Skyrocketing prices have taken a big bite out of what Canadians are able to serve up for dinner but food economists say our ability to cope has been worsened by our collective decline in cooking skills.
"We are less able to cook than we were 30 or 40 years ago, and so it's much more difficult for us to adapt our diet," said Mike von Massow, an associate professor at the University of Guelph's Food, Agricultural & Resource Economics department.
But even for those fortunate enough to still afford their weekly grocery run, a lack of skills to improvise in the kitchen makes it harder to work around higher prices, such as by swapping ingredients for less-expensive alternates.
"If I'm not able to prepare beans or lentils, then it's difficult for me to make that adjustment," von Massow told Cost of Living. Same goes for knowing how to tenderize a cheaper cut of meat.
During the pandemic, Canadians did more cooking at home, making meals themselves when they couldn't dine out at restaurants or pick up food court meals at work.
He said the decline in cooking skills has a number of origins. One of them is changes to school curriculum requirements.
"When I was a high school student, every high school student was required to take two courses in basic cooking. That doesn't happen now."
Some schools have excellent culinary programs, but they're optional — and that's had a big impact on cooking skills, he said.
Today she works as a food blogger, but Raj Thandhi says she only learned to cook in her 30s in response to a period of financial difficulty when her kids were just three and six. (Aziz Dhamani)
Mairlyn Smith, a professional home economist and food writer based in Toronto, echoes that sentiment.
"I believe that when they made Grade 8 home ec not mandatory anymore, that cooking literacy started to decline."
Proliferation of prepared foods
A 2010 federal government report called Improving Cooking and Food Preparation Skills, the most recent of its kind, said that all across the population, processed and pre-prepared foods have been normalized.
"Related to this normalization is the potential lack of transference of basic, traditional or 'from scratch' cooking and food preparation skills from parents (primarily mothers) to children and adolescents, which has traditionally been the primary mode of learning," the report reads.
You are what you eat, as they say. If everything you eat are greasy, unhealthy processed foods, know that there is an alternative.
Want to start eating healthy food on a more regular basis? Try cooking meals yourself! Here we list some of the many perks of preparing your own dishes.
You Can Choose What to Eat
If you know how to cook meals for yourself, you can choose anytime what to eat. Want curry for lunch? Done. You won’t even have to go out to dine.
At the same time, there’s a sense of accomplishment in being able to perfect your favourite dish. You’ll be rejoicing the first time you get that chicken parmigiana perfectly, and this could do good for your morale throughout the day. With every meal mastered, you build up a skill set and only get better with practice.
It’s Much Cheaper
Cooking your own food is generally cheaper than eating out. However, lots of working adults tend to consume food away from home practically every day, not necessarily by choice, but because they simply don’t have the time, or can’t make their own food. Some even resort to eating fast food daily, which is extremely unhealthy.
What they don’t realise is that eating homemade meals can save lots of cash, aside from other benefits. In fact, people who choose to cook at home more often than eat out “tend to have healthier overall diets without higher food expenses.”
Quality of Life is Better
Taste, culture – these are essential to being human. These are the only things that separate us from other creatures, and this tenet applies to everything from literature to fashion, as well as to food.
Hence, having a general proclivity to seek out good food will not only work for the benefit of your taste buds, but also to your overall well-being and quality of life.
You’ll Impress Your Friends and Family
Being able to cook, and being great at it, is an almost surefire way to impress people around you. Because who doesn’t like good food, right? For gatherings with friends or family, they’ll be begging you to make those excellent deep-fried chicken and corn rolls you prepared for them last time.
Also, being able to cook excellent meals will work wonders for your partner’s happiness. Trust us on this.
It’s Healthy
This is a no brainer. Cooking your own food is much healthier than eating fastfood, especially if you make an effort to prepare more healthy meals.
By eating healthy, you will experience decreased blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. Likewise, the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes will be significantly reduced, and those taking medication for such diseases may see a decrease in their prescribed dosage, as well.
Not only that, your body will thank you for your lifestyle choices. You will begin to feel better almost instantly, and find yourself gaining energy and improved mental clarity, as well as confidence. All this comes with deeper sleep and reduced pressure off joints.
So why not book one of our Private Chef's Today and take your skills to the next level! We have a great promotion on this Fall. $299 per person includes the following. A four hour skills workshop, followed by a three course plated and served dinner. Each participant will receive a professional chef's knife and access to our online education portal and recipe & cookbook database!
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