Learning to Cook in Northeast Florida
The saying “a woman’s place is in the kitchen” is believed to be rooted in ancient Greece, and stems from a line by the playwright Aeschylus: “Let the women stay at home and hold their peace.” Yet as more and more women sought opportunities outside of their homes, especially in the last few decades, this traditional role has been challenged. Are we still cooking at home? And if we are, who is teaching us to cook? The answers depend on who you ask, and perhaps even on how you define cooking.
DINING IN VS. EATING OUT
Data is mixed on whether Americans are preparing less meals at home than eating out. In 2014, the amount Americans spent on dining out exceeded the amount they spent on in-store food and beverage purchases (i.e. in a traditional grocery store) for the first time ever, a pattern that is continuing. In fact, the National Restaurant Association projected that 2017 restaurant industry sales would total $798.7 billion and equal 4% of the U.S. gross domestic product.
However, a few months later, the NPD Group reported that its daily research of U.S. consumers’ eating behaviors shows that “four out of five meals are prepared at home, and Americans still prepare more meals at home than they did a decade ago. Last year, over 80% of meals were prepared and eaten in home.” The group also predicts that this number will continue to grow over the next five years.
What is clear, though, is that the way people are cooking at home is changing, thanks to an increase in the availability of fresh convenience foods. In fact, NPD Group research shows that completely homemade (e.g. from scratch) meals are still the most prevalent type of in-home dinner, but their popularity has declined in recent years, while the number of “blended meals” or in-home meals that include at least one ready-to-eat item from foodservice, has simultaneously grown.
Truth be told, all of these convenience items, not to mention newer kitchen gadgets like the Instant Pot that are designed to help make cooking at home a breeze, are of little value to those who don’t know what to do with them – or how to cook at all.
A TEACHABLE MOMENT IN THE KITCHEN
Again, the research varies, but one highly cited 2011 study by Impulse Research on behalf of Bosch home appliances found that 28% of Americans don’t know how to cook. In a more recent study, only 5% of Millennial respondents considered themselves to be “very good” at-home cooking, as opposed to 5.5% of Generation Xers and 12.4% of Baby Boomers. These numbers are not surprising, given that many individuals may no longer be learning to cook in the places they once did, such as at home or in home economics classes at school.
So, where else (other than cooking shows) can people learn to cook these days? Here in Northeast Florida, three local women have stepped in to help fill this void, but with a more modern approach, both in terms of who is doing the cooking, and what they are cooking.
Chef Andrea Rosenblatt opened A. Chef’s Cooking Studio in Ponte Vedra in 2007, and says that the reasons students of both genders have enrolled in her classes have evolved over the years. Initially, she says it was for entertainment and a sense of community; after the economy went south, it became more about saving money. Nowadays, students come for a variety of reasons, but Rosenblatt says she’s noticed a renewed interest in home cooking by younger women who seek to take control of what they are putting into their bodies, and those of their children, but in a way that’s compatible with their hectic schedules.
“We are forced out of the door so early and get back so late,” says Rosenblatt. “So, a lot of us ask, ‘Is there a way to get out of the drive-through habit, the microwave-a-burrito habit? To get us back to some simple techniques that actually get us something mildly nutritious, but absolutely delicious and simple, on the table to enjoy together?' With some prep time on the weekend and some basic, easy techniques under your belt, you can have a great, quick, home-cooked dinner using what you have on-hand, even without a recipe.”
Recently Rosenblatt has seen a growing interest in the fundamentals classes. Many individuals who have tried cooking with meal kits and fresh convenience items such as pre-cut vegetables and rotisserie chickens realized they could be more efficient in the kitchen with some basic knife skills and cooking techniques under their belts.
Terri Davlantes opened JAX Cooking Studio in Jacksonville in the summer of 2018, not long after winning the HealthSpark category at OneSpark 2018. Opening the studio allowed Davlantes to address a number of concerns, some of which mirrored what Rosenblatt was hearing.
“Research shows the important role food plays in optimizing body performance and promoting long-term health,” she explains. “Many adults never learned to cook, and our children are not being taught the important life skill of cooking. We are setting ourselves up for chronic illnesses. Also, with the decrease in culinary skills, shared family meals have significantly declined. Shared meals are linked to strong family relationships, increased academic achievement, positive self-esteem and a lifelong healthy relationship with food.”
Davlantes, a coronary care nurse, health law attorney and higher education administrator, notes that “In the past, we relied upon our parents and our schools to teach us this important information. In healthcare, we assumed our doctors would teach us how nutrition impacts health. These avenues are no longer the norm.” Davlantes says she created a space to help fill these gaps.
Students of both genders enroll in Davlantes’ classes for various reasons, she says, including learning new skills (especially knife basics, meal planning and preparing fast, easy meals), having a fun experience with friends, family and others in the community and to maintain or regain their health. Particularly in the fundamentals classes, ages of the students vary, ranging from new cooks in their 20s to retirees who have always wanted to learn how to cook.
Davlantes believes cooking classes are a great way to introduce children to healthy eating. She offers parent/child classes for kids as young as three, and independent classes for those over age six. “The more kids are involved in cooking, the more likely families are to enjoy shared meals,” she says.
She’s noticed her adult students are benefiting from the power of shared meals, and classes typically conclude with sitting down at the 16-foot communal table in the cooking studio to eat what they have prepared. “It is incredibly rewarding to see people who did not know each other before the class enjoying a meal together and remaining afterwards to continue visiting, as if they were old friends. That is the power of cooking and eating together,” says Davlantes.
Dawn Hutchins, who runs VegeCooking Club, an after-school program designed to teach elementary school-aged children in St. Johns County some simple, healthy cooking skills, echoes Davlantes’ sentiments on the importance of teaching people to cook at a young age.
“Home cooking is a lost art, especially for our generation,” Hutchins says. “A lot of our parents stopped cooking because the [frozen and microwavable] convenience foods came out when we were growing up. So, if we didn’t learn how to cook from them, we often didn’t learn until we were older - sometimes out of necessity. Kids who learn to cook now will have a lifetime of health, and have a skill for a lifetime.
So, what’s the bottom line? There are plenty of wonderful dining options here in Northeast Florida for those who wish to eat out. However, there are also a number of cooking schools, many of which are led by women, trying to keep the art and skill of cooking from becoming a lost one, for any woman, man or child who wishes to join them in the kitchen.
Want to find out about classes on basic cooking skills or expand your meal prep repertoire? Visit Jax Cooking Studio, A. Chef's Cooking Studio or VegeCooking Club for more information.
