of canned goods.
"I'm due to do a clean up myself, and I know I have a few cans of chickpeas, tomatoes and beans so that can be turned into a nice braised beans," she said.
"It doesn't have to be plain. Make it something you'd be served for breakfast at a restaurant in Melbourne."
Above all else, hours spent in the kitchen can be made into a teachable moment as more of the family venture indoors for each other's company.
"Cooking is something you can do with children if they're at home too, it's something you can do together and teach them," Ms Bance said.