The Importance of Being a Little Cook

I wonder if it was my well-fed appearance that often landed me in charge of food for most of my school functions. At the Discovery Camp for our lower secondary school sudents I was put in charge of all meals. On the final day of the Camp, the chef was extremely worried when two of her staff fell sick, and they had to cater food for 600 pax as parents were all invited for a dinner cum concert put up by their sons. The chef requested the teachers for help to cut the fruits and vegetables and to my surprise (euphemism for shock) one of the teachers proudly asserted, "I have never cooked in my whole life.... my maid, mum and fiance cooked for me!"

That was some fifteen years ago. Sadly, things have really not changed much. Some ladies can even proudly declare they do not even know how to cook rice!

In our food paradise, we can always get our meals from coffee shops, food court and restaurants. However, everyone also knows it is not really a good idea to eat out too much as the food, though tasty, usually tend to be too salty, oily or sweet.
I realised how overly oily, salty and sweet our food is when compared to the food served in Taiwan. Though somewhat more bland, yet sufficiently tasty, food served in Taiwan is a healthier choice.

For those readers who can't cook, let me encourage you that cooking is really easy.... much easier than learning a foreign language. The more you practise, the better and faster you get. A simple meal can be whipped up in a matter of minutes.
Despite my busy schedules, I always try to take at least one home-cooked meal.
You can learn from the recipe books or cooking programs on the television. Community Centres also offer affordable cooking lessons. You can be as creative as you want, and you can bless your friends with a cooked dish for some pot-luck parties.

Do not just depend on your maid or your mom to cook for you. I believe everyone can cook if some kind of effort is made. Hence we can understand why some men proudly announce that their wives are great cooks. The old adage still applies, "The way to a man's heart is through his taste buds. :-)