Men in the kitchen
Posted by Mark Busse on Friday, March 27th, 2009Tags for this Article: article, kitchen, men
Here’s an interesting article about an all-male dinner club in Napa called “Men Who Cook” who know how to do it up right in the kitchen. The article talks about the trend for increasingly more men spending time in the kitchen as the primary cook in households. It claims that market research suggests that “typical men” do not cook much at all, but that male participation in home meal preparation “is the highest it’s ever been in this country.”
I don’t know about you guys, but in my parents’ house, the kitchen was primarily my Dad’s domain. “Get out of MY kitchen” often heard if any hungry kids wander in in pursuit of the origin of a particularly wonderful smell around dinner time. And now, I sort of feel the same way: the kitchen is my “man room”. Andrea is an amazing cook, and I love when she spoils me with her creations, but I tend to be the primary cook in our home and find it as soothing after a long as it is rewarding.
How about in your house? Is the kitchen the primary domain of the men or women? Who does most of the cooking?
Posted on March 27th, 2009
Nancy Wu says:
Joseph is the main cook at our home as he’s strong at experimenting with new recipes, ingredients or flavours. Remarkable for someone with no sense of smell! I cook reasonably well and have my specialties (lasagna, roast chicken & potatoes, shepherd’s pie, chicken chow mein or leftover surprise) but I also serve as a muse for Joseph, putting ingredient ideas or recipes in his head (eg. bucatini all’amatriciana).
Posted on March 27th, 2009
Matt SamyciaWood says:
I cook more than my wife, probably because I enjoy it more, it’s a source of creative satisfaction and fun experimentation for me.
When growing up though, although my dad ruled the BBQ, the kitchen belong to my mum (my dad was able to use the microwave though from time to time).
I find a lot of creative men enjoy cooking, and as most of my male friends are in the design world most are the primary kitchen person in their relationship dishing up delicious delights.
Posted on March 30th, 2009
Ben Garfinkel says:
I’m the cook at home and my wife is the baker. As much as I enjoy making a nice meal, I also love it when one is prepared for me.
Although the kitchen was mostly my mother’s when I was growing up, at some point my father would step in and make some fancy meals. I seem to recall this being around New Year’s Eve meals for themselves and their friends.
Funny, I also remember having a conversation with my parents when I was very young about how most professional chefs are male and finding that very strange since back then most of the meals I’d had came from women. Guess my daughter is going to think all dinners come from dad and desserts from mom!
Posted on March 30th, 2009
Joseph Wu says:
Well, I actually do have a sense of smell…it’s just hard for the aromas to get through my permanently blocked nose. :)
I grew up in a home where the women ruled the kitchen. Mom was a good cook, although she didn’t experiment much. Her mom, who lived with us, hovered over anyone cooking in the kitchen, just to make sure it was done right. Needless to say, I didn’t learn to cook at home. Surprisingly, it was camp cooking with the Boy Scouts that got me started.
Posted on April 21st, 2009
Neil Petrunia says:
I am the main cook in our family of two (plus two well fed dogs), not because I am any better than my wife, but because I love being in the kitchen. Although it’s hard to do really exotic things routinely for only two diners, I find a way. I partially agree with the comment from Matt about creativity and culinary interest, but I do know some of my fellow male instructors at the Art College are decidedly NOT kitchen-dudes.
I think what brings a guy into the kitchen is the realization that cooking is just another way of tinkering around with things. Once we discover that other people like our tinkerings, well the rest is gastronomic determinism.