Covid-19 has brought on many challenges: social distancing, quarantine, testing, new vaccines, and sadly, death of loved ones. However, one family was able to use Covid-19 as a new chapter. 

   Mom of three and chef, Valerie Musser, had been working on a cookbook for the past ten years. However, the stresses of momhood had kept her from being able to put the time in. During quarantine Valerie’s small catering business had to shut down, causing her to have a lot more time on her hands. Valerie decided to continue working on her cookbook, but this time, with her friend Lenny the bearded dragon. 

  She bought Lenny a little chefs hat from Etsy and began making miniature creations from her cookbook for him to pose with. “He actually loves wearing hats and posing for photos,”  she said, “so I started making miniature food for him to show off with.”

   All the food that Lenny poses with is Valerie’s favorite foods to bring her comfort such as chicken pot pie, blueberry muffins and tacos. “Initially I posted a few pictures of Lenny cooking on Instagram and the feedback was so positive, people were writing things like, ‘this made my day’ and ‘this really cheered me up,’” Valerie explained, “so I realized that people actually needed this.”

   The 134-page cookbook is available on Etsy and Amazon with the option of bespoke dietary alterations on request.

   Lenny the lizard is helping people of social media see the positives in our chaotic world through food and tiny chef hats.