Cooking: a Blessing or a Curse for Today’s Women?

By Kaoutar Hanni

Morocco World News

Fez, January 26, 2013

In today’s world, we can say that modern women do not master the art of cooking as their mothers and grandmothers did. Actually, this is due to their enrollment in activities and projects which reduces their interest in housework in general. However, we also cannot deny the role of the great numbers of fast food restaurants and cafés that facilitate the process of cooking for people.

As one of these modern women, I can describe my case in relation to cooking as different and unique. Unique in the sense that I am characterized as a traditional and modern woman at the same time. Although I live a busy life as a masters student who needs time for her studies and research, I still can reserve some time for my hobbies in the field of cooking, especially all that is traditional and authentic.

Since my childhood, I have loved being in the kitchen, preparing different meals and trying new recipes. Whenever I saw my mother or grandmother preparing something special, I would found excuses to stay there watching the whole process of cooking then trying it whenever I was home alone. Moreover, I added new ingredients to give it my personal touch.

The challenge, however, is how to convince people that you’ve mastered the art of cooking. People today are astonished when they hear that you are a good cook; unfortunately, they have false judgments about modern women’s capacities and talents. Personally, I face such stereotypes whenever I show my interest in cooking. All the time, I receive comments from people about this issue. These are some of them:

The first comment the majority of people raise is: you modern girls do not know how to prepare traditional food, do you? All that you know is preparing eggs and fried-potatoes as the only food in the world.

Second, when they taste my hand-made food, they automatically say: “oh! How did you make this?” And before they let me answer they add: “sure your mother was there helping you.” Others say: “there are a lot of cookbooks which facilitate the work and help you prepare it, you only need the ingredients then you can start,” and etc. For me this is really contradictory because most of these people do not even know how to make fried-eggs, nevertheless, they give themselves the right to advise you, but I call it their “frustration” unfortunately.

There are other people, who praise your work and encourage you to keep it up, saying: “you are going to be a good wife and mother as well”, “he is really lucky the one who is going to marry you.”

Sometimes we cannot deny the fact that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, but as far as I am concerned, this has nothing to do with whether you are a good cook or not because there are women who really do not know how to make a simple meal, while they are having the happiest life ever. Therefore, being a good cook remains only a privilege.

The question to be raised in this regard is what if my husband eats the most delicious food and still does not treat me well? What about my mother-in-law who, whenever comes to my house, pretends to find my cooking the worst in the world though it is perfect?

So, is it really a curse for a woman to be a good cook? Or it is a blessing that not all women have today?

Kaoutar Hanni is a second year Master student at Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah University Dhar Mehraz in Fez, Morocco.