I recently received an email in my inbox from Choire Sicha at New York Magazine in which he wondered how he’d have to cut costs in what he aptly called these "rapidly brewing chaos times." It’s a question that’s clearly in the zeitgeist, as right around the same time, we both saw a similar Emily Sundberg Feed Me substack query, where she asked her readers this: "Considering we’re probably entering a recession, what costs do you anticipate cutting first?"
If you're thinking, "What fun times we're in!" while trying not to panic, you're not alone. Like Sicha, who probably didn't want to linger on that depressing thought, I, too, decided to focus instead on the much more enjoyable question of the things we’d never give up, no matter what.
Sicha took inspiration from Sundberg and crowdsourced his audience with that same question via a Google form (gotta love the simplicity and effectiveness). I ran around the Delish test kitchen, riffing on the prompt to see what answers I could get from my very busy colleagues. Turns out people do uh, not love to be hit out loud with "We are probably entering a recession," so I experimented with changing the lead-in to the equally alarming but somehow less shocking, "If you were suddenly very poor…" Here are their answers.
"I won’t give up getting my groceries delivered…I can’t do it. [My kid] is going through multiple gallons of milk a week right now, and it’s still cheaper to get it delivered from Aldi’s than to shop at my local store."
-Megan Belair, Editorial Business Manager
"Mama needs a steak sometimes, what can I say? And ordering nice coffee out."
-Sam Caccamise, Senior Editor of Audience Development
"Nespresso pods, the double-shot espresso kind. I could settle for drip coffee, but I just don’t want to. These would be my second purchase after rent."
-Cat Sillars, Temporary Community Producer
"Coffee beans from a small batch coffee roaster are the luxury I will never give up, no matter how expensive they get! My husband and I grind the beans for our French press coffee whenever we're working from home, and it's an essential part of our morning. I'd also never give up my Greek yogurt. It's already pretty expensive, but it hits that perfect balance of health and luxury that makes me feel nourished and treated whenever I eat it."
-Taylor Ann Spencer, Food Editor
"My immediate thought is good coffee, the beans I buy are like $18/lb, and I’m not giving them up. And one dirty martini per week. I could make them at home, but they just taste better when I order them out."
-Samantha MacAvoy, Senior Editor
"I get a window into a life without a good chef's knife whenever I cook at a friend's house or an Airbnb...and it's a life I do not want to live. I would rather gnaw on a whole pineapple than attempt to cut one with a dull knife."
-Gabby Romero, Associate Editor
"Nut butters, specifically cashew butter. It’s a sacrifice I’m not willing to make; I’m so enamored with cashew butter. It’s part of my whole raison d’être."
-Rob Seixas, Senior Food Director
"Chobani extra creamy oat milk stays at the ready in my fridge. I use it with everything when I need a plant milk (coffee! oatmeal! smoothies!), and I would begrudgingly pick up a different oat milk if necessary, but I would be very, very unhappy about it."
-Taylor Worden, Digital Culinary Editor
"Definitely eggs. The fun thing about them being so expensive lately is that I’ve really learned I’m never not going to buy them. Turns out I eat them every single day, and cannot go without."
-Anya Ptacek, Temporary Recipe Developer
"I will never sacrifice my matcha lattes. We non-coffee drinkers need something to bring us joy in the morning!"
-Amanda Mactas, Temporary Associate Editor
"There isn’t a damn thing I wouldn't cut or get cheaper. I have so many other problems, I don’t need luxuries to be one of them."
-Rebecca Simpson Steele, Visual Director
"Coca-Cola. Is that a luxury? Some people would say I could save money by just drinking water, but I am not one of them. And tacos—I practically have a taco addiction, enough that my mom has expressed concern. I hate making them at home, so I will always go out for them."
-Lindsey Ramsey, Senior Director of Content Operations
"There is no financial collapse on earth that would pry Parmigiano Reggiano out of my hands. The king of cheeses has many imitators (including a certain green shaker), but none of them hit the same."
-Gabby Romero, Associate Editor
"I will never give up iced coffee (though I will give up ordering it out if I have to), so this machine will be my saving grace. It has a special function that brews cold brew (I don't like the prepackaged stuff), so this has been a game changer."
-Katelyn Lunders, Digital Director
"Matcha (if I can find it, there’s a shortage). I’ll buy it out if I’m really desperate, but a lot of them suck, so I really like to make it at home."
-Izabela Campos, Assistant Social Media Editor
"Good olive oil! A lot of the cheap olive oil is cut with who knows what, so I would go to the ends of the earth for the good stuff."
-Damian Calvo, Director of Photography
"Have a bad day? Eat a clementine. Need a quick snack? Eat a clementine? No dessert, but want something sweet? CLEMENTINE! I need my bag of clementines at the ready, and will close my eyes and buy them no matter the price if necessary."
-Taylor Worden, Digital Culinary Producer
"Nordicware sheet pans. They’re heavy, they never warp, and they are miles beyond their competition. You can get sheet pans almost anywhere, but I will never not buy these."
-Makinze Gore, Senior Food Editor
I'll never give up buying myself a little treat at the grocery store, whether that's an actual sweet thing (I recently got myself hooked on freeze-dried skittles) or just a new frozen pizza I've never seen before. Life's too short not to have a little fun with your food!
