Culinary Dreams or Kitchen Nightmares: Can Brits cook from memory?
- Over 40% of Brits say that they can cook more than 10 meals without looking at a recipe
- Women triumph over men, with half of the UK’s female population able to cook more than 10 recipes without consulting a cookbook, compared with just 35% of men
- 4% of Brits – over 2.7 million residents – say that would be unable to cook any meals from memory
Almost half of the nation’s adults could cook more than a week’s worth of dinners from memory, a recent study shows.
Analysing data drawn from YouGov, online kitchen equipment retailer Maxima Kitchen Equipment identified that 43% of Brits – over 29 million adults – felt confident that they could cook ten or more meals from memory, without consulting a recipe.
It was also revealed that women are far more confident in their culinary skills, with half of the UK’s female population able to cook more than 10 recipes from memory, compared with just 35% of men able to stake a similar claim.
Age and experience play a large role in one’s ability to cook from memory. Young adults aged 18-24 show the weakest culinary prowess, with a majority of 27% saying that they would only be able to cook a total of 1-3 dishes without looking at a recipe.
Ages 25 and upward gain the most confidence in their cookery skills, with each age category thereon sharing a majority leaning towards being able to cook 10+ meals without written prompts.
The strongest group of cooks are those aged 50-65, of which 56% claim to be able to cook a variety of meals from memory.
Around 2.7 million UK residents – 4% of the population – say that would be unable to cook any meals from memory.
How many meals could you comfortably prepare without consulting a recipe? (UK)
| All | Male | Female | 18-24 | 25-49 | 50-65 | 65+ | |
| None | 4% | 6% | 2% | 7% | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| Around 1-3 | 14% | 17% | 10% | 27% | 15% | 9% | 10% |
| Around 4-6 | 18% | 19% | 17% | 23% | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| Around 7-9 | 13% | 13% | 14% | 11% | 14% | 12% | 15% |
| More than 10 | 43% | 35% | 51% | 23% | 36% | 56% | 52% |
Analysing further data, Maxima Kitchen Equipment found that Brits hold a slight edge over our American cousins when it comes to feeding ourselves, our friends and our families.
Despite a larger population, only 39% of US residents feel confident in their ability to prepare ten or more meals from memory. A larger portion – 36% of young Americans aged 18-24 – feel that they would only be able to create 1-3 meals without consulting a recipe.
Over 19 million American adults – a total of 6% of the population – claim that they would be unable to prepare any meals from memory.
How many meals could you comfortably prepare without consulting a recipe? (USA)
| All | Male | Female | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55+ | |
| None | 6% | 8% | 5% | 8% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 5% |
| Around 1-3 | 19% | 22% | 16% | 36% | 27% | 21% | 11% | 12% |
| Around 4-6 | 21% | 24% | 18% | 31% | 28% | 20% | 18% | 15% |
| Around 7-9 | 10% | 10% | 31% | 6% | 11% | 11% | 13% | 9% |
| More than 10 | 39% | 31% | 46% | 14% | 22% | 36% | 47% | 54% |
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson of Maxima Kitchen Equipment said: “It is interesting to see the disparity among age groups when it comes to cooking from memory.
“With countless recipes and cooking videos readily accessible at the touch of a smartphone’s screen, it stands to reason that younger generations would not need to actively “store” recipes in their memories.”
The research was carried out by Maxima Kitchen Equipment, which has more than 40 years of experience in the supply and maintenance of professional kitchen equipment.
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