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In 1930, Irma Rombauer became a widow at 52 years old when her husband committed suicide. The tragedy would be terrible at any time and was compounded by occurring in the throes of the Great Depression. Irma was accustomed to an active social life and now found herself mourning, adrift and financially troubled.
To financially support herself for the first time in her life, Irma set out to write a cookbook, even if cooking was not necessarily her strong suit. She called upon on her expansive group of friends to gather and refine a collection of recipes and wrote anecdotes that infused the instructions with her affable voice. A year later, in 1931, she self-published 3,000 copies of Joy of Cooking: A Compilation of Reliable Recipes with a Casual Culinary Chat.
Irma created something wholly unique that women in that moment responded to. This cookbook wasn’t about the unreachable heights of culinary expertise. This cookbook was a conversation between friends, in the kitchen, with you sharing in the experience and telling their stories. Five years later, her book was picked up by a publishing house. Since then, Joy of Cooking has sold more than 20 million copies and become one of the most iconic cookbooks in American history.
Irma’s path to recovery, and ultimate success, was to continue to be her immutable self — adapting to her new circumstances and state of the world around her.
(Cool coincidental side note: Irma’s half-brother, Dr. Max C. Starkloff, was the St. Louis Health Commissioner who, in the midst of the 1918 flu pandemic, closed the city’s public venues and prohibited large gatherings of people. He was, essentially, a pioneer of social distancing as a method to contain viral spread.)
Travelers, if you’re like me, you’ve found yourself opening your booking apps several times a day. You’re enticed by the deals, the promise of short lines, the fantasy that social distancing will translate into small crowds and therefore the best service you’ve ever enjoyed. It’s muscle memory that makes you check. It’s a sense of responsibility and uncertainty that makes you back out.
Instead of closing that app next time, let’s take a page from Irma’s story. In a time of tragedy and unpredictability, lean into what you can do: plan. Think about the trips you’ve taken and where you want to go next. Spend an afternoon safely exploring the world online. Map out the adventures yet to come. Will it be a trip to reunite with friends and family? Or a solo expedition to somewhere new? Search for flights. Map the route for that road trip. Pick the places where you want to stay. List the things you want to see and do and eat. You are not going to leave today, or tomorrow, or even next week. But you know that you will go.
And then, take a leap of faith, and actually book it.
Book that trip for later now. Book it even though you can’t be sure about the timing. Book it even if you might have to change it. Book it even if it’s just an in-town weekend getaway from the same four walls and 10 blocks you’ve been confined to. Book it even if it seems like wishful thinking right now. And then tell people about it. Share your excitement. Encourage them to remember and to dream about what could be and what will be. Our future will not be one without travel. Invite people to meet you there, to join you in this act of optimism. Be a banner for hope and joy.
By taking action, not only will you spread joy; you will inspire confidence in our economy and in the future. If every one of us who is fortunate enough to have the resources commits to future plans, we will manifest the change we want to see. In turn, hotels and attractions and restaurants will set into motion the moves needed to reopen. They will rehire staff and reengage with farmers, vendors, contractors and suppliers. And all the companies that supply and support those businesses can also bring back employees who were left sitting at home. We will all start moving again. We will write a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is our privilege and our responsibility.
This rallying cry goes out to my colleagues in the hospitality industry, as well. Fellow hoteliers, airline executives, Airbnb hosts: Do your part. The world is uncertain. If we want travelers to bet on us by booking, then we need to counteract that anxiety by minimizing risk. Consumer confidence calls for a radical return to convenience. Allow people to cancel without penalty. Wipe the word “nonrefundable” from your vocabulary and legal boilerplate. Make it easy to make changes. We must be our most hospitable selves to welcome this wary guest.
So, I call upon you, me, all of us. Be true to your world-traveling, road-tripping, club-hopping and restaurant-loving selves even in the face of distress. Right now, of course, we will honor the wisdom of experts and continue to stay home in order to protect public health. But this time is perfect for cultivating our big plans to get back out there. By simply carrying on, doing what we do best — looking and booking — we have the power to change our circumstances and the world around us. Irma Rombauer and Joy of Cooking are proof of that. When we create a new narrative, we draft the future.
Savor the joy of booking today. Let’s all invest in our future by planning for it.