shows clearly how home cooking
was considered a woman’s duty. everyone, and I think we are all di-
minished as a result.
For the food companies, this be-
came the ideal entry point for
their prepackaged meals and oth-
er supposedly time-saving prod-
ucts. By having such a well defined
audience, they could target their
marketing efforts with an almost
laser focus. Thankfully those defi-
nitions have been blurred as we’ve
moved inexorably (though not es-
pecially quickly) away from such
overtly sexist ideas. Now food
companies who wish to sell more
of their products focus on our
modern busy schedules, entic-
ing us with quick and tasty meals
born from the miracle of modern
science, and free of evils such as...
flavour. Let me boil all this down (I'm on a
roll with food puns it seems... and
that's one too) to some thoughts in
answer the question, "Why should
everyone learn to cook?"
All of this has done nothing to help
encourage members of the XY
chromosome club to put down the
football or the remote and pick up
a whisk or a spatula. The decline of
cooking in general has made the
kitchen alien territory for nearly
Cooking creates a communal
space in the kitchen where fami-
ly and friends can contribute and
bond socially. Teaching children to
cook keeps time honoured recipes
alive, and empowers them with vi-
tal skills they can use as they grow
older. Handling food directly con-
nects us to nature, reminding us
just how precious these resources
truly are. Cooking also improves
the quality of our food, for the sim-
ple reason that our pantries do not
contain the bizarre witch’s brew of
chemical sweeteners, colouring
and preservatives so obscure and
recondite they're more likely to be
found on a paint can.
companies, is a powerful state-
ment about our independence,
and a way of taking back control of
at least one aspect of our lives.
Cooking after all, is a uniquely hu-
man act.
Michael Pollan said it best: "For is
there any practice less selfish, any
labor less alienated, any time less
wasted, than preparing something
delicious and nourishing for peo-
ple you love?"
Ladies and gentlehumans, turn
off the television, put down the
smartphone and pick up a whisk.
Gather family and friends. Collect
some fresh ingredients and try a
dish you’ve never attempted be-
fore. Whether it succeeds or fails,
you’ll be better for it in the end.
At the very least, you’ll be well fed.
Finally, the act of cooking, partic-
ularly in this age of dominant food
Mackenzie Clench is an author, creative instigator, agent provocateur and gen-
eral-man-about-the-internet. He's also the CEO, Scribbler and Fuss Maker in
Chief of Mackenzie Clench Creative, helping entrepreneur-shaped humans re-
fine their messaging to draw a through-line from the heart of their business
to the heart of the clients. Mackenzie’s current project is “Around the World
in Eighty Sandwiches,” an Instagram-based culinary cavalcade of sandwiches
from around the world. He is also attempting to parlay his linguistic legerde-
main into a role as a food writer, since his culinary school dreams seem… un-
likely at this point.
Mackenzie Clench
45
mackenzieclench.com