At the beginning of this summer, when I was just starting my internship and living on my own for the first time, the thing I was most excited for was grocery shopping. In my downtime, I browse the Internet looking for recipes. My friends and I may or may not have planned an entire vacation just to visit a place featured on "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown." The point is: I like food. A lot.
I enjoy all aspects of cooking, from the experimentation that takes my mind off work to the act of sharing food I made with people I care about, which is why it makes me so sad when people simply say they are intimidated by cooking. I’m not talking about people who cannot cook because they live in food deserts or people who work too much to have time to cook - those are very real problems that are often minimized. I’m talking about adults I know who do not cook because they feel intimidated by it or are too lazy.
I have met too many adults who pride themselves on their ineptitude in the kitchen, mostly men. Boys and men grow up believing that they will always have a woman ready to wait on them hand and foot. While girls are forced to learn how to cook, many parents do not bother teaching their sons how to feed themselves. I have met too many adult men who brag that they cannot even boil an egg without their wife’s help and too many young men who think their culinary ineptitude will attract a girlfriend. Not being able to live an independent life is not cute or attractive - it’s pathetic.
On the flip side, there are too many people who feel intimidated by the concept of cooking. We have created a culture around cooking that makes it seem as if only a chosen few can do it, and we ridicule those who try and fail. The mere existence of a show called "The Worst Chefs in America" shows how much of a problem this is. Although ostensibly its purpose is to teach them how to cook, when chefs are presented with lobster on their first challenge and never shown how to cook it is clear that the only purpose of the show is to expose them to public ridicule. Recipes and cookbooks that have “simple” in their title but need 10 ingredients and knowledge of the sous-vide technique to implement also contribute to the culture of exclusivity around cooking. We are making it difficult for people to succeed at cooking and ridiculing them for failing.
I am sick of people saying “I could never do that” when I mention I like cooking, because it is so simple. One doesn’t even need recipes, only a willingness to experiment and throw things together. Our society makes it difficult for people to learn even basic techniques by making adult cooking classes inaccessible and refusing to allow young people to cook because it is “dangerous.” There is no reason anyone should be too intimidated to complete a process necessary for one’s own survival.
Making cooking enjoyable from a young age, such as allowing children to watch their parents cook and assist with simple tasks such as stirring if they wish instead of shutting them out of the kitchen entirely or forcing them to be there will create a love of cooking from a young age. Stopping the culture of exclusivity around cooking, where celebrity chefs are the be-all, end-all of food, will also make it easier for people to experiment in the kitchen. Most of all, refusing to accept willful incompetence from babies stuck in adult bodies that think it’s cute they can’t feed themselves will change this culture.
There is no reason why I should be special for being a college student who knows how to cook anything besides ramen. Obviously, there are people who will never enjoy cooking, but there are so many that would enjoy it if they weren’t scared away from it. There is no greater feeling in the world than not having to depend on others to fulfill your late night mac and cheese cravings.
