How to get over the fear of cooking a bad meal | Lunch Lady Lou (2024)

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How to get over the fear of cooking a bad meal | Lunch Lady Lou? ›

Mageirocophobia is an extreme fear of cooking. Many people with this condition worry about the results of their cooking. They fear cooking mistakes that could be embarrassing or harm someone else. You might go out of your way to avoid cooking or the thought of it.

Mageirocophobia is an extreme fear of cooking. Many people with this condition worry about the results of their cooking. They fear cooking mistakes that could be embarrassing or harm someone else. You might go out of your way to avoid cooking or the thought of it.

“The pressure to follow recipes precisely and create flawless dishes can increase stress levels and create anxiety around making mistakes.” Chefs know and validate the struggle. “I have found that the real stress of a professional kitchen lies in oneself,” says Kevin Hoffmann, executive chef at Vinyl Steakhouse.

Mageirocophobia, or fear of cooking, can take many forms. Some people are only afraid of cooking for large groups, while others are afraid of whipping up scrambled eggs for themselves.

How do I regain my passion for cooking? ›

Additionally, being a highly sensitive person, or being more attuned and affected by sensory input, can lead to feeling easily overwhelmed in busy environments like the kitchen. Cooking meals can involve many steps and multitasking, which can cause HSPs to become overstimulated.

According to Mari, the trick is to keep trying a food: “Repeated exposure usually helps people to accept flavours. But it may not be so easy to repeatedly try something you do not like. Some people may need to try the same food more than others. It is pretty easy to give up if you are not motivated.”

If you're feeling really anxious beforehand, take a deep breath and remind yourself that it's OK to feel anxious and still do what you need to do. Do a little bit more each day and you'll notice your confidence will build, which will then in turn motivate you to keep going.

“People with perfectionist tendencies may find cooking stressful because they have such high standards and put a lot of pressure on themselves to meet high expectations,” says Avigail Lev, PsyD, founder and director of Bay Area CBT Center.

The lights, the noises, the random people, are all stressors. Tastes and smells when cooking may make it enormously challenging. Plus there is the mess of cleaning up afterwards, the issue of food waste, and stress over who does the labour if there is more than one of you.

Cooking can be considered a great coping skill because it allows you to gain some control when feeling overwhelmed. When cooking a meal, you choose what ingredients and how much of them you include. If you have had an anxious day, you may then want to follow a recipe exactly to incite a familiar outcome.