Cooking Phobia

by Mark R. Vogel

Are you fearful of cooking? For some it is a mundane chore, to others a joyous hobby, and for some, an absolute terror. An anxiety plagued agony that drives them to a microwaved dinner before a stove.

Cooking phobia, if I may coin a new phrase, like any other phobia, has multiple etiologies. Many who are anxious about cooking never learned how to cook.

There are countless households where eating out and/or quick, convenient, processed foods were the norm. These folks' fears are due to the lack of self-confidence that their deficient culinary heritage has engendered.

Others may have had cooking disasters coupled with criticism from the dinner recipients. A dry Thanksgiving turkey or a burnt roast for dinner, supplemented by a few ill-placed cracks from hubby at the cocktail party and that's it.

The only thing this person is making for dinner any more is reservations. And let's face it; a failed dinner is quite a disappointment. If the new recipe turns out to be a flop, what do you do? You've just wasted all that money, food, and time to end up ordering pizza.

But I think the dread of cooking catastrophes goes even deeper. Food has significant psychological implications. Food goes way beyond basic survival; it "feeds" us emotionally as well.

Think of how good you feel, (emotionally, not physically), when you have a satisfying meal. Consider these culturally based practices and idioms regarding food.

It is considered proper social etiquette to offer guests, at the very least something to drink, if not also to eat.

Similarly, the practice of bringing food and drink to a gathering you are invited to. The phrase: "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach." The universal question, "How was the food?" when discussing a wedding or a party someone attended.

The fact that some people and/or cultures consider it rude to not eat their food or even finish your plate. The use of the criteria "he/she is a good cook" to describe a potential mate's virtues.

The practice of making a romantic dinner to impress your girlfriend or boyfriend. And finally, the fact that almost every celebration or holiday the world over, centers around some kind of ceremonial feast.

Food is a vehicle for nurturing people. A way of showing love, affection, and hospitality, for breaking the ice socially, for expressing gratitude, for celebrating life, and even for coping with death, e.g., the repast that customarily takes place after a burial.

It serves a multitude of emotional functions that have become inextricably woven into the fabric of our interpersonal world.