More elderly men learning to cook
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By Marjo Valtavaara
“Is it OK to take the potatoes out of the oven now?” asks a somewhat hesitant Esko Pajarinen, 69.
Tuula Matilainen, the teacher of the cooking class for senior men, gives him permission to do so. The potato wedges appear to be ready.
Matilainen is teaching cooking for older men for a second year at the Karjasilta Lutheran Congregation in Oulu. The courses have filled up, and there is demand for more.
All types of cooking courses are popular nowadays. For instance, at the Helsinki Työväenopisto municipal adult education centre, there are long queues of people wanting to sign up.
“Sushi courses are among the most popular. There is a waiting list of 40 people. There is also a queue for a course for home cooking”, says Riina Pykäri, the head teacher for home economics.
Kuopio Community College added more cooking courses for senior men because of the heavy demand.
Anu Korhonen, who is responsible for the planning of teaching at the college, believes that demand will grow as members of the postwar baby boom generation start retiring.
“Each year we have set up more daytime groups for men. Just as important as learning new things is the social interaction.”
Older men usually have to start from the very basics.
“Among these age groups, the wife often has never let her husband into the kitchen”, says Tuula Matilainen.
Lauri Skants, 78, and Sulevi Stenfors, 79, admit that they are absolute beginners.
“There is a high threshold to do anything if you don’t know how. The threshold has come down during this course. I have longed for this kind of teaching without even realising it.”
Esko Pajarinen and his wife came to the same conclusion: “We said that it is good to learn, in case I end up on my own some day.”
The men on the cooking course prepare basic foods, ranging from baked Baltic herring to chocolate pudding. For the last lesson, they asked to do Christmas foods, and studied how to make the traditional Finnish rutabaga casserole.
Traditional Finnish cuisine is also popular fare in cooking courses in Helsinki. Riina Pykäri says that courses on making rye bread and sausage fill up immediately.
“We would need more teaching in food preparation. Television celebrity chef programmes that inspire people to cook are undoubtedly one reason for the popularity of the courses”, Pykäri ponders.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 20.11.2010
MARJO VALTAVAARA / Helsingin Sanomat
marjo.valtavaara@hs.fi
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| 23.11.2010 - THIS WEEK |
 More elderly men learning to cook |
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