As I encounter more middle-aged people who are only recently coming around to the concept of cooking as a crucial, money-saving life skill, it seems the concurrent embrace of individualized social media and decline in instructive TV content may have something to do with their being late to that discovery. After all, foodie content is everywhere these days. Approachable, practical counsel on how to make it, however, is no longer as passively accessible as it once was.
Here’s what I mean by “passively accessible,” using my own admittedly dated experience as an example: Julia Child played a central part in developing my confidence in the kitchen. I thought of her as a babysitter of sorts, although I never met the woman in person. But “The French Chef” and “Julia & Company” share equal space in my memory with PBS’ children’s programming because to me, they all served the same purpose.
