A Very Special Revolution Brought by Cooking: Why the Kitchen Again?

Rediscovering the Value of ‘Cooking’ Leading a Revolution of Play, Healing, and Relationships

• We examine how cooking has become a joyful cultural activity after the pandemic.
• We explore the changing social relationships and generational trends through cooking.
• We suggest the positive changes that small everyday cooking can bring to your life.

What did you have for dinner tonight? Many might have opened a delivery app or heated up a home meal kit (HMR). We live in an era where meals are solved more conveniently than ever in history. However, it’s hard to shake off the feeling that we are missing something important amidst that convenience. As cooking skills decline globally, an interesting counterattack is beginning. This article is a journey exploring how the act of ‘cooking’ can change our lives and the world beyond just filling our stomachs.

Cooking Becomes the Most Joyful Play in the World

At some point, cooking transformed from ‘work’ to ‘play.’ Especially, the COVID-19 pandemic led us to rediscover the meaning of home, particularly the value of the kitchen.

The Global Kitchen Born from the Pandemic: Dalgona Coffee and Sourdough

In the spring of 2020, the ‘Dalgona Coffee’ craze that started in Korea spread worldwide. This simple recipe, made by stirring coffee, sugar, and water over 400 times, became the perfect ‘killing time’ activity for those exhausted by social distancing. People shared their successes and failures on social media, creating a sense of connection even in isolation.

Around the same time, sourdough baking became popular in the West. Faced with a yeast shortage, people began cultivating their own starter with just flour and water to make bread. This was not just about baking bread; it was a process of caring for a living organism (the starter), learning patience, and adapting to unpredictable outcomes. It provided a healing experience that offered small achievements and a sense of control in uncertain times.

These two phenomena clearly demonstrated that cooking can be a powerful tool for creative enjoyment, emotional stability, and social connection, beyond mere labor for survival.

The Evolution of Cooking Shows: From ‘Chef’s Cooking’ to ‘My Cooking’

The portrayal of cooking in media has also changed. While past cooking programs showcased the dazzling skills of professionals, now ’lifestyle-oriented’ content that viewers can easily follow has become the trend.

At the center of this is Baek Jong-won, who sparked the ‘Home-cooked Baek’ syndrome. He has significantly contributed to lowering the barriers to cooking with his philosophy that “anyone can cook.” This aligns with the ‘Food Revolution’ campaign launched by British chef Jamie Oliver. While Baek Jong-won instilled confidence in Korea’s ‘cooking novices’ with easy recipes, Jamie Oliver raised awareness of the importance of cooking education worldwide through a social message of healthy eating, showcasing different approaches but both demonstrating that cooking has the power to change individuals and society.

Changing the Landscape of the Kitchen

As perceptions of cooking change, the owners of kitchens are also evolving. Cooking is no longer the exclusive domain of a specific gender or generation.

Beyond ‘Cooking Men’ to the Era of ‘Home Cooking Men’

In the past, men’s cooking was an ’event’ for special occasions, but now it has become part of everyday life. The term ‘cooking man’ (a man who cooks) has evolved into ‘home cooking man,’ a new trend where men enjoy cooking at home. The significant increase in online grocery shopping and meal kit usage among men during COVID-19 supports this. This signifies that men are discovering new enjoyment and a sense of achievement through cooking, beyond just sharing household chores.

The ‘Hip’ Cooking Methods of the MZ Generation

The saying, “Young people don’t cook these days,” may be a stereotype. The MZ generation learns recipes through YouTube and TikTok, using cooking not just to eat but as a means of self-expression to share on social media. This reflects the characteristics of the ‘creator economy’ era, where cooking is not a survival skill but one of the ‘hip’ forms of content that expresses individuality and taste. They are the ones trending creative recipes like ‘cucumber toast’ and ‘rice paper spicy chicken wraps’ that the older generation could never have imagined.

Cooking, Creating Relationships, and Reflecting Society

Cooking may seem like a highly personal act, but it actually reflects the relationships and structures of our society.

In Korean society, preparing ‘holiday food’ has long been a hot potato. However, recently, “preparing together and cleaning up together” has become a new holiday culture. The sight of husbands and wives, sons and daughters-in-law making pancakes together shows a small revolution where the perception of gender roles within families is changing, creating more equal relationships.

Thus, cooking is not just a skill for making food; it is an important social activity that communicates and forms new relationships with family and friends.

Conclusion

Why should we cook again? The reason is not grand. You don’t need to become a perfect chef. Cooking is an act that helps us reclaim much of what we have lost.

• Key Summary

  1. Cooking as Play: Cooking has become a joyful activity, like Dalgona coffee, and a healing process, like sourdough.
  2. A Tool for Relationship Building: Cooking promotes communication beyond gender and generational boundaries and is a social activity that creates equal relationships, as seen in the changing holiday culture.
  3. Regaining Control of Life: Cooking for oneself is a small revolution that allows us to decide what we eat and rediscover the joy of taste, moving away from ultra-processed foods.

How about starting with a very simple dish for dinner tonight? A bowl of soybean paste stew made from ingredients in your fridge might be the starting point for amazing changes in your life.

References

• Low Self-Perceived Cooking Skills Are Linked to Greater Ultra-Processed Food Consumption… link
• Continuity in the kitchen: How younger and older women compare… link
• Culinary Confessions: Cooking Habits of Gen Z & Millennials link
• Food and restaurant consumption decreases… an unusual phenomenon lasting over two years - NewsPim link
• Neither restaurants nor supermarkets… unusual simultaneous decrease in food and restaurant consumption - Yonhap News link
• The small ball thrown by COVID-19, sweetened by ‘Dalgona Coffee’ in Korea - Consumer Evaluation link
• Pandemic baking - Wikipedia link
• The ‘stay-at-home era’ due to COVID-19… popularity of making desserts like ‘Dalgona Coffee’ - 100 Years of Age link
• Why Is Everyone Suddenly Obsessed With Sourdough? - Electric Literature link
• The sourdough craze is back - Bake Magazine link
• At this point, it’s a syndrome, the reason why the Baek Jong-won craze doesn’t die down - Mediaus link
• The identity controversy surrounding Baek Jong-won, ‘Home-cooked Baek’ - SportsQ link
• Jamie Oliver sparks a food revolution in ‘ChefVille’ - GameMeca link
• Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Channel - YouTube link
• [D-Trend] Those who were not noticed in the food and beverage market start cooking - Mad Times link
• [Life Trend&] Conveniently with prepared ingredients and sauces~ Middle-aged men also excel at soup and stew cooking - JoongAng Ilbo link
• Three food trends of the MZ generation to know in 2021 - 20s Research Institute link
• A little special food culture of the taste-savvy Z generation - S-OIL Official Blog link
• “Why only women in the kitchen”… The number one gender discrimination in holiday food preparation cited by both men and women / Yonhap News TV link
• Holiday food preparation, driving together.. ‘Seoul City Gender Equality Holiday Manual’ announced - Daum link
• Air fryer ownership rate at 70%… doubled in three years - DataSom link