I’m amazed by the new trend for people not wanting to cook. Peter Grove mentioned it yesterday. And you can barely watch TV these days without having some celebrity chef chastising you for not cooking at home. Jun Tanaka, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay… the list goes on.

To be honest, I think celeb chefs are part of the problem, making us ordinary mortals look like brainless, unskilled children in the kitchen for years for our total inability to be like them. But in a fast world with high expectations, why would we want to slave over a hot cooker?

I’ll tell you why I cook:

Situation I
Want to twist a knife into my husband/boss’s heart. Tired, angry, frustrated. But instead, chop a carrot, peel some potatoes and stir some curry. Incrediby therapeutic.

Situation II
Feel old, frizzy, wrinkly, unloved. Want to hide under the blanket and feel miserable. Invite my friends over, cook a mean meal and gloat over the heaps of praise afterwards.

Situation III
Hungry. Want to eat. See the crap sold in the supermarket under the guise of a ready made meal. Cook.

Situation IV
Husband threatens to cook (oh no, pesto pasta, frozen pizza, stir fry… again???). Hastily cook.

Some life coach once said, life is all about pain and pleasure. I think in our case he means, when you think of the pain in cooking, think of the pleasure in the eating.

Gotta go, my Chinese Takeaway just arrived.