Nowadays, a lot of teens order meals on their phone apps and have them delivered at the doorstep. There is no denying, however, that cooking is an essential life skill. We cannot always eat out or have deliveries, can we? For one thing, it costs a lot more to eat at a restaurant or to order a delivered meal. For another, the quality of delivered meals is still a big health concern. Without good regulation, they leave a lot to be desired. So many of my friends suffered from stomach-ache after eating a meal ordered on an app.

Despite the fact that doing a meal at home is a wise choice, the majority of Chinese parents seldom give their kids an opportunity to try their hand at cooking. They only take their children’s grades seriously, thus leaving neglected the younger generation’s key life skills such as food preparation.

Different from most of my contemporaries, I like cooking. I can learn a lot from it. When I eat a meal I did, I feel a sense of independence and accomplishment.

One day in the summer vacation, my best friend, Alice, messaged me on QQ. She said that her parents had been on a business trip for days on end. Every day she had to eat out or order deliveries. At the moment she was at a loss what to eat. “I have tried almost all the meals available in town,” she confessed.

No sooner had I got the message than I went over to her house and prepared a lunch for her. To be honest, I am not a chef. I just did a cabbage dish and stir-fried some rice with egg. They were very simple stuff. When Alice was eating the meal, she was all tears. “I admire you a lot!” exclaimed my friend. “Were I a man, I would marry you.” My meal pleased her like a feast.

Since the culinary experience, Alice has mentioned it to a lot of people. It is not a chef thing, but she simply does not have the know-how. As you can see, a lot of teens simply do not know how to do a meal, but cooking is truly an indispensable life skill.