Hunger for good food leaves me clutching for my wallet

She looked at me and asked, “Can you cook?”. It was a question I expected, but not this soon. The day before, a male friend advised me that Chinese women love it when a man cooks for them.

I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, I’d replied.

Here I was on a first date and I had to confess an awkward truth. Yes, I can cook … but I haven’t for months. My workplace has a canteen, so I rely on that for dinner and buy lunch from a nearby shop.

My answer seemed to placate her. Although I felt embarrassed, I shouldn’t have. Cooking doesn’t come naturally to many people. The talented ones are either taught by a parent from an early age or have a passion and pay for classes. The rest of us are like scavengers, grateful for any morsel that comes into view. I belong in the latter camp. Judging from the popularity of the office canteen, so do many of my colleagues.

Before I came to China, there was no canteen to rely upon so I cooked. I had a few stock recipes: a vegetable chili, a pasta sauce and a meat and veg combo. Sometimes, I felt pleasure from eating the healthy meals I made.

But on the whole, it wasn’t worth the grief.

First, I had to navigate a supermarket. I hated the repetitive trawl through the aisles, searching for items, comparing prices and trying to avoid temptation. Second, I found that preparing the ingredients can take almost as long as the cooking. Finally, I had to watch my simmering creation to make sure it or the kitchen didn’t go on fire.

After all that effort, what I made sometimes tasted odd or disgusting. On those occasions, I had the humiliation of throwing out what I’d spent all that time and money creating. I quickly grew fed up.

Social pressure to be good in the kitchen can be intense. TV cookery shows and their spinoff books are popular across the world. At dinner parties, people talk about their favorite recipes and give tips on how to create the perfect dish.

But there’s a dirty secret that’s never discussed: The vast majority of these glossy recipe books are never acted upon. They’re treated as picture books to peruse before bedtime.

Even the most talented cooks will occasionally sneak off to a fastfood restaurant or buy a sandwich wrapped in plastic. In modern life, finding the time or energy to cook every day is impossible.

It doesn’t help that food is an emotive subject. Just talking about it can make one hungry, a basic human impulse. I think it sets off a certain delirium in people. Some foods are marketed as organic “superfoods” that guarantee good health. Meanwhile, greasy snacks or sweets are branded harmful.

I ignore the hype. The one diet we can all follow is a balanced one, provided you have no medical issues.

Eating a little bit of everything seems the best course to plot. There’s a whole spectrum of delicious flavors to be explored, so why limit yourself?

One day, I hope the snobbery around food will be replaced with a simple affection. A key part of the economy provides ready meals and snacks for the silent majority. Those on high horses should remember that.

I’ll resume cooking when circumstances dictate. Probably when I’m forced to prove to a potential love interest that I’m not completely useless. In the meantime, I’ll get my meals from the experts. I know it costs more money but if you’d sampled some of my cooking you’d understand.