Cook it yourself

By Paul Fulford on April 26, 2008 12:23 PM | Permalink

How's this for a prize bit of idiocy?

On one of those interactive radio shows that encourage the stupid and deluded to send in their views, someone texted something like: "Cooking is a waste of time and boring. Anyway, you don't need to cook now."

Allowing for the fact that many people adopt a deliberately provocative stance on such forums, it's still a worryingly silly argument.

Cooking - unless you're a professional chef, of course - takes us away from the everyday concerns that come with work and family life.

For a while we're absorbed in a largely physical task in which our senses and deftness of touch are the major factors.

And afterwards comes the chance to enjoy - probably with friends or family and a few glasses of wine - a nourishing and satisfying meal that we know is all our own work.

Of course we could instead order a take-away or maybe slap a ready-made meal in the microwave. And maybe such meals won't be full of sugar, salt, hydrogenated fat and enough e-numbers to keep a chemicals factory busy for a year.

Or we leave the lazy and dull-minded to their pizzas and chicken wing buckets and rejoice in preparing our own wholesome food.