Why boys should Just Cook

Why boys should Just Cook

Boys who learn to cook from a young age are setting themselves up for a future that will offer many positive rewards, says New Zealand chef Martin Bosley.

Supporting the launch of the Just Cook Challenge, the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation’s campaign that aims to get younger generation into the kitchen, Bosley says despite the popularity of television cooking shows, in New Zealand it is mostly females that start to explore the kitchen from a younger age.

“Generally younger girls are really happy to stand alongside a parent in the kitchen. Boys, while sometimes harder to convince, once encouraged, can become hooked and passionate foodies for life.

“I learned to cook from an early age which led to a love of food, developing into a great passion for creating beautiful food for people. But to draw boys into the kitchen we need to sell the benefits in a way that boys can relate to.”

Bosley suggests a few reasons that could convince boys to get into the kitchen and create habits that will reap a lifetime of positive rewards:

· You don’t have to do the dishes if you cook
· Think of recipes as a science experiment you can eat
· There are lots of gadgets in a kitchen. Blow torches, stick-blenders, electric knives and beaters
· If racquets, balls or bats are not your thing, you can still be the winner on the day by whipping up a crowd-pleasing dish like a bacon and egg pie, crumble or batch of scones
· You’ll never be short of friends as long as you have a reputation for being the bomb in the kitchen
· You get to cook what you like to eat
· Parents are really happy when children cook for them[1]
· Learning to cook when you’re at home will mean you’re the flatmate of choice when it’s time to leave the nest
· It’s cheaper to cook at home. You just need to know how to do it.

The Just Cook Challenge aims to inspire all youth to get in the kitchen to learn to cook, to help develop the necessary skills to eat healthy for life. Kids aged 11 to 18 are asked to put their own spin on family meals – with $2,000 in cash prizes awarded for the best creations. Enter as a class, individual or with a friend.

“Programmes like the Just Cook Challenge are so important, to show kids that cooking is not just ‘healthy’ but it’s fun and there are some social great benefits coming their way in future years if they know their way around the kitchen,” Bosley says.

Sarah Hanrahan, Dietitian for the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation says that with busier than ever lives, and an increasing penetration of fast food outlets, New Zealand kids risk entering adulthood as strangers to the kitchen.
“It’s clear that there’s a link between knowing how to cook and making healthier food choices. If you can cook, you’ll choose and eat healthier food than if you regularly pop down to the takeaway. And we know it is important to develop kids cooking skills in the early years as it means they’ll continue to cook all throughout their lives.”

[1] Disclaimer: The young cook is likely to get off the dishes, but the kitchen will need to be tidied up after meal preparation.

ENDS

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