Crushing garlic, peeling spuds, descaling fish – it doesn’t sound very alluring. However, it seems that cheffing is high on the “when I grow up I want to be…” list of many young children.

New cookery books flood the shelves each month, all designed to show you how to tickle the taste buds and titillate the senses. One that caught my eye this week, Food Facts from the Kitchen Front, is filled with no-nonsense war-time recipes reproduced from the original 1941 edition (Harper Collins).

There’s no denying that our eating habits have changed dramatically since then. In those days, apart from professional chefs, men were rarely seen in the kitchen. In the interim, however, they have realised that they can enjoy and be good at cooking. In fact, so many men are going to cookery classes and demonstrations, one wonders if they are using them as a way to meet new people. You know what they say – the way to a man’s heart... and all that.

Two chefs who have made an impact on the demonstration scene are Ruth Wassell and Andrew Rudd. They hold regular evening lessons in the uber-stylish Houseworks showrooms on Erne Street in Dublin. After very informal demonstrations, where everyone sits on high stools around the cooking station, the assembled crowd moves to tables to enjoy good conversation and the delicious goodies they have seen being prepared.

“It’s a great way of meeting others who share a love of food,” says Wassell. “You don’t have to be a good cook, or indeed a cook at all, to enjoy such an event.”

Their demonstrations are so popular that they are holding them more frequently. “We would have up to 24 people for our lunch demonstrations on Saturdays and we’ve had some great nights here.”

Together with Rudd, Wassell hosts dinner demos/parties most Friday nights in Houseworks. They make an affable duo, engaging the diners with chat and anecdotes, while preparing delicious dishes – and making it look so simple to do.

“Food is a great leveller and always gets people talking,” says Rudd. “It really doesn’t matter whether you come along on your own or with a friend because these are great social occasions and, by the end of the night, everyone is talking to each other.”

Such demos/dinners/lunches in Houseworks cost €75 and include a couple of glasses of wine.

The Cooks Academy in Dún Laoghaire, which is open seven days a week, has long recognised the potential of food as a means to introductions. According the academy, it has a great cross section coming to the classes, but men tend to go for the fish, Thai cooking and barbecuing rather than the cake and baking ones. However, it’s the once-a-month Friday Night Suppers that have really taken off, with many people attending these on their own.

They are hands-on nights, where everyone gets involved in the preparation of a starter, main course and dessert. At the end of the evening, they all sit down together over a glass of wine. The Friday Night Supper Club, which costs €70, has been running for some years now and June’s event is already booked out.

Could it be that all this sharing of conviviality, good vitals and fine dining could also be the start of new friendships? If so, Wassell and Rudd are available to cater for small dinner parties in private homes!

What do you think?
Are cookery classes a good way to make new friends?
Are people meeting up in homes now rather than the pub?