At 23, I cannot cook a meal – and it’s all because of the air fryer

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

Us Brits are known for many things: fish and chips, bad weather, enjoying a pint. But perhaps the thing we take the most pride in is a cup of tea. The debate of milk first, water first has been under way for decades, probably centuries, but now there’s a new, more existential crisis for British tea lovers. (Photo: Teri Pengilley)

The microwave tea trend

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

A new survey has shown that two-thirds of under-30s are dodging the kettle and using the microwave to make tea. Apparently the trend is in part down to kettles being banned in student accommodation because they set off fire alarms, along with the influence of Americans, who are more likely to microwave water to get it to boiling as they don’t use kettles. As a 23-year-old I’m happy to say that I am not a part of this cohort but it feeds into a wider, probably worse, trend, to which I definitely identify: we are simply useless in a kitchen. (Photo: Getty)

#CookinWithBrooklyn

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

Take the Gen Z chef-model-actor-photographer, Brooklyn Beckham. The 26-year-old nepo baby has been much maligned for his culinary skills but #CookinWithBrooklyn has gone full steam ahead nonetheless. Only this week, he posted a video using seawater to boil his pasta. (Photo: Dave J Hogan/Getty)

Only good at cooking the basics

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

As a whole, my generation is clearly lacking on basic skills. I’ve never been able to cook, and one of my early memories of cooking was being forced to sit out of a food tech lesson in school after burning my hand on an oven due to not using the oven gloves right in front of me. I’ve improved since then but for someone approaching their mid-20s, the array of meals I can make is embarrassing. An English breakfast I can manage. Also the most basic of pasta dishes (by which I mean I can buy a jar of pasta sauce). Fajitas (using the Old El Paso kit), pancakes and a basic curry (again, jar) are also a tick. But that is about it. (Photo: Chris Hepburn/Getty/iStockphoto)

Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

Takeaway culture is of course a major culprit. I know people who sometimes order their breakfast, lunch and dinner from Deliveroo. But social media and kitchen appliances have also fuelled my generation’s incompetence in the kitchen. Air fryers have made us lazy. At our hands are multiple gadgets that have simply de-skilled us: a device to cut your onions, fruit, vegetables in one button for less than £10. Why would we use a kitchen knife again when this is on hand? In the four years I’ve lived away from my parents I can count on one hand how many times I’ve used an oven. Companies have done a wonderful job creating a portable machine I can shove anything into for 20 minutes and get back out again cooked. And I mean anything. Chicken breast, beef mince, frozen food, oats or a cake mix. It’s all getting thrust in my air fryer. (Photo: Oscar Wong/Getty)

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

Social media has catalysed just how bad we really are. One video, which received over 300,000 views, showed vegetables simmering in a pan, and praised the benefits of “water-based cooking” as a remedy to clear your skin and recover from illness. It had many critics: “Gen Z discovers soup.” “TikTok has a term for the most basic of things.” They’re not wrong. I won’t be surprised if I hear of people using water-based cooking for their eggs (also known as poaching). (Photo: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

Anything but cooking from scratch

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

And then there’s “girl dinner” – an assortment of picky bits placed on a plate which, according to TikTok, is usually eaten when females are alone. If there’s nothing left to air fry and we can’t afford a takeaway, we’d rather survive on a piece of ham and some olives than consider cooking an actual meal from scratch. (Photo: Gabi Musat/500px/Getty)

A mix of culinary skills

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

Not every young person is a terrible cook, of course. Becca Gibb, 24, and Christopher Murton, 27, both represented youngsters on MasterChef Generations and proved they were genuinely worthy of being in a kitchen. Amongst my friends it’s a mix. “Enchiladas – with the ready made fridge kit so I don’t have to cut or do anything myself,” one friend replies when I ask them what their signature dish is. My sister, aged 20, thinks of herself as a tuna pasta connoisseur. But my boyfriend, 25, can cook mostly anything well – from scratch too. He has introduced me to different types of curry, Greek food, Asian cuisines and my favourite, gnocchi (which I’d never even heard of) – all homemade and cooked from scratch. (Photo: vm/Getty/E+)

A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

The microwave tea trend, #CookinWithBrooklyn, Only good at cooking the basics, Takeaways and kitchen appliances are the major culprits, Social media trends, Anything but cooking from scratch, A mix of culinary skills, A 'freestyle approach' to cooking

One thing that does make him a typical Gen Z cook is that he never uses recipes and doesn’t own a cookbook. According to Waitrose’s latest Food & Drink report, many young people are taking a “freestyle approach” to cooking and prefer using culinary social media hacks instead. We don’t have time to look at pages full of simple instructions for us to follow and produce actual good food! Instead, we make ourselves a cup of tea in the microwave and scroll through clips of people making viral sandwiches or taste testing McDonald’s – and treat them like the next Ramsay. (Photo: Shutterstock/kamikaze85)

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