Vegetarian restaurant eaters

If a friend who's a foodie is feeling down about having to self-isolate, here are some food-based ways you could cheer them up.

Send them a surprise Chinese food takeaway from a posh Chinese restaurant

If there is a posh Chinese restaurant in your friend's local area, you should select as many items on its takeaway menu as you can afford and have these lovely foods sent to your friend's home as a surprise. The reason for this is that it can be tricky to know what food to send a person who really appreciates high-quality dishes and is, as a result of this, quite selective about what they eat.

However, because Chinese takeaway restaurants usually offer such a large number of dishes that cater to almost everyone's food preferences, they are a safe choice as a gift for a foodie. For example, those who enjoy stodgy comfort food will always be happy with a plate of chow mein or some flavoursome fried rice, whilst those who like light and refreshing dishes with a little kick will be completely satisfied with a selection of spicy spring rolls or some tender beef soaked in Szechuan sauce.

As such, regardless of your friend's preferences, they should be pleased with a collection of items from a Chinese food takeaway. By ordering the food from a posh restaurant, you can ensure that the quality of the meat, vegetables and condiments is high enough to meet your friend's exacting standards.

Book them a table at a restaurant for the date on which they're due to finish self-isolating

For those who consider themselves to be foodies, one of the biggest annoyances that comes with self-isolating is that it prevents them from exploring new restaurants or visiting old favourites. If you know your friend is sad about this, then you could also book them a table at a restaurant for the date on which their self-isolation period is due to end. If they respond well to receiving the delicious Chinese food takeaway, you could book them a sit-down dinner at the restaurant from which you ordered this.

This would give them a food-based outing to look forward to after they're done with this difficult experience. Furthermore, whilst they'll know that they'll like the food because they've already tried it, they will still get to enjoy the novelty of dining somewhere new, which is always a fun experience for someone who loves restaurants and good food.