Are There Different Types of (Good) Cooks?

      We decided to see if we could track down the mysterious North American Good Cook and get some psychographic snapshots of them and the impact they have. To do this, we surveyed 453 “good cooks” who were considered “way above average” by at least one member of their family. They came from a wide range of ethnicities, income levels, and education levels.  Besides being good cooks, the all had one thing in common – they had never attended culinary school.  Some learned from a parent or on their own, some cooked out of necessity, and some for fun. We asked them 152 questions about how they cooked, what they cooked, when they cooked, what kind or person they were, what they did in their spare time.  Almost everything.   We found that although not all good cooks are created equal, 82% of them fit fairly neatly into one of five personality profiles. They could either be classified as Giving Cooks, Competitive Cooks, Healthy Cooks, Methodical Cooks, or Innovative Cooks.

All of these cooks – except one – appeared to help their family eat healthier. They all did this largely through the variety of food they served.  Serving a wide variety of food can make eating pleasurable and can lead their children and spouse to enjoy a wide range of foods other than the standard, fatty, salty, sweet ones for which we have a natural hankering.
            Which great cook seemed to have the least positive impact on adult eating habits?  Interestingly enough, it was the most common one – the Giving Cook – and they were also the most frequent baker and dessert maker.  Although they still put the stamp of variety on their meals, it was in the form of carbohydrates instead of the form of vegetable-heavy cuisine.
            Does this mean that if you are not a good cook that your children are destined to grow up eating dinners that consist of Dominos Pizza and Cheetos?  No, of course not.
            What it reinforces is that parents can influence the eating habits of their children in either a good way or a bad way.  One key take-away for us “not so good cooks” is the good we cando just by adding more variety to our meals.   How? These good cooks do it by 1) buying different foods, 2) making different recipes (including different ethnic foods), 3) substituting new ingredients into favorite recipes (mainly vegetables and spices), 4) taking kids to the grocery store and letting them choose a new, healthy food, 5) visit authentic ethnic restaurants.  Relevant to the last point, McDonald’s is not a Scottish restaurant.
            When a child develops a taste for a wide range of foods, healthy foods can be more easily substituted for the less healthy ones.  The more he or she will develop a taste for something other than pizza, French fries, candy, and Juicy-Juice. They still may not learn to lovebroccoli, but they will be more willing to eat it occasionally for dinner or with a low calorie ranch dressing as a snack.[i]

                                                                               ----
Picky eater at home? Take heart. Gentle persistence will be rewarded.  One taste does not change a person.  Professor LeAnn Birch suggests that this can take up to 15 one-bite attempts, but most children end up eventually coming around to liking more than just French fries, ice cream, and Jell-o.

Lessons from the Great Cook Next Door
 
All cooks influence their families more than they realize, but great cooks seem to be able to turn children into healthier eaters.  What is a great cook look like?  A study of 453 great cooks, showed that most of them tend to fall into one of five basic groups:[i]
 
• Giving Cooks (22%).  Friendly, well-liked, enthusiastic cooks who specialize on comfort foods for family gatherings and large parties. Giving cooks seldom experiment with new dishes, instead relying on traditional favorites.  The only fault of the Giving Cook is they also tend to provide too many home-baked goodies for their family.  
• Healthy Cooks (20%). Optimistic, book-loving, nature enthusiasts who are most likely to experiment with fish and with fresh ingredients, including herbs.  
• Innovative Cooks (19%).  The most creative, trend-setting of all cooks. They seldom us recipes, they experiment with ingredients, cuisine styles, and cooking methods.
• Methodical Cooks (18%).Often weekend hobbyists who are talented, but who rely heavily on recipes. Although somewhat inefficient in the kitchen, their creations always look exactly like the picture in the cookbook. 
• Competitive Cooks (13%).  The Iron Chef of the neighborhood. Competitive cooks are dominant personalities who cook in order to impress others. These are perfectionists who are intense in both their cooking and entertaining.
 
Do not fit into one of these categories? No worries. Find the cooking personality that best resembles you or that you most aspire to be.  Then simply try to cook at home.  The key is in your habits – your shopping habits, cooking habits, and eating habits. Learn that they do not sell toast in the grocery store. Learn the recipe for boiled water.  Then simply give your children a wide varied diet and reasonable serving sizes.  The food does not have to be great – just varied and reasonably sized.

​ 


     
[i] See Brian Wansink, “Profiling Nutritional Gatekeepers:  Three Methods for Differentiating Influential Cooks,” Food Quality and Preference(June 2003), 14:4, 289-297.