oneworldtalk

Kebau · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 415 Location: Canada

I love food shows and guess what? Most of the time the chefs are men. Gordon Ramsey, an amusing and entertaining chef from UK who uses the "F" word very often, has a desire to get women to cook again. Why bother and for what? Women have been liberated and besides they are not that great cooks, let alone chefs. Am I getting into some 'hot soup', or my invitation to my next supper is on hold?! Read this article by a woman and see what she has to say.

Can women still cook?

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/302930

We're told now that liberated females don't inhabit the kitchen

by Vanessa Richmond ( Feb 16, 2008 )

Hot Chilly · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 618 Location: Tropics

It used to be said that the way to a man's heart is through the stomach? Girls would like to impress their men or in-laws (long ago) with their culinary skills. Looks like blokes are the ones doing the cooking to impress girl friends nowadays? Embarassed

Yes, I know of some ladies who are successful in their career but won't step into the kitchen, can't fry an egg, nor cook instant noodles. The convenience of modern lifestyle with takeaway outlets, Big Mac, delivery (not just pizza but family restaurants and upmarket dishes) have made cooking a redundant skill.

See Straits Times Life Editor Sumiko Tan's confession : Can't cook, don't cook, won't cook

http://www.asiaone.com/Just%2BWoman/About%2BMe/Columns/Story/A1Story20071024-31961.html

I don't mean to be insolent or cruel, but is that why beautiful and intelligent Sumiko is still single?
Is it necessarily a trade off between emancipation and domestication? I'll leave you to think and decide for yourselves.

smalltok · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 264 Location: USA

Hot Chilly:

XP · Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 565 Location: Beautiful Island

Gone are the days when it was virtue to be able to cook. My friend who is an overseas Chinese said that one of the criteria of seeking a good daughter-in-law was whether the girl could cook - well, apparently from the way they pound chilli or hold a spatula, one could tell a good cook from the mediocre! And some would even check out the girl's room to see if it is neat and tidy.

However, equality has enabled women to step out of the kitchen to be economically independent. They are no longer dependent on culinary and homemaking skills to marry well and hope for comfortable living by courtesy of their husband and in-law. Women's liberation is hard won. This brings me to the Chinese proverb : 巧婦難為無米之炊 qiao fu nan wei wu mi zhi chui (meaning : even a clever wife can't cook without rice). To have food on the table, the household has to be economically self sufficient and well provided for.

However, it is not logical to jump to the conclusion cooking equates imprisonment and deprivation of women's rights. It won't make you a less modern, liberated, capable and successful woman. It is a bonus to be added to your credentials and resume!

Smalltok has correctly highlighted that cooking can be a source of enjoyment and fulfilment. I'm sure foodies would agree with that. No matter how lazy, busy or clumsy, the temptation of creating your very own dish or meal will always entice one to whip up something in the kitchen.

Descartes · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 35

Clare Smyth and of whom : "Clare is an amazing girl who has been working professionally since she was 16.

"being groomed by Ramsey:

Royal Hospital Road is the crown jewels of his empire and he has been grooming her to take over. He spent time in France himself and that is part of the training.”

Angela Hartnett....She's perhaps the leading female chef in Britain today. Certainly, she's at the top of her game right now. She got her first Michelin star within the first year of the restaurant opening, an MBE from the Queen for Services to the Hospitality Industry, she's just opened another Ramsay restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida, she's just about to see the publication of her first cookery book, and while the Connaught closes for the next seven months for a multi-million pound refit, she's off to do a television programme - Kitchen Criminals

Descartes · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 35

To see a young female at her best: the recent series of Masterchef on brit BBC TV, Emily,

She is known for her weird recipes, pairing unexpected ingredients with sensational results.

Tonight, the nation will discover whether 19-year-old cooking prodigy Emily Ludolf can beat two older men in the final of MasterChef.

But, after cooking five-star food at the Dorchester and Blenheim Palace for the BBC competition, the youngest-ever finalist told today how she is now enduring dodgy student food.

Emily, from Lyne in Surrey, is a first-year English student at Oxford University and living in halls at Wadham College with a broken cooker.

"The college provides meals but it's generally a mystery meat, five potatoes and tinned vegetables," she said.

"There is a kitchen but the oven's faulty and there's only a couple of worktops.

"It's not the ideal environment for a budding chef trying to cook three-course gourmet meals.

"There's a baked bean culture and I hate baked beans so I've rooted out the foodies.

"On Shrove Tuesday we whipped up pancakes with fillings like chocolate and paprika, or mango and chilli. We really went to town."

Observer · Joined: 10 Oct 2007 Posts: 230 Location: Lah Lah Land

Descartes:

XP · Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 565 Location: Beautiful Island

A newly wed girl was being welcomed at the husband's home in a traditional manner.

She was asked to give a little speech. She addressed as follows:

"My dear family members, I thank you for welcoming me in my new home and family", she said,
"Firstly, with my presence I would not want to create any inconveniences by my being here.
I mean that I don't want you all to change your way of life, your routine."

"What do you mean my child?" asked the patriarch of the family.

What I mean dad is:

Those who used to wash dishes must carry on washing them.
Those who used to do the laundry must carry on doing it.
Those who cooked shouldn't stop on my account.
Those who used to clean should clean.

As for me, I am here just to control your son!

********

This is called bride from 21st Century!!!!

Descartes · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 35

Observer,