Voice of London

It is no secret that after a long day at university, students like to come home and browse through their social media sites; snapchatting friends, tagging people in the latest memes and liking pictures. What is better, is that food channels are becoming more and more popular- especially amongst students. Although they are not essentially new, as, food icons like Ina Garten and Gordon Ramsay have been around for decades. They are however aesthetically pleasing to watch but, the real question is: do students end up making what they watch?

Browsing through Facebook, it can be guaranteed that friends have tagged each other in videos on “How to make cookie dough in a mug” or a seven-minute video on “What to do with leftover chicken”. You, yourself have been tagged in these videos and, honestly, you have indeed sat through all seven minutes looking at the process until the end product is revealed. You are also guilty of tagging a friend in a cake video, stating that, “this looks good, we should make this this weekend!” But, did you? 

Check out this easy Pound Cake recipe. Video: Tasty on Instagram.

Surprisingly, there is a correlation between the rise in food channels and students buying budget foods. Eating out has become more expensive and buying take-outs is now a blissful opportunity- taken upon when student finance has dropped or it is a fellow flatmates birthday. With a growing number of students being smarter about their weekly or daily shops, for example shopping after 6pm which results in buying discounted (yellow sticker) foods and foods which are on sale; more students are taking it upon themselves to cook.

A study conducted by Linda McCartney Foods in September 2017 showed that of the 2,000 students questioned, more than six out of 10 students disagree with the stereotypes labelled on them as uncaring and lazy. Moreover, 62% of students feel that there is better choice and range of ingredients available. Of those 2,000 questioned, more than 50% also believe that when it comes down to cooking, accessibility and use of food channels helps them find simple, easy and cheap recipes to make after a long day.

With pages on Facebook like FoodNetwork, UniGrub, FoodBible and Tasty paving the way for students, it is not surprising that more and more students are becoming increasingly adventurous with their culinary skills. Students are indeed experimenting more and, most importantly, they are learning new skills whilst relaxing (with a glass of wine or two) when cooking a soon-to-be new favourite dish.

Words: Milica Cosic | Subbing:  Amelia Walker-Hall