A culinary affair

By Catherine Portland

I almost scoffed aloud the other day when I heard that celebrity chef Marco Pierre White had said in an interview that women are better in the kitchen than men. According to the Yorkshire-born chef, we women have a greater command of our senses and can concoct dishes men-folk can only dream of making.

This made me think about the times I have turned my hand over the stove to impress a potential boyfriend. Not content with all the perils of the dating world, I have on occasion added the additional stress of preparing a home-cooked meal for a man.

Taking my cues from the old TV adverts for British meat, I always opt for something manly and traditional when out to woo. I suggest bangers and mash with some seasonal greens and home-made gravy. Nothing shows what a perfect wife and mother you'd make one day than rolling up your sleeves, donning an ironic pinnie and turning a pan of meat fat into gravy.

Alternative dating dinner ideas include steak and salad, the fall-back Sunday roast or a classic lasagna. I think the most important thing to remember here is to keep it simple. Anything complicated may scare of a potential mate and also see you spend all evening sweating over a Le Creuest pot - not a good look. Possibly best to avoid anything too spicy as well, any post-dinner cuddling could be ruined by the masala sweats.

A roast chicken is another good one for the crucial stages of dating; it' surprising how impressive some boys find it when you present them with a whole bird.

Sadly, the number of times a boy has cooked for me have been few and far between, so an objective review is possibly quite difficult. One of my early boyfriends once burnt potato waffles and had to give me a cup of tea and a banana for dinner, while another made pasta in a wok.

At university we had a dinner party club, with each of us taking turns to host the group every couple of months. These were lavish affairs, with all six core members of the group and one wildcard gathering round on mix and match chairs for several hours (and courses) at a time.

The first event was hosted by me and my then partner in crime and flatmate. We painted a room pink, bought copious amounts of lamb from the local butcher on credit and created a menu Nigella Lawson would be proud of. The night went down in history and the wildcard - a rather handsome boy I had my eye on - fell under my spell as I scooped homemade ice-cream into his floral-patterned bowl.

When it came round for the token straight boy's turn to play host we all had to arrive early to clean the filthy kitchen and give him pointers on how to follow a stroganoff recipe. As endearing as this was, it was rather tragic to watch his girlfriend rescue the day. I still can't work out if he was just being lazy because he knew how well-domesticated the rest of us were, or whether he was actually a terrible cook.

Perhaps men and women just approach food differently, in the same way their opinions on dating and relationships differ? Women might not necessarily be "better" in the kitchen, but only in the way men are "better" at DIY.

Personally, I don't mind the gender stereotyping here, as nothing would make me happier than to keep by man well fed. To fall on cliché; the way to a man's heart really is through his stomach.