Across the UK there has been a significant rise in the number of people seeking to elevate themselves to the status of high-profile celebrity chefs. Many have, following the examples of Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver etc, tried to recreate complex cooking tricks in their homes. And typical of what normally befalls amateurs who catapult themselves into the position of highly placed professionals in one swoop, many have had serious reasons to feel sorry.
In a recent study by Esure Home Insurance, it was found that nearly 6 million people have, in a bid to copy celebrity chefs, had cooking accidents leading to serious damage to their homes and in some cases injury to themselves.
This has also led to other series of problems, of particular significance is the case of those without content or home insurance. Especially with credit crunch hitting harder, a number of these Gordon Ramsay ‘wanabes’ have been left worse off financially.
The problem is further made complex by the fact that many people, as the study revealed, would rather go ahead and give a try at becoming celebrity chef overnight, even though many admitted that never had the pedigree for this. In the process of attempting to pull off this intricate cooking trick, as 75 per cent admitted they would, at least £5 billion of household damage is incurred. This pecks a deep hole in people’s pockets and further put pressure on the system, which is unnecessary and worth avoiding in the first place.
Thus, many have scratched their kitchen surfaces while trying out fast chopping; some have in the process of deep frying sustained personal injury; and not a few have caused watermark damage on walls and ceilings while attempting steaming. Other failed attempts include tendering meat, which led to chips and cracks in kitchen surfaces; and skewering, resulting in personal injury.
While the main dishes that often caused or led to damage were crème brûlèes and roasted peppers, it also emerged that the main problem was, in addition to lack of experience, the use of wrong utensils. For example of the wanabes use a DIY-style blow torch in place of the culinary versions used on TV cooking programmes to practice the techniques. Also, the study found that more than a quarter of the accidents usually result in damage to the people, their kitchen or culinary utensils. However, the situation is made worse because, as 70 per cent of the wanabes admitted, they hardly keep a fire extinguisher close, just in case things went wrong.
Even more shocking is the revelation that many people who recreate the tricks said they prefer watching the cooking programme while the cook.
Another twist to the whole problem is that as they divide their attention between kitchen and the lounge to see the next cooking stage, where the TV set is, the greater chance is that the cooking would be left unattended. A number of participant admitted to falling foul of this and many also said they had sustained personal injury while rushing between the kitchen and the lounge.
Usually when things go wrong it’s called an accident, yet if people are deliberately responsible for the accidents it could affect their chances of claiming compensation. This affects home insurance case, where they are insured, and personal injury compensation.
However, the best way to play safe is take expert advice and avoid trying what ordinarily one does not have experience for. As the BBC’s Ready Steady Cook celebrity chef, Tony Tobin advises, those trying to recreate cooking techniques need to realise that all celebrity chefs have had training and experience before mastering the techniques.
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