Do Households in Gainesville Need Cooks?

So for this assignment, I wanted to explore the following hypothesis:

"If households in Gainesville want to have good food at home, regardless of weeknight or party-night, then many of them are unable to afford the time to cook what they want, or the time to learn how to cook something new."

I was initially concerned about

1. People who have their own home with their own kitchen in Gainesville
2. Not being able to meet their desire for home cooking
3. Because they don't have the time to buy ingredients, cook, and clean

And I had more than a few presuppositions going into this, and they were partially proven, dispelled, and expanded upon by the conversations I had with residents of the city. I am a bit guilty of trying to justify the creation of the opportunity for me to cook for people in their kitchens and have a good time, but I also tried to not give leading questions to my interviewees.

And they were a diverse, if small group.

I went to Cindy B. Goods, local small business and makers of incredible cookies and calzones, and spoke to the owners, Cindy and Cheryl, who are both long-time Gainesville residents. They even cater some events in the community. 

Next, I spoke to two of my friends on the UF Crew team, who live together with a few other team mates in a house on the edge of campus. College students. 

Lastly, I spoke to Chris Perry, a community organizer that supports East Gainesville, and is familiar with the city overall.

Out of these conversations, I gleaned the following bits of information:

• As far as WHO is in need of help cooking:
• Adults trying to show off to some guests by having a fancy-shmancy dinner
• Parents or other people who are very busy with family or work
• The elderly or disabled and home-bound
• People who are not good at cooking, and don't have time/interest to get better
• NOT college students
• As far as WHAT they do:
• Spend hundreds of dollars for a multi-course dinner cooked by a professional in their own kitchen
• They pay a reasonable price for a reliable and regular private chef
• Buy a service that delivers different ingredients with a recipe to their doorstep
• Rely on cheap fast food
• Rely on Meals on Wheels
• JUST GO OUT TO A RESTAURANT
• WHY do they do what they do:
• In order to satisfy a desire for prestige
• In order to satisfy a desire for healthier, tastier food without compromising their schedule
• In order to satisfy a desire to connect with either their own culture or a different culture through food
• In order to meet a need for food that is constrained by their physical limitations

Stay tuned for the next post, where I'll further analyze what these opportunities and limitations mean for me and how I can solve the problems I've recognized.