Ordering out is probably much more popular now than it ever was. Even before the covid shutdowns, services like Uber Eats and DoorDash put restaurant foods in peoples homes for a nominal delivery fee. I am not bashing this service, I use it myself. However, the convenience has led to many people who wouldn’t ordinarily have an interest in cooking or preparing better meals, wanting to learn. This is simply my observation. I’m fairly sure that between food delivery and food network, learning to cook well, has become a popular activity.
That being the case, I can’t help but wonder if people will raise their expectations on restaurant food. I know that I have a very simple criteria before I pay for restaurant food: it has to be at least as good as I can make at home, or have a hard to acquire ingredient. Naturally that is setting aside those guilty pleasure foods. I absolutely love fast food fish sandwiches, drive through gyros, and a certain burger chains hamburgers. However, my expectations on going to more expensive restaurants remains high. I am paying for a dining experience, not the same thing I am capable of providing at home for less money. I am not in any way referring to fine dining. In my experience dive restaurants and small family run places have far superior food than a coat and tie stuffed room. Forgive me if that sounds crass or snobby, but to me it’s just making sure I put my money into a worthwhile experience. I am certain that many home cooks and chefs feel the same way; barring their own guilty pleasures. I got my start at a college diner back in 1995; and I still love good crunchy hashbrowns covered in eggs, cheese and sausage. My next restaurant job was at a popular “Italian” chain restaurant and I still can’t turn down pasta fagiole or zuppa tuscana.
Food has that way of bringing us back to certain moments or periods in our lifetime. Gumbo always takes me back to my aunts house. We stayed with her during a hurricane evacuation when I was young and the smell of gumbo sends me right back to that time. Fried seafood sends me to my parents camp. Smiling and laughing while my father and I would clean fish “nuggets” and then mom would fry up fresh dinner with potato salad. I still can’t nail her potato salad, and I’ve tried repeatedly.
I want to make sure that when I cook, I give other people the memories that my family gave me. Those types of memories are something that restaurant food won’t replicate in the same way.
That is why, it has to be something special for me to pay for it.
I am often curious about what motivated other home cooks to gain their passion for food. Beyond the need to feed their family, naturally. For myself it’s a mixture of wanting to provide those memories, and food being my own creative outlet. Some artists paint or sculpt, I cook. It really is that simple for me. I enjoy taking those raw ingredients and turning it into something wonderful that will tease the senses and leave a lasting impression. Perhaps there is a bit of narcissism in that, I won’t lie.
In any event, the next time you pick up the internet machine to place a door dash order, ask yourself if you can’t create what you are about to order for less money. Doing that will both help you home your skills, and give your family memories ; but, it will also let you put more money into either a another meal or another hobby.