Cooking talent influences food preferences, research
Half of Australians said they often received compliments on their cooking, while 21 per cent said they would rather clean than cook, according to findings from market research organisation Roy Morgan Research. But does a person’s talent (or lack thereof) in the kitchen have any bearing on the kind of food they enjoy eating?
Roy Morgan Research said its findings showed that attitudes to cooking had a significant impact on people’s taste in food.
Cooking fans enjoy eating most foods
Compared to the population average, Australians who agreed with the statement ‘People often compliment me on my cooking’ were 19 per cent more likely to say they enjoyed eating vegetarian food, 18 per cent more likely to enjoy eating bagels and 16 per cent more likely to enjoy health food.
In fact, this group tended to be more likely than the average Australian to enjoy eating most kinds of food: from salads and seafood to hamburgers and hot chips.
“The latest findings from Roy Morgan Research reveal that a person’s cooking skills appear to be linked to their enjoyment of food in general,” said Angela Smith, Group Account Director, Roy Morgan Research.
“People who often receive compliments on their cooking are more likely than the average Aussie to enjoy eating 20 of the 21 food types we measure, spanning healthy, international, and fast-food options,” Ms Smith said. “They are bang on average for their enjoyment of the one remaining food type, Chiko Rolls,” she said.
People who prefer cooking more likely to enjoy particular foods
Roy Morgan Research found that people from the ‘I would rather clean than cook any day’ camp did not share this enthusiasm for a variety of foods.
This group were 12 per cent less likely than the average Australian to enjoy vegetarian cuisine, 17 per cent less likely to like bagels, and 9 per cent less likely to enjoy Health Food.
They were also less likely to enjoy sushi, seafood, salads and soups than the average Australian.
They were, however, more likely than the average Australian to enjoy chicken nuggets (10 per cent more likely) and hot dogs (10 per cent more likely).
Ms Smith said that, in contrast to the people who were complimented on their cooking people who would rather clean than cook “simply don’t share this same wide-ranging enthusiasm for food, being less likely than the average Aussie to enjoy most of the food types we measure”.
“These people tend to be young couples living together or members of older households,” Ms Smith said. “In general, they dine out less than the average Australian except for when it comes to eating at fast-food restaurants (they are slightly above average in this respect),” she said.
“In this food-obsessed day and age, it’s important for food marketers and retailers to remember that not everyone worships at the altar of celebrity chefs and aspires to culinary greatness,” Ms Smith said. “However, these people do need to eat – so it’s a matter of finding a way to communicate with them that resonates,” she said.
