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Cooking for one
A growing number of Americans are warding off the stigma of preparing meals solo.
from the April 27, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"It's the most creative type of cooking," says Judith Jones, Julia Childs's longtime editor at Knopf and the author of the forthcoming "The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food." "So many people live alone, but don't give themselves permission to make a nice meal that's just for them. You can buy something like veal that you wouldn't necessarily think of as being for one person and have scallopini one night and a nice tenderloin another night."
The prospect of preparing a veal dish might strike fear in the hearts of those ill-acquainted with their kitchens, but teachers of popular cooking-for-one classes around the country are encouraging culinary novices to get creative in different ways. Chief among these is jettisoning traditional notions of food preparation, and along with them, their cookbooks. Another is having students forage in their cupboards and supplementing what they find with fresh ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The idea is that by starting with some low-pressure experimentation, students gradually learn to feel competent behind the counter.
"Americans are realizing they can take back their kitchens and cook for themselves in a free and easy way," says Monika Reti, the founder and owner of Hipcooks, a Los Angeles-based cooking school.
Ms. Reti teaches her classes basic knife skills and has students explore the smells and textures of the foods they cook with. Taking time to enjoy the process inspires people to savor the final product even when they are the only ones who will eat it, she believes. Sitjar, who has taken the Hipcooks' cooking-for-one class, says that giving attention to small details like the aroma of sautéing garlic puts her in the mood to set the table and sit down for dinner, rather than "wolfing it down in five minutes standing at the kitchen sink."
Still, for many, the idea that cooking – and especially eating – should be social endeavors keeps the "psychological block" intact. Food marketing strategies are partly to blame for this, says Andrew Urbanetti, the chef de cuisine at Lumiere restaurant in Newton, Mass. and the teacher of a cooking-for-one class in Cambridge. "It's a shame that some commercials make eating alone seem like it's come down to a desperation meal, rather than something to be enjoyed," he says. He likens a part of his classes to a "therapy session," in which he tries to "diffuse the negativity and stress" that students might associate with cooking alone.
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