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| In a world dominated by the TV, the PC, the Play Station, the Mobile Phone and by an increasingly hysterical work-ethic that even John Calvin would envy, the "family unit" often appears to have suffered an irrevocable disintegration. |
| Already badly mauled by prevailing sociological attitudes, the beleaguered family nucleus is torn into pieces and scattered to the winds, by mere dint of the frenzied, frantic and overloaded lives a growing number of us are leading. Leaving aside the discourse surrounding the "nervous breakdown" (a protean concept at best) and before this article has you reaching for the Prozac, let us spare a moment to consider the kitchen. |
| The kitchen is probably the very last stronghold of the family as a united entity. In fact, let us salute the important social function that an efficient "living kitchen" can perform. A kitchen by definition is an area given over principally to the preparation of food, but it should not be geared towards that purpose exclusively. Such a space might include a fairly spacious table where food may be prepared at one end whilst homework may be executed simultaneously at the other. The important point is to avoid dogma - in all areas of life - but especially in the kitchen! |
| Is it not clear, that the whole family can participate in the preparation of food, from chopping, cooking, stealing a 'taster' or setting the table? And I consider myself a liberal (note the small 'l'). You don't have to have gone through a ceremony of marriage and the children do not need to be biologically yours. Far be it from me to moralise, when I say "Family", I mean "Family" in a broad sense. And when everyone has finally finished helping, and getting in each other's way and arguing and fighting and screaming and threatening, ultimately the family arrives at the moment of fulfilment when all take their place around the table to enjoy the delights that a modern, efficient kitchen and an averagely skilled cook can produce. |
| Some years ago, convenience foods were all the rage, but now increased levels of health awareness have drawn our attentions to the dangers of additives, preservatives, dreaded E-numbers and the general processing jiggery pokery that may well give you cancer. In the light of these considerations, there has been a swift, popular and heart warming return to traditional fresh cooking, but, alas, the modern family is no longer happy with "meat and three veg" day after day: Monday - Italian; Tuesday - Chinese; Wednesday - barbeque; Thursday - no time, something quick; Friday - Indian; Saturday - friends coming round, buffet and on Sunday - roast dinner. I blame the internet! |
| Creeping globalisation has meant that the modern cook needs high tech appliances and kitchen equipment to make the job of cooking fun. Otherwise, everyone's sophisticated; health conscious 'la-de-da' tastes make cooking a hideous nightmare. Grandma didn't need a wok nor would she know what one was even if it leapt up and bit her on the bottom and good for her. We were a lot happier in the 19th century when every one knew their place. |
| So, a kitchen - a place to live, a place to relax, a place to chat and a place to cook; a place to entertain, high tech mixed with tradition - the necessary recipe for a successful kitchen. |
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