Boy Scout Troop 325 Scoutmaster Minute

Top Ten Reasons To Learn To Cook

September 22, 2009
Andy Duprey, Scoutmaster

Tonight and last week you had the opportunity to plan and cook a desert. I hope you took advantage of the opportunity! The results were awesome-mostly.

Learning to cook is like learning to do a lot of things. You learn a little here and there and put it all together with our own 'sauce', if you will.

But why should you learn to cook? Can't I just go to: my mom's, my girlfriends, the dorm cafeteria, to fast food, or out to eat?

The answer is "yeah, you probably can". In fact, I know adults who proudly can't boil water, but are they better for that? -I don't think so. Consider the following top ten treasons to learn to cook:

  1. CONTROL - you decide what goes in the food. Fresh local organic, salt, no salt, meat or not, quality of ingredients are all your decision.
  2. PRIDE - you get to eat what you made, and once you learn how-it gets easier.
  3. TASTE - with good quality ingredients you can make food taste better at home than many (most) restaurants. Certainly better than frozen or take-out.
  4. EDUCATION - you learn to cook by watching others, talking to others, but mostly by getting in and getting messy.
  5. ECONOMICAL - less money is spent cooking at home.
  6. HEALTH - people who cook their own food tend to enjoy better health.
  7. EFFICIENT - you can utilize leftovers, and create enough food for lunch boxes,
  8. SKILL-BUILDING - cooking is an art and a craft. Unlike sewing a dress or building a cabinet, the results of your talent are immediate and edible-but the skills must be practiced!
  9. ATMOSPHERE - a house where there is food cooking becomes a home, a place to be nourished.
  10. LOVE - the way to the heart of the person you want to spend the rest of your life with-is through the perfect omelet-which you need to learn to cook!

Thanks and good night scouts.