Can't cook, Won't cook!

One knock-on effect of everyone spending more time at home is that a fifth of us are cooking every meal from scratch.

Nationwide, we’re spending 13 per cent more on groceries than a year ago. As for baking, well, you still can’t buy flour in some supermarkets since, for many, an afternoon’s quiet stirring and whisking has proved the soothing balm to family chaos.

A survey found two-fifths of Britons have learned to enjoy cooking for themselves more than before.

But what if you had never cooked a meal in your life — and saw your spotless luxury kitchen as just somewhere to unwrap the takeaway boxes?

Here, Sadie Nicholas meets four unrepentant women who explain why the appeal of delivery food, restaurants, or a husband who can cook far outweighs their culinary inclinations. Left to their own devices, they can just about manage to bung fish fingers in the oven — but that’s not to say they won’t burn them!

Four women who avoid cooking, despite having luxurious kitchens explained their reasons. Pictured: Sarah Johnson, 41, from Shrewsbury

I’VE BOUGHT A £12,000 KITCHEN, YET MY DOG EATS BETTER THAN I DO

Copywriter Sarah Johnson, 41, is single and lives in Shrewsbury with her dog, Stan. She says:

Despite the fact I live on takeaways and salads and have zero interest in cooking, last year I spent £12,000 on a smart new kitchen with weathered, grey, solid-wood doors, brass trims and top-of-the-range Neff appliances.

It was totally unnecessary because I never cook a proper meal from scratch — but I love how it looks. I even filled up the shelves with expensive Le Creuset crockery, recipe books and a pricey £150 soup maker — but I haven’t used any of them.

I really wanted to make use of it, so I did once try a delivery box which included the ingredients and simple recipes for several meals. But it was all so tiresome that I didn’t get beyond trying to peel and dice a butternut squash before I wept with exasperation and threw it in the bin.

I can’t be bothered with cooking. Living alone, there’s nobody to roll out the placemats for anyway, and previous boyfriends have included a chef and a foodie, so there has never been a need for me to cook.

My mum is a good cook, and I have many fond memories of helping her in the kitchen as a child. My late father also made tasty meals by throwing stuff into the slow cooker. But I’ve never shared their interest.

Friends have tried to get me to cook, including buying me a ‘one-tray meals’ cookbook, but even the thought of chucking lots of vegetables and meat into the oven was too much effort.

Sarah (pictured) who starts her day with either toast or a banana, said she spends more than £60 a month on takeaways

The same friends regularly invite me to dinner parties and are understanding of my lack of reciprocity. But I always take a lovely bottle of wine or luxurious shop-bought dessert to make up for it.

In a typical day, I have coffee in the morning, toast or a banana if I’m really hungry, then very little until dinner, which might be a salad, microwave jacket potato or beans on toast.

I also spend more than £60 a month on takeaways from Nando’s, a local curry house, and an independent burger place called Brooklyn Craft, which I love. It’s a good job Five Guys don’t deliver round here, as that would be my daily meal!

I’m more interested in my cocker spaniel Stan’s food than my own. He dines on venison sausages — pre-cooked, of course — and a freeze-dried raw mix of beef, carrots, apples, sweet potato, cranberries, blackberries and kale. He even has little lavender and chamomile biscuits before bed.

But why would I cook for myself when there are so many great alternatives?

I SWAPPED DOING A COOKERY COURSE FOR SPA VOUCHERS

Katy Meaney, 34, works for a theatre and lives in Wolverhampton with husband Nathan, 30, a jeweller, and their two children, James, three, and Charlotte, one. She says:

Katy Meaney, 34, who lives in Wolverhampton, admits her inability to cook has been source of teasing from family and friends. Pictured: Katy with her two children , James, three, and Charlotte, one (pictured right)

I genuinely don’t have a clue how to boil an egg. Does it go in a pan? My inability to cook has been the source of much teasing from family and friends who are stunned that I can’t even make scrambled eggs on toast.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I promised myself I’d learn to make nutritious food for my family. But I didn’t.

I bought the baby cookbooks and made little weaning pots of mushed-up fresh veg for about five minutes but Nathan soon took over.

My mum once bought me a £40 voucher to learn traditional recipes and breadmaking. But I swapped it for a spa voucher, instead, and Mum laughed knowingly when I told her. She knew I would prefer a pedicure and facial.

She is astonished that I’m incapable of fulfilling what she sees as a traditional role in the home, particularly as she always had a meal on the table for my dad, brother and me.

Instead, my husband does all the cooking which makes me feel guilty when he’s been out at work all day.

Katy (pictured) revealed she once tried to cook a roast chicken, but it was still raw and bleeding when she cut it

He often batch-cooks lasagne and other pasta dishes at weekends to ensure the children have nutritious food for tea. Even then, I often have to call him at work to ask how to reheat the meals he has prepared.

I once tried to cook a roast chicken but it was still raw with blood coming out as I cut it. Nathan says it’s safer if I don’t try to play chef again.

I know he wishes I could at least cook a basic meal — but he doesn’t get annoyed.

We were friends for eight years before we got together, so he knew what he was letting himself in for.

Mum bought me a slow cooker at university but I never used it, because I shared a house for three years with other girls who could cook.

The trade-off with my housemates was that I would lay the table or wash up. The rest of the time I lived on pizza and cheese toasties.

Later, when I worked in an office, we had a great staff cafe so I’d have a big lunch and a sandwich in the evening.

Katy who admits to being a fussy eater, said she once bought a Victoria sponge and added fingerprints to give the illusion that it was homemade. Pictured: Katy with her two children , James, three, and Charlotte, one (pictured right)

Now, Nathan longs for a bigger kitchen, whereas I genuinely only feel the need for one at all because it comes with the property.

It doesn’t help that I’m a fussy eater and only like plain food. The last time we ate out, my three-year-old son James devoured a curry while I ordered chicken nuggets and chips followed by jelly and ice cream.

When I turned 30 a few years ago, I decided it was ridiculous that I had never cooked a meal for my parents, so got them round. But when Mum arrived and found me flapping around not having done a thing, she took over. My contribution was whisking the gravy granules.

I had bought a Victoria sponge from the shop for dessert and put fingerprints in the icing sugar to make it look homemade. Mum said: ‘You can’t fool me. You don’t even have the utensils or ingredients to bake a cake!’

I WORK AS A KITCHEN DESIGNER — BUT I CAN'T EVEN MAKE A MEAL FOR MYSELF

Sian McCloy, 41, is a kitchen designer and lives in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, with her husband Jody, 39, an electrician, and their son Scott, seven. She says:

Sian McCloy, 41, (pictured) who lives in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, said she can't even put a frozen pizza in the oven without burning it

The last time I cooked a meal from scratch was, erm, never. I wouldn’t have a clue how to.

Yet to look at our solid oak kitchen at home with its £5,500 red Rayburn range cooker, additional oven and a separate hob, anyone would think I loved cooking.

In fact, I’m calamitous in the kitchen and it’s a running joke with family and friends that I can’t even put a frozen pizza in the oven without burning it.

I studied art at college and wanted to go into design, although it’s ironic that I have been a kitchen designer for 18 years.

Thank goodness my husband is a good cook — and also that his mother lives round the corner and often comes to the rescue with stews, pies and creamy rice puddings that she has made.

When Jody and I first moved in together in 2000, his mum tried to encourage me to have a go in the kitchen by gifting me a whole chicken to roast for Sunday lunch. After it was in the oven for five hours, I was perplexed that it still hadn’t changed colour. When my husband came home, he pointed out I hadn’t lit the gas!

Sian (pictured) revealed she once gave herself and her husband food poisoning, when she incorrectly heated up shop-bought sausage rolls

I once gave us both food poisoning when I heated up some shop-bought sausage rolls incorrectly, and I put the butter and cheese on the outside of a sandwich for him to take to work.

My hippyish mother had never shown me how to make sandwiches so this was my first, utterly hopeless attempt. His colleagues laughed in disbelief and asked, ‘What on earth is that?’

Jody has long since taken charge of the cooking, mostly to make sure I don’t poison anyone else. He was the one who wanted a range oven, as his mum’s always had one.

My own mum can cook but has never enjoyed it. I remember when I was a child she once dashed out and got tinned potatoes for Christmas dinner because M&S had run out of ready-made roasties.

I can’t even toast bread without burning it. I’ve even seen off every microwave we’ve ever owned by overheating food or putting metal containers inside.

Whenever my son’s school holds a cake sale, one of the other mums kindly makes an extra cake for me to pass off as my own.

Sian (pictured) who admits she can't assemble a salad without her husband, said their seven-year-old is already better in the kitchen than she is

It’s not that I don’t enjoy food. I love tapas from our local gastropub and I can just about assemble a salad when Jody’s not here.

Of course, it smarts that our seven-year-old, Scott, is already better in the kitchen than me! He goes to an after-school baking club once a week where he has learned to make ice cream and biscuits.

As for me, my best friend jokes that she’d love to see me on The Great British Bake Off, purely for the entertainment value, knowing full well that I’d either burn something or poison one of the judges.

ALL THREE OF MY HUSBANDS HAVE BEEN GREAT CHEFS

Lisa Johnson, 42, is a business consultant (lisajohnsoncoaching.co.uk) and lives in Hertfordshire with husband Sam, 50, a copywriter, and their twins Finnian and Albert, eight. She says:

Lisa Johnson, 42, lives in Hertfordshire with husband Sam, 50, and their twins Finnian and Albert, eight (pictured)

My husband jokes that he hides my birthday and Christmas presents in the oven because he knows it’s the one place in the house I don’t go anywhere near.

He and I are a domestic match made in heaven. I can’t cook and want nothing to do with it, while he’s a terrific and adventurous cook and likes to keep me as far away from the kitchen as possible.

I don’t know how to boil or scramble eggs, have been banned from toasting waffles for the children because I burn them, and can’t even be trusted to make their packed lunches for school.

Years ago, I attempted to make a chicken risotto but the meat was raw inside. My friends got food poisoning.

If Sam’s out or away, I bung my favourite frozen fish fingers and chips in the oven, or the children and I make a very excited trip to McDonald’s. My inability to cook is a running joke, even with them.

Lisa (pictured) who has never dated a man that can't cook, said she wouldn't have time to cook even if she wanted to

When we went to view our five-bedroom Victorian house, which we moved into recently, I didn’t even venture into the kitchen. I remember Sam calling to me, ‘Lisa, come and look at this, it’s fantastic, and it’s even got a lovely island!’

As the main breadwinner, I wouldn’t have time to cook, even if I wanted to. This is my third marriage and, fortunately, my first two husbands were great cooks, too. In fact, I’ve never dated a man who can’t cook — but, even if I had, I’d have fallen back on the option of a private chef, as my business makes seven figures.

Sam loves to experiment with fish dishes and curries, and we throw a lot of dinner parties where he slaves away happily in the kitchen and I keep out of the way, topping up people’s glasses, instead.

Thanks to him, the children and I have a balanced diet. Guests never make sarcastic comments. They think it’s funny that I can’t and won’t cook, and they love Sam’s food, so are delighted to be invited over.

Mind you, I’m so glad restaurants are open again. On the first night, July 4, we had a family meal at one of my favourite steak restaurants. I have no intention of ever learning to cook.