Eating at the table is so yesterday. According to a newly released survey, more people are eating dinner on the couch and in the bedroom, even though getting food on the blankets is probably one of the crumbiest things that could ever happen to someone’s sleeping quarters. Breakfast in bed is a thing, though, so why stop there?
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More than 1,000 people participated in the first annual Cooking at Home Report by June, an appliance company credited with creating the world’s first smart oven. The results show that 72 percent of respondents said they grew up eating dinner at the dining room table, but only 48 percent do so today. Perhaps some participants live in a city, where many apartments are too small for a table.
The couch (or sofa, depending where you’re from) has become a popular place to dine at home. Thirty percent of those surveyed claimed that that was their surface of choice, while 17 percent prefer to eat in bed. The report offers no explanation for why people are eating in these places, but hopefully they don’t have high-thread-count sheets of Egyptian cotton because stains are a real bother. Not to mention that carpets are 700 times dirtier than your toilet seat, so you’re better off tossing dropped food immediately.
Even though fewer people are eating at the table, they’re still cooking. This is huge, considering consumers are busier than ever and it’s so convenient to order takeout. Fifty percent of respondents said they cook four or more times a week. Eighty-six percent of men and 89 percent of women said they find the skill attractive in a date.
Those who don’t cook claim they don’t have the time to. If it’s for a group of people, forget it. Forty-four percent of people said they were intimidated by cooking for others, and millennials are especially apprehensive. Baby boomers (those born between 1944 and 1964) are four and a half times more confident in cooking than those born between 1980 and 1994. Advanced kitchen skills certainly come with experience and age, but there are 10 reasons your food never tastes as great as your grandma’s did.