Читать книгу Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table - Nigel Slater - Страница 23

He has swapped his subscription to Playboy for Delicious. He scans the ‘Kitchen Notes’ pages in the Guardian and the Telegraph for the latest gadgets and the hippest ingredients. He orders his organic meat on the internet and gets his groceries by timed delivery. New-man-in-the-kitchen is more au fait with making fettuccine than with putting up shelves. He is more familiar with saucisson than Swarfega, and the only screwdriver he knows comes in a glass with ice and a little dish of olives on the side.

Stroll around London’s Borough Market on a Saturday morning and new-man-in-the-kitchen will be there, picking out a nice sea bass for his supper. Still slightly wary of looking too housewifely, he will go for a big fish, or a piece of meat on the bone, rather than anything ready prepared. It is easier to assert your masculinity when buying a whole octopus than a pack of salmon fillets. Mince is obviously a no-no. Cooking has replaced do-it-yourself as a way to show how much of a man you really are. DIY shops are closing like clam shells in a thunderstorm. Anything involving a knife is fine, though he will probably draw the line at pastry. Kneading bread is now seen as just as much a ‘guy thing’ as knocking down a wall. And he is likely to make just as much mess.

What men’s new-found love of cooking shares with do-it-yourself is that even the most botched attempt will lead to him receiving compliments, having his ego massaged, and being told, repeatedly, how clever he is. As the French say, plus ça change.