Why has cooking become so popular?
The way we perceive cooking has changed forever! More people are now passionate about cooking and consider it to be a hobby and not a chore. Cooking isn’t simply a matter of refuelling; it is an enjoyable experience and something to be relished. Cooking and food are vital parts of our lives but we are now attaching more importance and more meaning to what we cook and the way in which we cook it.
Cooking is stylish and is clearly a passion with both males and females. It is now an important part of our identity our social life and is a measurement of who we are and what we do. We use it as an expression of skill accomplishment and taste. The ability to cook can make you look more sophisticated more modern and more aware of what’s going on today. Food actually becomes part of your identity, but what has created this trend? : -
- Social shifts – there has been a very substantial growth in single person households
- The rise in affluence - affluence has changed the way in which we eat and the way in which we cook
- Social shifts and affluence - there is now an increased importance on our hobbies and leisure activities
- Multiculturalism - the increase in ethnic and cultural diversity
Change in our travel desires - People are now looking for more authentic places to travel to and food is an important part of this; tasting local cuisine is all about experiencing the authentic culture of the place we visit.
Your ability to cook well shows your partner friends and the outside world just how sophisticated and accomplished you are. There are now a larger range of products previously unavailable making the process of cooking great tasting food much easier. One big motivation for cooking is for praise everyone likes to show off their culinary ability! Cooking for friends is now very popular and a huge dinner party scene has emerged. The evidence in this is a continued popularity of the viewing figures (3 million) for Come Dine With Me – a stage on which to show your skill and to impress friends or impress potential partners.
According to research nearly 70% of Britons (the highest in Europe!) claim to regularly eat food from other countries and cultures; that`s 42 Million people! But British people perceive that other international cuisines are difficult or time consuming to cook. The number of ingredients involved can slow the process for people with already busy lives. Most opt for cooking with pre prepared sauces that lack the real authentic flavours. There`s been a simultaneous growth of convenience and the desire to cook ourselves; this is not a contradiction it`s a result of the way we now manage our time.