Cooking and relationships: though they may seem like two loosely related areas in life, the truth is they go hand-in-hand. How, you ask? Cooking is an activity, just like any hobby, that allows a couple to connect on a more intimate level, to be creative, have fun and strengthen their relationship.
For those who love cooking, the idea of preparing a homemade meal with your partner may sound exciting. To others who prefer to eat out, it may seem cringe-worthy and unnecessary. Regardless of wherever you lie on the cooking-lover spectrum, spending time in the kitchen as a couple can help deepen the bond between the two of you, with delicious results, touching all the senses. There is no doubt cooking is a universally appealing skill, and knowing a trick or two around a kitchen is a desirable quality in a partner. It has little to do with your level of skill and everything to do with the fact that you are simply willing to commit into creating something yourself, to dedicate the time and effort to cook. So it’s the thought that counts, not so much how great your lasagne will look and taste (extra points if it’s edible :). Even making something as simple as scrambled eggs or a French toast can bring people closer because they made it together.
Learning together
Not sure what purée or julienne means? Don’t know which knife to use to cut the vegetables and which to cut fish? While you could use Google, asking your partner will make them feel valued and needed. And even if he doesn’t know the answer, you can learn new things together. We’re not all professional cooks, which is precisely the allure of cooking with a significant other. Two people can have even greater ideas on how to make the dish tastier.
It’s not a competition, though, but a team work. The goal is just to have a good time and make something delicious together. Not only will you learn about culinary terms and techniques, but you will also learn more about your significant other on a deeper level. Soon you’ll learn his or her favourite meal to prepare. Who taught him how to cook, and what is his fondest cooking memory? Most of our fondest memories are formed in the kitchen; whether it’s your grandma teaching you how to make pasta dough or kids telling you how their day has been. Cooking is a simple way to expand your knowledge individually while growing as a team.
Improve your communication skills
Professional cooks prepare a large volume of food during meals in a commercial kitchen. The pace is hectic with various dangers, including steamy rooms, cuts on sharp utensils, burns, and falls on slippery kitchen floors. Communication is a key component of keeping the kitchen running smoothly while reducing any risks of injuries or arguments. While home cooking is done a much smaller scale, it still requires immeasurable amounts of communication if anything will get done on time (without getting your dish burned or overcooked!).
Without communication, arguments can ensue and time, energy and resources are wasted. This results in both parties feeling irritated and hangry. Being able to get along in the kitchen is helpful for the two of you to stay on the same page as a couple. Clear communication – that is, listening and responding with thought – is a sign of respect. Respecting your partner’s role and prior agreed responsibilities (I do the pasta, and you do the sauce) will foster an atmosphere of cooperation and teamwork.
You’re in this together!
Everyone loves enjoying the results of their cooking work, and sometimes the results can be surprisingly exciting (it tastes better than it looks!). It is even more enjoyable when you share these results with your partner – because you’ve done it together. Above all, it’s the intentions, love and care that went into the meal that count. The biggest satisfaction you will feel does not come from the food itself, but rather, from knowing that you and your partner were able to work together, as a team, toward a common goal. And that skill is desirable beyond cooking; you can apply it to pretty much all the things you do in life as a couple; raising kids, furnishing your home etc.
Spending time in the kitchen creates an experience to the two of you, and it’s different every time.
