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More than one in 10 people in the UK – that’s 6m – have had an accident when trying to copy tricky techniques used by celebrity chefs on shows such as Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu.
New research for Esure Home Insurance2 shows that despite 73% of people describing themselves as amateur or even useless cooks, 75% would still attempt a complex culinary technique, not only risking injury to themselves and others but also racking up more than £5b worth of damage.
The techniques found to cause most accidents were:
· Fast chopping (77%): Caused scratching of work surfaces
· Deep frying (48%): Caused personal injury, especially burns
· Steaming (37%): Caused water marks on walls and ceilings
· Tenderising meat (31%): Caused chips and cracks to work surfaces
· Skewering (27%): Caused personal injury, especially to fingers and hands.
Crème brûlées and roasted peppers should top the list of most dangerous dishes as 37% of amateur chefs would consider using a DIY version of a blow torch to replicate these dishes instead of the culinary tool.
The research also found that a quarter of amateur cooks admit to leaving their kitchens unattended whilst they run into the lounge to catch the next recipe step on television. And one in 10 have been injured in the process, slipping on peelings and spilt liquids.
The Esure research revealed that men are almost as likely (83%) as women (87%) to attempt a complex culinary technique, despite having no cooking experience. But women felt more pressure to create gourmet dishes as a result of the rise in celebrity chefs – 66% compared to 59% of men.
Celebrity chef Tony Tobin from the BBC’s Ready Steady Cook programme commented: ”It’s great to see that kitchens across the country are becoming hubs of creative cookery. However, all celebrity chefs have had years of training and people at home must remember this when attempting to recreate any dishes they see on television.”
