The Romance of Cooking With Your Significant Other

PREPARING and eating food is a universal constant – every single one of us must eat to survive, but the day-in, day-out need to cook can get dull.

Instead of seeing cooking as a chore, another thing to argue over whose turn it is to grab a frozen ready meal and sling it in the microwave, take the time to whip up a feast with your loved one.

A task shared is a task halved – and doing things with another is simply much more fun anyway, especially someone you love.

In a busy world, it can be hard to find a good time to spend with our loved ones, yet here is a golden opportunity on a regular basis to spend quality time with each other.

Nothing says cooking must be a mechanical chore – pop open a bottle of wine to enjoy as you chop the vegetables and enjoy talking with each other, celebrating the day’s highs and commiserating the day’s lows. Sharing the kitchen is an ideal time to engage with each other.

And by working together to create – quite literally – a dish to enjoy you are working to a common goal Whether the pizza is an epic failure of burnt cheese or you whip up a three-course extravaganza is beside the point, it was an experience you shared together, to enjoy together or to laugh at together. A modern family is an exercise in teamwork and what better place to hone that team effort? Especially when the results are potentially so rewarding for you both. Whether you divide-and-conquer the prep or stir the bowl with both of your hands on the spoon, you are understanding and appreciating each other’s needs, skills, and interests.

Two minds are also better than one – by ourselves, we fall into the path of least resistance, opting for easy choices and a lack of challenge. By bouncing ideas off each other, we naturally will try new things out, whether it is flavors and ingredients, or attempting new techniques and using new kitchen utensils and tools – and in a couple, don’t we all like showing off a little to our loved one?

And, finally, there is the eating. Food may be essential to survival, but it is also one of humanity’s greatest sensual pleasures – making us use not just our sense of taste, but also enjoying the smell of ingredients, the sounds of cooking heightening our anticipation, the sight of a delicious meal and the feel of the different textures of ingredients and dishes. Sharing this sensual stimulus with your loved one is the perfect way to start an evening of romance together.