He lives in a shoebox student apartment. It had just enough space for a mini stovetop with two burners and a microwave. It's hardly a kitchen, but it works. Next to the sink was a dish rack, which was drying off two mugs and a plate. Without needing to stretch your arm, you can pluck a packet of mie goreng and some staple sauces from the overhead pantry.

 

With the kitchen in such proximity to everything else – the bed, the desk and the ensuite – there was no lingering smell of smoke of last night's dinner. If it wasn't clear that Akmal Nahdi has barely touched his single pot and pan, it was obvious now.

 

"I can't cook at all," he exclaimed. "At all."

 

Nahdi is the epitome of a young university student. From busy class schedules to his non-existent cooking abilities, he – like many of his friends – relies on outside food often to survive.

 

In a 2015 Nielsen survey, six in ten Australian millennials eat out at least once a week and 58 per cent of them are eating out more often despite being tight on both time and money.

 

Welcome to the nation of non-cooks.

 

The same is happening in the US. A survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in America shows that people aged 15 to 24 have spent an average of between 11 and 17 minutes daily on food preparation in the past decade.

 

Millennials in Australia aren't as bad, however. Academic director at Kenvale College of Tourism & Hospitality Management, Sandra Clark, says Australians are only willing to spend a maximum of half an hour on meal prep.

 

Kelly Weikel, director of consumer insights at Technomic, told Market Watch it's not always realistic for millennials to cook because they are constantly time-pressed.

 

Instead of stir-frying their vegetables, millennials would very much prefer to pay someone else to do it. Despite the lousy reputation university students have for being broke, they are still eating out more in comparison to eating at home.

 

In the same Nielsen survey, out of 13 listed top spare time activities, cooking is the second least popular activity within Generation Z. Cooking isn't even in the top five for millennials.

 

The number of us that are cooking is dropping through every generation. The millennials' older counterparts are eating out and ordering take-away a lot less ; 55 per cent of 35 to 49-year-olds and 43 per cent of 50 to 64-year-olds-are eating out at least once a week according to the Dietitians Association of Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since regularly consuming instant noodles hardly gives any appropriate nutrition, Nahdi has since relied on catering to feed himself throughout his studies at the University of New South Wales.

 

For $50, he gets one full meal a day either for lunch or dinner every weekday; this doesn't include the other meals he buys out or his occasional grocery shopping of fruits and snacks.

 

It turns out catering is an attractive and healthier option for busy university students in Sydney.

 

Nahdi turns to 24-year-old Gita Zhahara. What started out as just everyday cooking for her and her husband, she thought it would be fun to cook for others and also as a way to get extra income.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Currently, she only advertises in student housings around UNSW ("I'm not confident to sell it to the public yet!") because she empathises with their hectic lives and poor eating habits.

 

"It's also cool to just help out with their studies," she laughed.

 

Zhahara would buy fresh produce on the day she makes her boxes. She thanks her great grandma, grandma and her mother for her interest in cooking.

 

"I was used to cooking from a very early age, and I understood how to shop for the right stuff and prepping food and planning meals," she explained.

 

Does this millennial think it's important for young people to cook?

 

"You need it to survive and in my opinion, how we eat and what we eat is important to how we live our lives," she replied. She also goes on to say it plays a significant role if millennials are planning on having a family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sitting comfortably on the edge of his single bed, Nahdi doesn't let his lack of necessary self-sufficient skills get to him. When asked if cooking will ever appeal to him, he doesn't shy away from his inability to cut onions: "Ok, here's my problem right: I can't even use a knife. I don't know how to cut."

 

Nahdi realizes the importance of learning how to cook but since it's not his passion – nor is he having a family of his own anytime soon – he doesn't feel the need to spend any time on it. Cooking school was once an option, but he hopes to be with someone "who can actually, really cook".

 

This millennial's dependence on someone – or something – isn't a foreign concept. Smartphones and tablets are becoming more of a companion in the kitchen . Research conducted by Google shows 59 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds cook with gadgets in hand.

 

"So the way things tend to go is, technology moves along faster than people's habits," Peter Slattery said.

 

Slattery is the co-founder of the six-month-old startup Compare Meals. They compare meal delivery services such as Youfoodz and Hello Fresh and tailor it to the user's dietary needs, location and budget; it's like the Skyscanner of meal delivery services.

 

Food preparation was at the back of Slattery's mind, and he instead referred to 16-inch pizzas, pasta and bowls of cereal during his undergraduate days in Scotland. Upon moving to UNSW for his doctorate, he stayed in catered accommodation where he founded the Fine Dining Club with 12 other students.

 

The club was all about social cooking, where the students took turns cooking meals for others in exchange for some company. In hindsight, Slattery wished they had spent more time together instead of using up the time to cook and wash up.

 

There's one factor that hasn't been brought to light. The combination of catered accommodation, the Fine Dining Club and the fact that he was a "terrible cook" made Slattery think of a better way for people to get their food.

 

Netflix has caused a decline in the number of people watching TV, the same way Uber paved the way for on-demand services (in fact, Netflix is responsible for 12 per cent of millennials ordering in because they were too engrossed in a series). Slattery is projecting these changes in behaviour when it comes to food: the convenience factor.

 

The development in technology has made millennials grow a comfortable relationship with convenience.

 

Slattery is unable to go back to making his meals; with the rise in popularity of UberEats and Deliveroo and with more millennials having disposable incomes, paying someone else to feed you may just be the future of food consumption.

 

 

 

 

 

Developing a habit of eating food from outside can have negative nutritional impacts.

 

Corporations can take the time-consuming process of frying hot chips and sell it to consumers for peanuts. Making your own food is rifts apart from letting a cheeky Maccas-run tempt you over; you'll never know what goes into the making of a particular dish.

 

Researcher Dr Tamara Bucher at the University of Newcastle lists cooking skills, the psychology of food choice and portion size as a few of her many fields of expertise. She has found out of home eating and snacking has increased a lot, resulting in adverse health consequences, as these foods are often high in energy but low in nutrients.

 

"Restaurant portions can also be very large, and there's a risk of over-consuming because if you eat away from home, you're looking for value for money and you tend to eat and clean the plate," she explained. "At home, you don't have that value for money because you can eat what you need.”

 

Research conducted at several universities around Australia conveyed value for money was the second highest determinant of food-purchasing behaviour, after taste.

 

With the downfall of cooking comes the Eating Out Revolution, whether it’s quinoa salads, junk food, ready-made-meals or meal delivery kits. All are difficult to guess what goes inside, and it can become a detriment to our bodies. This direct result of lack of cooking, along with other consequences, continue to pose a threat to the well-beings of future generations.