After a chat with Maryam Noori on all things cooking, she concluded that our conversation has made her think about the generation’s relationship to food from the reasons why we pay for expensive brunches to the struggles of cooking with a busy lifestyle.

 

Throughout our conversation, she replied fast and firm to the questions I had asked her about her eating habits. There was no indication that she was ashamed for eating out on a regular basis or embarrassed that she can only make scrambled eggs and avocado on toast.

 

“But it’s not gonna change my ways, unfortunately,” she laughed.

 

Plenty of millennials are still unsure of where their lives are headed, but for Noori, she’s set on not having to cook.

 

“My parents told me the other day that if you don’t have a passion to learn how to do something or be interested in something, then you’re not going to go out and do it. And I don’t have the need to go out and cook,” she said.

 

A survey conducted by Ipsos Australia showed 40 per cent of Australians have a passion for food, including millennials.

 

But is passion the only thing that stops young people from turning on the stove?

 

Noori thinks it all comes down to passion, interest, and laziness. Also because she’s comfortable knowing there will always be home-cooked food in the house.

 

The 22-year-old defines young millennials today: she works full time, studies on the side and is still living at home.

 

The ABS’ Multi-Purpose Household Survey depicted a proportion of 18 to 34-year-olds who never left home was a total of 31 per cent in 2012 to 2013 compared to the 2006 to 2007 results of 27 per cent.

 

For many millennials who are still living at home, it is the comfort of knowing that someone would have already prepared dinner by the time you get home, like Noori’s mother.

 

Noori admitted she only has time on the weekend to cook but isn’t going to spend her free time making anything “sophisticated".

 

You see, the young generation lives in a strange paradox: we are a lot more food savvy and at times, snobbish, yet we have no interest in making it.

 

But there is an exception. Meet Hannah Tamayo.

 

Tamayo picked up the phone Monday evening, and I was surprised when I didn’t hear any signs of tiredness in her voice. Instead, she was excited to share her idea for the name of her up-and-coming online dessert business.

 

“So, get this: My name is Hannah, right? What do you think of Han-Made?”

 

The 24-year-old used to be a baker at a trendy coffee and donut joint in Barangaroo – one that fuels the millennials’ need to buy eccentric-flavoured donuts like Earl Grey & rose and maple bacon only to liven up their Instagram feed.

 

She had to put time off work to help out with the family salon business and to develop Han-Made. However, she used to be seen bustling away in the kitchen right behind the large display shelf of donuts.

 

Tamayo and a few other young bakers were constantly moving about carrying industrial trays and checking the cling-wrapped timer for signs of a raised dough.

 

Watching her work in a commercial kitchen, you would think she has been in the industry for a while, but Tamayo was hired with no professional experience and claimed her passion is what got her in.

 

“I think you need to have a passion for it. Working in hospitality in the kitchen is long hours, on your feet, it’s mentally demanding – unless you’re passionate about it and you really want to be there, you won’t make it,” said Sarah Oxborough.

 

Oxborough is Tamayo’s bread making teacher at TAFE. Although she believes passion is needed to work in the industry, she also sees cooking as a vocation, which serves many reasons as to why anyone would want to pursue it and where passion doesn’t necessarily need to exist.

 

She recalled having a student in her cupcake decorating class who turned out to be a crime scene investigator needing an escape from the trials and tribulations of that particular career.

 

“It’s not just because you want to work in hospitality or be a chef. Just for relief. Like going to a pottery class and doing something a little different,” Oxborough said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooking teacher Jennifer Gleeson echoes these thoughts.

 

Gleeson is a teacher at Kenvale College, a tourism and hospitality management college.

 

As I waited to see her, I had a peek inside one of their commercial training kitchens. Chef Dominique ‘Dom’ Roux-Salembien and now a teacher at Kenvale, popped outside to chat while simultaneously convincing me to follow him on Instagram.

 

While I see his young students pacing around the kitchen through the full glass panel behind Dom, I asked if this is still a favourite career option for millennials to which he merely pursed his lips and shook his head.

 

The college has been experiencing an increase of interest in commercial cookery, especially in younger students. But does cooking only apply to those who are interested in it?

 

“You don’t have to be full on into it. Food is a science, the way the ingredients come together to make something different,” Gleeson said. “I think that’s a really lazy excuse of ‘it’s not my thing, so I just eat whatever.”

 

The millennials themselves seem to find this a problem. Tamayo left no pause or hesitation in saying that cooking is still a critical skill to have. She often brings food from home and described herself as “quite stingy” to save up to get Han-Made off the ground.

 

Non-cook millennial Noori envies her parents’ repertoire of recipes and worries she can’t pass the skills on to her future family.

 

“I also think that our generation is very adaptable. As quickly as we change jobs, I feel like we can quickly adapt to certain situations at home. So when we move out, we’re going to learn different kinds of recipes,” she said.

 

Noori believes the young crowd will sustain themselves as we have plenty of resources compared to our parents. Although it has barely left a dent in her, she thanks Buzzfeed’s Tasty videos overtaking her Facebook timeline as one of the ways to spark some interest in millennials.

 

Can 60-second, fast-motion videos creating comfort foods, like churro ice cream bowls and mozzarella stick onion rings, replace traditional forms of cooking schools?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the increasing reliance on social media for all go-to millennial needs, cooking was bound to be a big hit. Tasty has gained over 30 million followers on the platform with a constant flow of views.

 

It has become so popular there have been spin-offs like Proper Tasty (UK’s version) and a Tasty Junior for kids. They even marketed themselves as ‘the new cooking coach’ with apps available to download on smartphones.

 

It’s easy to get sucked into watching the videos, as one scrolls through their Facebook feed, even if there is no desire to cook. Just the thought of being able to concoct a simple and comforting meal under five minutes is appealing even for the time-pull society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wanitha Tanasingam, one of the creative directors at culinary school VictorsFood, doesn’t deny Youtube’s teaching ability due to its convenience and broad access but it loses out on a few aspects. There is no opportunity to ask specific questions to clarify any doubt during the process.

 

“In a cooking class, when you have doubts, you have the answer right away and the direct interaction with the food. You watch how the food is being done – it’s a different dynamic. 

 

“You learn a lot more when you’re a person in the class, and you are the one doing the dicing, mincing, the sautéing. You actually understand it a little bit more," she pressed.

 

Dr Tamara Bucher, a senior researcher at the University of Newcastle, stated technology would become useful in teaching cooking education. She noted that cooking schools and social media might also have more similar attributes than one may think.

 

While traditional cooking classes can teach essential nutrition and the essence of what healthy food is, Bucher argues the same can ultimately be delivered through tablets and video channels on Youtube.

 

As a part of her research, Bucher is a strong advocate for reintroducing cooking classes as an essential part of a school’s curriculum. Coming from Switzerland where schools have maintained cooking classes as an integral part of the syllabus, Bucher wishes to see change and movement to have health and nutrition education play a more significant role in Australian schools.

 

“It’s true that cooking skills and food skills have declined, and it’s not as seen as a relevant part within schools. Actually, at the moment, some change is happening, and we are looking how we can incorporate education in food and nutrition back into schools a bit more.

 

“Because obviously, it’s an essential skill and it’s not happening at home or not every kid gets an equal education," said Bucher.

 

Food technology is in the syllabus in Year 7 and 8. However, there is little focus on human nutrition and health. There is also a lack of resources and clear guidance like lesson plans and standardised tests on what kids should know.

 

Teaching necessary cooking skills long after high school is also not so accessible. Most cooking classes options are mostly places such as continuing education like TAFE or the highly esteemed Le Cordon Bleu; otherwise, millennials with no passion in food, seeking some aid in the cooking department, are left with hardly any options.

 

Gleeson explained most places cater to specific interests, such as cake decorating or training to become a barista.

 

“More specifically basics, I don’t think is as readily available. It’s more about seeking those passions,” said cooking teacher Jennifer Gleeson.

 

In the end, the only viable solution is to teach the skill young and have it integrated as a compulsory subject.

 

From the opinion of a cooking teacher, Tanasingam believes cooking is as important as learning to read and write and should be taught along with other mandatory subjects.

 

“Cooking classes allow you to be in a frame of using your left and right brains. You need to be organized, you need to be analytical, but then the creative aspect is also very important,” Tanasingam continued.

 

“And with cooking, you need to eat, right? So why don’t you learn the art of cooking? Tell me how many people will refuse if you say, come over to my house, I’ll feed you.”