AMATEURISH efforts to emulate the culinary achievements of television super-chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay or the domestic diva Nigella Lawson are blamed today for millions of kitchen disasters.
Dinner parties that go with a bang are liable these days to involve real explosions, kitchen fires, burnt work surfaces and fragmented microwaves, according to a survey by the insurers Halifax.
It says that six million people have damaged their kitchens in the past three years, while a similar number have hurt themselves with cuts, burns and bruises from sharp instruments, hotplates, ovens and everyday utensils.
In the insurers’ survey, for which more than 1,000 adults were interviewed, 31 per cent blamed their culinary misfortunes on being distracted while cooking or on falling asleep on the job.
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An even higher proportion (36 per cent) had hurt themselves using a knife, tin opener or other everyday kitchen tool.
By comparison a mere 10 per cent admitted that their use of the recipe had gone wrong, though an unfortunate 3 per cent blamed themselves for unintentionally giving friends and relatives food poisoning.
The Halifax believes that kitchen accidents are increasing partly because the nation’s home cooks, prompted by television cookery programmes, are attempting more ambitious and riskier cuisine in a new spirit of culinary adventure.
David Norton, of Halifax General Insurance, said: “Taking risks with the cuisine seems to be translating into more risk in the kitchen. Given how much people spend on fitted kitchens and accessories, just putting a hot pan on the wrong surface can be a pricey mistake to make.”
Would-be cooks aged 25 to 34 were most likely to be influenced by celebrity chefs, the survey found, and they were also the most accident-prone age group. Up to four million of them had injured themselves while cooking in the past three years, it revealed.
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Lack of attention to obvious safety precautions, such as always using oven mitts to handle hot pans and keeping smoke alarms in full working order, contribute to many reported incidents, the Halifax says. Other safety tips the insurance company recommends to reduce accidents include clearing spills immediately to avoid falls and always putting knives away immediately after use and cleaning.
CULINARY CONQUEST