Is this saying true? Winning a mans heart is through his stomach?

[Phoe]

I don't think it is a make or break kind of thing. It's just a pleasant thing to be able to do.

 

I'm really good with cooking and baking, and while my exes were happy to eat what I made them, and often made requests, it wouldn't have made a difference if I didn't know how to cook.

[alphamale]

Having someone else cook you a meal is the nicest gift.

indeed, this woman I dated long ago used to make the best pot roast along with mashed potatoes 'n gravy and summer-sweet corn

 

 

mmmm

 

 

it was hard to break up w/ her

[Woggle]

My wife and I both cook for each other. We both have things we make better than the other so who cooks depends on what we feel like eating.

[todreaminblue]

I think its more than just cooking....its an admonition of care and thoughtfulness that a guy might see behind the plate in front of him...when a weary traveller arrives on your door the first thing often offered is a meal and a place to sit to eat it......that gives a sense of belonging...and not a rootless existence and a dusty road they journey on......tired feet and tired hearts need sustenance...and the best way to show you care.....is to make a hot meal to fill the stomachs of those who may have emptiness else where from missing home loved ones....and that certain peace of being welcomed ........

 

 

to cook especially for a man is to show him a warm heart along with a hot meal..............to make him feel welcome....and appreciated ....the same can be said in reverse......

 

 

a woman who is cooked for feels appreciated..treated.......respected and a pleasure that cant be expressed in words....a truly special treat is when a guy can cook and decides to cook to show he cares....i havent been cooked for many times by men.......and when i have.....its a special memory i hold...most guys deny they can cook so i will cook for them................deb

Edited May 12, 2015 by todreaminblue

[preraph]

I actually got a comment from a guy I was dating in my late 20s about getting a black mark because I never cooked for him (not true- I did make breakfast). I didn't have much in the way of cookware or anything and was living on very little money at that particular time and couldn't afford to cook anything but the basics. I was too poor to make a pot roast and didn't have a pot for it! I'd left behind a better paying job to move to a new town and didn't try to bring everything with me and my dad used what I left behind. I think expecting young women to cook very often is kind of unreasonable, but I agree everyone should learn to do a little cooking.

 

Now I'm old, I would prefer to cook big once a week and eat out and eat easy stuff and breakfast the rest of the time, because grocery shopping and cooking take up too much time and I lose money that way, so it's nearly a wash. But right now I'm trying to cook most of the time and cook cheap -- and so far I've wasted money on two big dinners that really sucked. If I had plenty of money, of course, I could cook nice beef roasts and stuff, but that's outside of the budget now.

 

The good news is a whole lot of men are learning to cook and enjoying it now. So I see a hopeful future for both sexes in that regard.

[No Limit]

I'm not able to cook and honestly don't care to learn it. I also wouldn't know where to learn it, my mom won't let me near the kitchen. Honestly, I'm already pretty exhausted when I spent 7 hours in school, especially when there are my "favourite" subjects on schedule. I don't think it's going to change after even more hours of work; plus cooking takes time too which I don't have asI intend to spend that time in stables. Luckily I have quite a number of nonstop restaurants in my college city with a delivery service.

[salparadise]

Cooking and appreciation of good food is one of my soft criteria. My most recent gf and I cooked together several times a week. We took turns being the lead and helper. It was wonderful. It makes sex better. I dated another woman who was an excellent cook and it was great with her too.

 

I would much rather cook than go to a restaurant, except maybe for special occasions. So if I figure out that a woman generally doesn't want to be bothered with cooking and expects to be taken out to restaurants as the default... she's pretty much done.

 

Cooking is a daily project to collaborate on, interact through, a way to demonstrate caring and appreciation. It's a fundamental human thing. It's the centerpiece of family. My mother cooked every day and we always sat down for the evening meal together. I raised my daughter that way too. It's a symbolic expression of love and caring.

 

So I just don't get the right feeling when a woman seems disinterested in sharing such a fundamental ritual . I cook too, of course. I don't expect the whole burden to fall on her just because she's the woman. Cooking is a celebration of life and love that happens every day, at least from my perspective.

 

BTW, I am completely gluten-free and have been for eighteen years. Anybody else?

Edited May 13, 2015 by salparadise

[todreaminblue]

Cooking and appreciation of good food is one of my soft criteria. My most recent gf and I cooked together several times a week. We took turns being the lead and helper. It was wonderful. It makes sex better. I dated another woman who was an excellent cook and it was great with her too.

 

I would much rather cook than go to a restaurant, except maybe for special occasions. So if I figure out that a woman generally doesn't want to be bothered with cooking and expects to be taken out to restaurants as the default... she's pretty much done.

 

Cooking is a daily project to collaborate on, interact through, a way to demonstrate caring and appreciation. It's a fundamental human thing. It's the centerpiece of family. My mother cooked every day and we always sat down for the evening meal together. I raised my daughter that way too. It's a symbolic expression of love and caring.

 

So I just don't get the right feeling when a woman seems disinterested in sharing such a fundamental ritual . I cook too, of course. I don't expect the whole burden to fall on her just because she's the woman. Cooking is a celebration of life and love that happens every day, at least from my perspective.

 

BTW, I am completely gluten-free and have been for eighteen years. Anybody else?

 

i get the worse case of hiccups when i eat gluten......deb

[Phoe]

Cooking is a daily project to collaborate on, interact through, a way to demonstrate caring and appreciation. It's a fundamental human thing. It's the centerpiece of family. My mother cooked every day and we always sat down for the evening meal together. I raised my daughter that way too. It's a symbolic expression of love and caring.

 

I grew up in a family that didn't cook. Neither of my parents can cook and I'm an only child. When very little I grew up on whatever random something my dad threw together, and when I got older I just fended for myself.

 

That actually made me MORE interested in cooking... it's something that I rarely had growing up, so being able to do it now is something that I would never take for granted!

[lana-banana]

My boyfriend and I are both excellent cooks and bakers. For Valentine's Day he made me a four-course meal including sous vide lobster tail with saffron beurre blanc, venison, and oysters! He enjoys Modernist Cuisine-style molecular gastronomy, while I specialize in doing more traditional cuisine, but we're both quite good for amateurs (I just beat him in a cooking contest our friends sponsored, ha).

 

I think the saying comes from the fact that eating is a fundamental pleasure and cooking for someone suggests love, devotion, and care. When you cook for someone you're not just saying "here's what I had in the fridge" but "I want you to eat well". I think everyone finds that appealing, especially men. It's a good way to make someone feel pampered and appreciated.

 

For those who don't cook I would strongly recommend picking up some cookbooks by Bert Greene. He won't just teach you how to cook, he'll teach you how to love cooking. He and Julia Child were probably the most important figures in introducing gourmet cuisine to America.

[d0nnivain]

For those who don't cook I would strongly recommend picking up some cookbooks by Bert Greene. He won't just teach you how to cook, he'll teach you how to love cooking.

 

I own about 2 dozen cook books & every gadget imaginable. I can now make a basic meal but I will never love cooking. It's a chore. It's a p.i.t.a. It creates a mess which I hate having to clean even more than I resented having made it.

 

Like a lot of things in life, different strokes.

 

Nobody ever starved in my house but it's not an activity that feeds my soul but I also don't care all that much about eating. I do it to survive. I never got the sensual pleasure from it that drives most foodies.

[autumnnight]

I think it also depends on the man and the kind of food. I really enjoy cooking, but if a man's idea of a great staple meal is sauteed kale with leeks and tofu, then I'm not his woman. I mean, I like all of those things, but that is not gonna be standard fare. However, if he can appreciate amazing salmon or chicken pot pie that rivals grandma's....we may have something to talk about.

 

I also agree with what to dream in blue said, that it is also about the care and "taking care of". And for this woman below the MD line, leeks and bean sprouts just don't say comfort food the way roast and potatoes do

[toolforgrowth]

I like this thread. I was the cook in my marriage. I didn't know much about it at first, but I watched a lot of Alton Brown and taught myself. I got really good at it. My GF loves the fact I can cook. I remember the first time I really cooked for her. I made homemade alfredo with tortellini and mushrooms, along with a yummy organic grilled chicken breast. Conversation was at a minimum because she couldn't stop eating to chat! I remember when she cleaned her plate...she leaned back, closed her eyes, and took a sip of wine. When she opened them, the look she gave me said, "You are so getting laid tonight."

 

I'm currently teaching my 7 year old daughter how to cook. We started with basic things; measuring cups and spoons, mixing batter, etc. Now she's graduated to turning on the burners and oven, putting ingredients in pots and pans, and stirring them. She can also put stuff in the oven too. She's gotten really good at cooking herself up a sausage/bratwurst. I'll watch her, but she'll get out the pan, heat it up, put her sausage in it, turn it until it's how she likes it, turn off the burner, plate it and eat it. And she LOVES it.

 

I want her to know how to cook for two reasons: when she moves out at 18 I want her to be able to feed herself well, and to be able to cook for her future man. It's true that many women don't know how to cook today. I want my daughter to know how to cook, bake, grill, and smoke.

 

Besides, it's fun stuff we can do together that involves food!

[alphamale]

I like this thread. I was the cook in my marriage. I didn't know much about it at first, but I watched a lot of Alton Brown and taught myself. I got really good at it. My GF loves the fact I can cook. I remember the first time I really cooked for her. I made homemade alfredo with tortellini and mushrooms, along with a yummy organic grilled chicken breast. Conversation was at a minimum because she couldn't stop eating to chat! I remember when she cleaned her plate...she leaned back, closed her eyes, and took a sip of wine. When she opened them, the look she gave me said, "You are so getting laid tonight."!

good food is like a good orgasm

[y2k]

Bottom line every man is different, but we all have the following in common:

 

1) We must physically be attracted to you. Do you have to be the perfect physical specimen? No. Do you have to be a version of "our type" (every man's type is different). Yes.

 

2) We must think you're fun. Will you enjoy our company? Will you enjoy sex with us?

 

3) This is where a majority of men will vary. Some will want a woman with cooking skills. Some will want a woman with a college education. Some will want a woman who is without children already. Some will not care. This is where it is completely grey. We men are very different here.

 

I can assure you all that numbers 1 and 2 are universal. Men who don't follow numbers 1 and 2 are fooling themselves. Number 3 is were you will get differences.

 

And for the women who feel terrible reading about #1, don't. We men vary in what we think is physically attractive. I personally only like thick curvy Latina girls. I can't stand tall skinny supermodel types. Others hate thick girls, and only go for skinny types. Some men love overweight women. You will see so many variations here it is not even funny. But it still remains that we must physically see you as our type.

[MrNate 2.0]

As a man...when you date a woman that can cook, versus a woman who cannot or just never cooks, it's a pretty fairly obvious "quality of life" difference.

 

You've got to eat everyday of your life, multiple times a day...so if a woman cooks, makes the things he likes to eat and just generally keeps him fed with good tasting food, that's quite the plus in your life...whether you are a foodie or not.

 

Of course today, it's not a common trait so it's even more appealing quality when you get it.

 

Amen. Th saying is absolutely true for me.

 

It's like I always say: Good sex isn't enough to keep a man around. But a good cook? You're gonna think twice about leaving that woman.

[Penguin_hugs]

I think it definitely works for baking. I love baking and my BF has a very sweet tooth and loves cake. For about the first 6 months of our relationship I used to send him home with half a cake every fortnight (when he had come to visit me) and he used to be cheered up for the whole week by having a slice every evening and said he thought of me when we were apart

 

It also worked the other way around as after our 4th date (where he asked me to be his GF at the end), he'd taught himself how to bake cookies just for me as a surprise