Cooking burnout: have you hit the wall?

April 20, 2020 by
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Many of my like-minded food loving friends have recently confessed that they have become tired of cooking. Some say they don’t want to have to think about what recipe to try next, others are worn down by the physical act of cooking three meals a day for a large family, and a few are tired of doing so.many.dishes.

Judging from the memes I see on social media, my friends aren’t the only ones feeling a cooking burnout. If people who love to cook are tired of it, imagine how difficult it must be for those who view it solely as a chore. One person reported that they drove over 50 miles just to get takeaway so they did not have to cook one more meal.

Until I saw all of these posts, I didn’t think much about having to cook every meal, even though I used to go out to eat regularly. I started to wonder why I was not suffering the same amount of cooking burnout as those around me, and it took me a while to understand the reason. Most of us eat out with some frequency, and this is likely the first time people have not been able to easily get a meal outside of their homes for more than a day or two. For me, this situation has thrown me back into a rhythm of cooking that is so familiar I did not even notice the transition.

I grew up in an extremely rural area in the upper Midwest. When I say extremely rural, I mean 50 miles to the nearest stoplight and 100 miles to the closest chain restaurant. The small town where I lived only had two tiny restaurants with limited menus. Our family went out to eat only on the rarest occasions, perhaps for a birthday or other noteworthy event. Therefore cooking every meal at home did not strike me as strange because it was how I lived for a long time. While the pandemic and resulting abrupt shift in our lives remains disconcerting and worrisome, I am thankful that I have not experienced a cooking burnout and that I still look forward to both looking for and making new recipes.

To that end, these past few weeks have allowed me to make several new dishes that I thoroughly enjoyed, and to make use of cookware that had been neglected. Remember a few weeks ago when I confessed that I had an oval Staub Dutch oven that I had never used? I broke it in this weekend by making Chicken en cocotte with apricots and shallots from Milk Street: Tuesday Nights (photo above), which was excellent.

How about you – have you experienced cooking burnout? If so, what strategies are you using to ease the situation?

Category: Antipasto

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16 Comments

  • Indio32  on  April 20, 2020

    Oh! How did you break your Dutch oven? Thats so sad!

  • lgroom  on  April 20, 2020

    Indio 32 — Never fear!! She said she broke it in (used it the first time) and made chicken en cocotte with apricots and shallots this past weekend. That sounds so good!

  • Indio32  on  April 21, 2020

    Yes, my bad. It was 4:30am here in the uk and I couldn’t sleep. Note to self only reply to posts when your fully awake and have read it properly first 🙂

    Anyway agreed it looks delish!

  • Rinshin  on  April 21, 2020

    No cooking burnout for me. But I miss many fresh produce, seafood, and meat.

    The lack of variety available is producing some interesting results with substitution. Some worked and others not. For example, made eggplant Parmesan with yellow summer squash. Fail.

  • sarahj22  on  April 21, 2020

    I’m still enjoying cooking under lockdown, but I can understand why some are struggling. Like Darcie I’ve been using it as an opportunity to try new recipes, and like Rinshin I’ve found I need to be a lot more adaptable in case ingredients aren’t available. Planning and cooking meals remains a pleasure for me at a time when everyone remains anxious and uncertain, but I also realise I’m in a very privileged position in being able to think that way. I’m sure for many people the financial pressures of lockdown will also be impacting their enjoyment of cooking.

    • Darcie  on  April 21, 2020

      I agree that it’s a privilege to be able to use this time to try new recipes. I am grateful that I have the means to have a well-stocked pantry and can work from home so I do not have to choose between staying safe or having a job.

  • LeilaD  on  April 21, 2020

    I’m a bank teller. Instead of working 40-45 hours/week like before the pandemic, I’m now working 48+ hours/week to cover for people who have to leave early because they have children. I’ve had burn out twice now and just made frozen pizza (the shame!) because I’m tired from the more hectic schedule. I was supposed to make Chicken in sherry sauce last night-that didn’t happen, so I’ll try again tonight.

    • Darcie  on  April 21, 2020

      There is no shame in making a frozen pizza. Kudos to you for working extra hours to help your coworkers.

  • annmartina  on  April 21, 2020

    I don’t have cooking burnout so much as cleaning the kitchen multiple times a day burnout.

  • matag  on  April 21, 2020

    Almost got to that point and realized that i had fallen into a rut of making the same old tried and true meals. So I grabbed a huge stack of recipes that i had cut and copied. I organized them into chicken, beef, seafood, etc. i have been taking them one at a time and trying something new every day. I have enough to get me through until the end of the year. The only problem is that some have been so good that i have to stop myself from repeating.

  • goodfruit  on  April 22, 2020

    I grew up in the country, we grew and made and cooked most things. Popcorn, Apple Cider, Sauerkraut were routinely made every year. So cooking most of the time is normal.

    However, I’m feeding an increasingly picky person here! My efforts at cooking lately have dwindled to making a pot of Cauliflower and Cheese Sauce and calling that dinner.

  • mharriman  on  April 22, 2020

    I enjoy cooking but not seven days a week with no break or end in sight. One strategy I’ve used that works for our two person home is to make a dinner entree for four people and repurpose the leftovers. This week I made steak for four people one night and used the leftover meat for steak and cheese sandwiches the next night. Another strategy is to search and use recipes based on what I have in the house. I’ve also asked my husband to make a meal once a week. He’s been great about doing that. With those three strategies, I usually head back into the kitchen with a lighter step.

  • n.white  on  April 22, 2020

    I’m working from home, but with no place else to go, my usually busy schedule is a lot less busy. I have loved having my cookbooks to dive into and cooking/baking has been a pleasurable way to fill that extra time.

  • Shelmar  on  April 22, 2020

    I am not liking getting days off from cooking. My biggest obstacle is standing and energy. I feel drained by confinement. I have plenty of ingredients, but what sounds good on menu planning day can sound awful a few days later. I am trying to eat leftovers for lunch, which is not bad. I have made some repeat recipes, some new. It is just hubby and me, so most recipes make enough for us to have two meals unless I cut them down. I am a bit envious of those who live in places with multiple good restaurants doing take out. We have a couple of acceptable restaurants, but none that I would want to eat weekly. In the beginning of social distancing we had more local options, but a few places opted to close entirely. I am not sure I will be having many meals out this year, since I am at high risk for complications from this disease. Therefore, I am looking to all of you for inspiration!

  • MarciK  on  April 23, 2020

    I live alone, so cooking one recipe can easily last me through 4 dinners. My problem isn’t so much of cooking burnout, but of not being able to cook what I want from my cookbooks. I’m trying to not go to the grocery store much because I do actually have a lot of food in the house. However, it’s odds and ends stuff they don’t make the gorgeous dishes I see being posted on the Facebook site. The other day I made a broccoli recipe from one of my cookbooks with some substitutions for lack of fresh herbs, but my frozen boneless skinless chicken breast I brought up to eat with it got a pretty boring poaching because it seemed like the easiest way to handle 1 single breast that was still frozen when the rest of the meal was done. Last grocery trip, I did plan enough to buy the ingredients for a basic stew, minus fresh herbs (will need to use dried), along with some items so I have some options with baking. Still, I get bored of cooking because my options right now are limited. I’ve reserved at least one night a week for frozen meals or easy/quick dishes, and Friday nights are carry out.

  • jehausman  on  April 25, 2020

    Luckily, I like to cook and try new recipes — now I have a captive audience! We’ve mixed it up some by having “themes” for the week. One week was international, last week was “retro” — throwback recipes that my adult sons liked as kids (yes, there was jello!). This week is “Super Special Sauce” week — at least one meal/day must have a special sauce with it. Any suggestions for future themes?

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