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I'm in the same age group, and honestly, the most successful technique I've found in persuading my friends to cook is to invite them over for dinner parties where I (usually with the help of a friend) cook the entire meal. These have slowly evolved into pot lucks, with more and more people offering to bring something.

Now, I don't particularly like to bake - I don't seem to have that particular flavor of patience - but one of my friends does, and between the two of us, we can put out a pretty amazing spread. This raises the bar for the pot luck participants, and it is very, very rare these days for people to bring something they just bought and warmed up.

If nothing else, it's a great excuse to get a bunch of friends together around a table for a good meal :}

Sadly, I don't think there's a way to ignite a passion for cooking in someone without being preachy. I know exactly one non-cooker who was "converted" to cooking: he was suddenly broke after getting laid off and subsequently dumped by his girlfriend.

I'm 30 (most of my friends are 27-35) and I find that the people of "my generation" value their time over everything else, money included. Anything that takes time (whether it be cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc) is put at the bottom of the priority list, especially since you can often pay to have them done for you. Asking these time-starved people to cook is asking them to change their life priorities -- not an easy thing to do.

They may not end up passing on cherished family recipes like our grandmas, but they also didn't have to live through the austerity of the Great Depression. They'll probably pass on their "heirlooms" of designer fashion and furniture.

I'm loving the suggestions guys! I'm getting so inspired...THANK YOU!!!!

Traveller- - well preserved! LOL!(FYI- I just started attempts at baking bread- I love the no-knead bread recipe- I finally had to do it!)

Michelle of Montreal- I agree time is of an essence to us in this generation(myself included!) too true!! I'm not asking anyone to change- just hoping to inspire it.

LoCo- thanks for reminding folks that food education begins at home- so true! I'd be eating out of a microbox too if it wasn't for my mom & grandma and my friend Mona!

So glad to see that others recognize that cooking has just about vanished in this generation of my friends. They work, they have kids, but they do not have dinners together at the table every night. I am 37ish and the two of us sit down almost every night and eat together. We cook together sometimes too! It is the only time we spend during the day together and I cherish the one thing that brings us together at the end of the day- food and cooking. I ask my significant other, "How can my friends not cook? What are their families doing for dinner?" I love recipes that my mom gives me that spark memories of our childhood dinners. Keep cooking for cohesion I say.

I'm 32, I love to cook, and it's all thanks to my parents. We had a sitdown dinner every single night, even weekends, all the way from birth until leaving the house to go to college. We also travel to France regularly, where it goes without saying, that food is pretty important.

Food is culture. If you don't have the culture of food in your life, you won't be inspired to cook it yourself, and want to share it with others. I love food and cooking so much, I've actually volunteered to cook on Sundays for free in a little French restaurant in my neighborhood, just to learn from some pros, and be around it more.

For too many, food, even if appreciated, is just fuel, and convenience is more important than commitment. There's so much other stuff going on to compete for our time. Work and family are obviously important, but one way to start is to turn off the TV, unplug the internet, throw away the vapid magazines, invite some friends over, open some bottles of wine, and get cooking.

I am glad to see a thread like this and glad to know there are others out there who feel this way and are looking to inspire others to cook. I am 39 and noticed that not only my generation and those younger RARELY cook. From family meals, to gatherings, even treats brought to school. I am not singing my praises here, but I am a working, very busy mom, but I still make the time to make homemade treats for parties for the class. Not one other family does this...well, not many. I was horrified at my son's first bake sale for Little League and I had made 10 dozen different kinds of cookies and when I dropped them off, they were the only homemade baked goods. Store bought cookies, bakery doughnuts, store bought breads and rolls and even individual Little Debbie and Hostess treats were brought to be sold. WHAT???? Mine went in a flash and I left there not able to speak.
Seems every meal in our neighborhood is $5 quick pizzas, fast food or frozen. My son came home and said a friend of his asked him to stay for dinner and when he found out that dinner was your own choice of Stouffer's, he politely said he had to be home for dinner.
When I was young, I watched my mom make meals, baked with her and we all were at dinner and talked about our day. Granted it wasn't always "Ozzie and Harriet" - but at least we were together. It seems to me that several things are at risk:

1. Nutrition
2. Family ties
3. Culture
4. Tradition

Of course food is essential...but this fast paced life where people are placing "things" higher than family, friends and traditions is just sad. Who is enjoying these things? I just see stressed out people who are doing so much and are obtaining so many things and not really enjoying any of it.

I get so much out of cooking. It is a calming place for me and yes, sometimes I go nuts if things are going badly, but it at least gives me a good story to tell one day. I don't have girls, but my two sons get involved and my youngest really loves to cook with me. We use this time to talk about school, politics, things that are on their minds, movies, music...you name it.
A friend of mine called from her car recently and said she was in a rush to get her kids to all of their after school activities and she was getting them something to eat on the way...dinner that night was three seperate stops at three fast food joints and all eaten in the car. Sigh.

I am not even just talking about people my age or younger with families...even single or married with no kids are doing this too and I just think it is sad. I am going to try some of these suggestions too, because I really think people would be shocked at how easy and not that much more time consuming it is, if they have a plan.

It's funny, I'm in the same age group and almost all of my friends are fanatical cooks and eaters.

I am 32, single, no kids and I cook/bake. Growing up, my mom always got us to help her cook (i.e. when making wontons we had to wrap them, help skewer meat for BBQ's). And as my parents often worked late, we often have to make our snacks after school. There was no "don't let kids near sharp knives and hot stoves" in our house!
I really cook and bake alot more once I starting caring about the quality & nutrition of my food.
Perhaps too many people assume cooking takes alot of time, or are too complex.
My brother survives on lean cuisines and takeaways. I try to encourage him to cook ever since I visited, open his freezer, and a lean cuisine fell on my foot. I look for easy, fast, simple ingredients recipes for him that SEEM like it would take a long time. Now his friend's think he is a great cook because he made "Beef Bourguignon" for a pot luck, and it tasted good!

Well, I know for my sister, age 20, cooking is too "domestic." She's health conscious (though not to the extent that I am), but she would rather eat out, go to salad bars, make grilled cheese, etc.. Cooking just isn't something that interests her. In fact, she kinda looks down on my "housewifely habits." But she's eating tuna salad with mayo and American cheese, and I'm eating mushroom and barley "risotto" with cambanzola, so I don't really mind her sneers.

I especially look forward to seeing her graduate, realize that eating out every night's expensive, and start calling me when she gets sick of cheddar bunnies . . . .

I'm 34 and I too lament over the lack of cooks in our generation. Hey, we were the first latch-key kids and this is the fallout. My friends who cook were forced to cook while growing up. They were responsible for at least one meal a week. I cook because of inspiration and necessity -- my dad and mom's family can cook and I wanted to make what they made and my stepmom can't cook. I wanted better options for dinner.

I've had a lot of success with kids and preteens when I make stuff they like from scratch -- pizza dough, ice cream, cakes and cookies. They want to get in and help. They love to experiment and customize.

For folks in my generation, I take the Semi-Homemade approach. For instance, add homemade pie filling to a store-bought crust. Wilt fresh spinach and toss with dried pasta. I agree with everyone that the best way to get people to want to cook is to enlist them while you're cooking something wonderful. That's also a great way to get folks to try stuff they aren't familiar with.

It breaks my heart to think of how many people believe dinner is prepared by dialing a phone.

The best way to inspire cooking is to get 'em while they're young. Failing that, all is still not lost. Lots of times if you impress someone with food, then explain that it "didn't take any time or effort at all," you'll hook them. And let's face it, most "everyday dinner" food does not require much work. A little pre-planning for fresh ingredients and a well stocked pantry will allow one to prepare almost anything.

Then, there are just some people who burn water. Feed them.

Relax. There's no reason for lamentation. As you and your generation mates get older, some of you will naturally get into cooking. I know that when I was in my 20's, dinner usually consisted of some canned macaroni product eaten over the kitchen sink. I had different priorities then. Now, I have the time and inclination to cook better, and so I do. Hopefully, so will you and your friends.

cookingmonster.com

I am 38 and do have a few friends who cook, but I know a lot of people who don't. We sat down to eat as a family every night growing up and going out to dinner was a rare treat. Desserts were always made from "scratch" I have people often tell me that they can't cook, I say that if you can read a recipe you can cook. It's all about whether you have the interest. I generally get a lot of compliments about my cooking, but there are also the occasional comments that are overboard and almost insulting, implying that they can't understand why I would ever want to take that much time and effort preparing something that could be bought so easily. I will freely admit that I eat out a lot more than I ever did as a kid, but on the whole I get a lot of enjoyment out of cooking for family and friends. Even if my close friends don't cook a lot for themselves they appreciate the cooking I do for them and I think it does inspire them a bit to try it more themselves.

Cooking connects us. So many people live unconnected lives today, and fast/easy food is just a symptom of that disconnection, as I see it.

Old fart here, 64. I learned to cook in my late 20's when I realized that if I was going to live alone, I'd better learn to cook. It simply never occurred to me to eat out, I couldn't have afforded it. So I went out and bought the "Joy of Cooking" and made myself beef stew. The recipe called for turnips, it was horrid. I immediately realized that I simply didn't like the taste of cooked turnips. So I threw it away, and cooked it again without turnips. It was delicious, I realized that a recipe was simply the way someone else had made a recipe, and that I could decide what would be good, and what I wouldn't like. At that moment, a cook was born.

40 years later, I still love to cook. For me, as others here have alluded, it is a meditation. But beyond that, it is a gift, as I have taken my time, and my creativity to provide others with my love.

I was involved with a family that were good cooks, but had a limited repertoire. Every time I suggested an idea that was new to them they turned their noses up. Today, they always look forward to my latest creation.

My good friends never ask what I'm preparing, they only ask what time they should be there. So it is possible to influence others with your actions, you just have to keep at it, and what a joy that is.