Steven Imbrenda
Eng-110G
Professor Jesse Miller
20th March 2019
To cook, or not to cook?
Americans no longer uphold the culture of cooking in home lifestyles that they once did. Before all our ‘modernized’ ways of getting food, such as fast food chains and apps on our smartphones that can allow you to have food sent to your door with the mere movement of your finger, eating food played a much more impactful part in everyone’s day to day life. It was uncommon to not have dinner with your family every night, especially a home cooked one. Nowadays we have so much junk food to enjoy and the luxuries of delivery to bring food right to the doorstep of your house. All you have to do is go on your phone to place an order through an app or simply make a phone call. Cooking in your own house seems to be a dying art in American households due to our laziness and ease of access of a way to get food without even having to get off your couch. I would hate for our culture to lose the ability to cook at least three times a week because of how much diversity there is in American cooking. This country was founded by immigrants from all around the world who all brought their methods of preparing meals to this land. If we just throw away home cooking then we lose one of the most influential parts of our development as a country. Fast food doesn’t allow us to create memories and/or bond with our families and friends, it also eliminates the experience and tradition of preparing meals. An author by the name of Michael Pollan depicts this cultural change in America through his article published by The New York Times Magazine “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch”. Even on TV, we view or stream food-related shows more than we do News channels. If watching people cook food on TV is one of the most highly viewed TV channels then why are we seeing such a large decrease in home cooked meals?
I believe it is a fact at this point that America is getting more torpid due to the rise in watching TV and the decline of home cooking. How could we possibly have TV shows based on cooking and preparing meals as some of the most popular channels in America but not want to cook in our own houses nearly as much as we used to? “How is it that we are so eager to watch other people browning beef cubes on screen but so much less eager to brown them ourselves?” (Pollan 3) There are even celebrities that we praise such as Gordon Ramsay, Rachel Ray, Julia Child, etc. These are public figures that set examples of how to make beautiful and delicious homemade meals but, we as an American society have proved to prefer watching this instead of recreating it ourselves. “The Food Network” can now be seen in nearly 100 million American homes and on most nights commands more viewers than any of the cable news channels.” (Pollan 3) Gordon Ramsay’s show “Hell’s Kitchen” invites cooks to a competition where they must race to make the best meal and the winner obtains a head chef position. Rachel Ray hosts three food network series about home cooking and lifestyle. And Julia Child is an American cook who is praised for bringing French cuisine into America with her show “The French Chef”. Julia Child’s show was aired in a different time of America’s culture though. She is different than the modern chef’s we see today because back when “The French Chef” was on TV home cooking was extremely popular. Cooking is how some people have shaped their lives even though it was just an everyday thing most people used to do but is now found few and far between households.
Julia Child is the perfect example of someone that has shaped their life around cooking. She aired her very own TV show in 1963 helping families by providing live step by step instructions for homemade meals. And most critics on the topic will say she is the “Liberated figure that many women have followed on television.”(Pollan 6) There is no comparable woman or man that has expressed their true love and dedication to cooking the way Julia Child had. Cooking is literally how Julia Child made a living, and, on top of that, doing something she loved. “Cooking saved her life, giving her a project and, eventually, a path to literary success.” (Pollan 3) It seems weird to think about now but truly cooking was the sole reason Julia Child found success and passion in her life. She realized this after she settled down with her husband in Paris and began to become bored with life. She needed a project, a life project. Thinking of things she liked to do best, she determined that eating was her number one. Leading to her progression of becoming one of the world’s best-known cooks. I and my peers all share similar viewpoints about the way food impacts our lives just as Julia Child had. “Even on the toughest days when literally everything in the world seems worthless coming home to Shepard’s Pie baking in the oven made everything ok, at least for that moment in time”.(Gagne 4) It is really easy to overlook how much time homemade food takes up but this is not a bad thing. This serves as many people’s time to revive themselves during their hard day at work or school. It also allows for people to bond since conversation is easily brought up around the kitchen table. For example, my peer Jordyn Sullivan explains how her favorite meal, baked haddock, has influenced her bonding with her family by saying, “Not only does this dish have an appeal on my palate, but it also plays a role in connecting my mom and me.” (Sullivan 3) If we forget about homemade meals then these important developmental times of our lives may be lost.
Nowadays, there has been a big movement to the idea that food is more of a sport. On the TV shows I mentioned earlier, they strive more for glamor and publicity rather than being a live show with instructive teaching about cooking in real time. It is because of this nonrealistic expectation of perfection every time one cooks that I believe cooking at home is becoming less common in America. The value of a home cooked meal is not all about the outcome of preparing it. It incorporates our experiences, memories, tradition and time spent with family and friends. “Having family dinner together every night was something that my family was really into, and cooking actual food was something that was very normal to me.”(Nishan 4) I love this quote from my peer Maggie Nishan because she says “cooking actual food”. Without even consciously thinking about it most of the time we have a clear separation of home cooked meals and fast food in our minds. This is why we have such a connection to the value of meals prepared at home and also how we developed our own unique type of culture in America. All the different types of foods brought over by immigrants that founded our country many years ago define what our culture is. If we lose the ability to make our own home cooking that is unique to each family then we will lose diversity throughout our country.
Since Americans are no longer continuing the tradition of meals at home we are losing the values upon which we were founded on. All different types of people (immigrants) coming here and working together to create a new completely diverse culture. Although the innovations and advancements are an amazing feat of mankind, we mustn’t forget our traditions of home cooking. There are too many memories, experiences, and bonding time that goes along with these special meals that you can never replace by simply going to grab a bite to eat at a fast food restaurant. And do not let the cooking shows on TV steer you down, they will always make sure everything looks picture perfect for their viewers where in reality, the meals you cook will not always come out perfect. But the outcome of it is priceless.
Works Cited
Nishan, Maggie “What is Food really?” https://docs.google.com/document/d/13_bvonXWwu0B6FUVbEUbGV7Pofyh7P32UrA2IkKcTuY/edit?ts=5c6ccca8 Accessed 18 March 2019
Sullivan, Jordyn “The End of Food Essay” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GQdtzH_hKO0qa6WFTCLKGxJkn9HDJq-VQxkNhlpNxEw/edit?ts=5c6d6324 Accessed 18 March 2019
Gagne, Haley “Are We Even Human?” https://une1-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/simbrenda_une_edu/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B369E6702-CC04-48B7-9CBA-15FC0B15C753%7D&file=Are%20We%20Even%20Human%20peer%20review.docx&action=default&mobileredirect=true Accessed 19 March 2019
Pollan, Michael. “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” New York Times Magazine, 2009, pp. 1-21.
