Veteran chef Darina Allen fears that because of parents’ busy lifestyles and the increasing use of
convenience food the art of cooking could die out.
The 71-year-old culinary expert also believes it is a skill that should be taught to youngsters in the country’s schools.
As far back as the 80s, Darina has been responsible for educating the nation on all aspects of food.
The inspiration for her latest book One Pot Feeds All came from her concerns that some families can’t make decent food.
She said: “People come home exhausted from work and pick up the kids from a creche. You need to be superhuman to try to cook a meal from scratch.
“In some cases there are two generations who may not have ever seen their parents cook.
“They grab something, stick it in a microwave, hand it out and often they may not sit at a table. I think a lot of us have forgotten how important the food we eat is to our health, our lifestyle, to our happiness.”
Darina believes cookery is a skill that should be taught in schools and expressed her disappointment that more isn’t being done to make sure that children have the basics.
She added: “Our education system has let us down, we are letting children out of our houses without the practical skills to feed themselves.
“And that plays right into the hands of the multi-national companies, the more de-skilled we are, the better they like it.”
Darina is passionate about organic produce and said Irish people are guilty of eating too much processed food, adding: “They are not getting the
nutrients they need to keep them healthy.”
- One Pot Feeds All is available now priced at €19.99.
