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28th January 2021

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Hotpoint campaigns for confident cooks

A piece of national research carried out by Hotpoint into the nation's cooking habits has found a startling lack of confidence in British kitchens. This has spurred Hotpoint into launching a nationwide campaign to make Brits more confident in the kitchen. 

The research shows that a combination of busy lifestyles and work commitments means that nine out of 10 British households are stuck in a creative culinary rut and just cook the same meals over and over again.

To redress the balance, Hotpoint has signed up BBC Celebrity MasterChef 2010 winner Lisa Faulkner to launch the Campaign for Cooking Confidence.
Lisa, along with Hotpoint Ambassador and renowned restaurateur Tony Tobin and a panel of cookery experts, have devised a set of tips to give home cooks the skills they need to be more adventurous with ingredients and meal choices.

"I've teamed up with Hotpoint and their 'Campaign for Cooking Confidence' to help give others a helping hand," says Lisa. "I learnt the importance of planning ahead and have a grasp on what flavour combinations work well together. This has enabled me to take pride in my cooking and I feel much more at ease in the kitchen - it's opened up a new world to me!"

The Hotpoint research found a number of interesting - and embarrassing - facts about the way the nation cooks:

·          Spaghetti Bolognese, roast dinners and curries are the three most cooked meals in the UK

·          15% of respondents pass off shop-bought meals as home made to hide their lack of cooking skills from family and friends

·          21% of people say that they would like to be more experimental but that they tend to be put off following a recipe because it looks too complicated 

·          One in four of us cook with what's on offer in the supermarket

·          36% of people blame a hectic lifestyle for preventing them from trying new dishes

·          One in six of us feel frustrated about having a lack of creativity in the kitchen

·          40% of us always go for what's easiest to prepare when choosing our dinner 

·          50% of us use up what's in our fridges and cupboards rather than experimenting with new ingredients

·          We spend an average of 1.6 hours in the kitchen every day 

Tony Tobin adds: "Having worked in professional kitchens for most of my life I understand the pressure that cooking for other people can bring. By following a few simple mantras you too can be cooking confidently in no time. Planning, a bit of experimentation and a few simple styling tricks can have you creating restaurant quality food at home."

The current campaign is part of the recently launched 'Hotpoint - The vital ingredient' campaign, which promotes creativity in the kitchen with Hotpoint's new range of state-of-the-art cooking appliances. 

To sample Lisa's tips - or for more cooking confidence advice from the panel of Hotpoint experts, visit:

 www.hotpoint.co.uk/vitalingredient (or www.hotpoint.ie/vitalingredient for ROI)

12th November 2010