4 ways our eating has evolved

Our role in the kitchen and how we eat our food have gone through many changes over the years. If the space where we prepare food were to be stripped of its walls and modern appliances, we would almost find ourselves back to the days when our ancestors first discovered fire and its role in preparing food. Here are four ways in which our eating has evolved:

A demand for more plant-based food 

Even as meat sales are increasing, we are seeing increasing demand for plant-based diets.

According to west Africa-based journalist Anna Pujol-Mazzini in her article How vegetarianism is going back to its roots in Africa, Joburg and Cape Town are at the forefront of the plant-based diet movement in Africa, with more vegetarian restaurants opening across the continent.

Plant-based diets are promoted as the healthier option adopted by early humans before a shift in climate limited the supply of edible plants, forcing them to find alternative sources of energy.

Female chefs are smashing gender norms 

The idea that the kitchen was the domain of women changed aeons ago when restaurants started opening. Men began to take cooking seriously as a profession, and, as a result, women were kept out of cooking professionally so that men could enjoy all the entrepreneurial opportunities while women were expected to only make food for survival and to feed families.

We are seeing more and more women entering the culinary world and making a name for themselves. South African chef Chantel Dartnall comes to mind for winning global Best Female Chef Award in 2017.

Cooking made a whole lot easier 

Technological innovations such as the Instant Pot 7-in-1 Smart Cooker have made extraordinary cooks out of people who were previously intimidated by the kitchen.

There are many appliances – fryers and grillers, as well as ice cream and pasta makers – that have made cooking easy.

Ready-to-heat meals have also stepped up their game, like the new Ready to Chef range from Checkers, which takes the stress out of cooking for those who can’t stand the heat in the kitchen.

Tailor made packs 

Initiatives such as UCook, FitChef and Daily Dish are aimed at making the cooking experience as affordable and as particular as it can get through selling food packs with ingredients for cooking specific food for a specific number of people, for a specific number of meals you’d like to make per week. These packages may go a long way towards encouraging people to start cooking and eating more healthily.

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