Conspicuous consumption

Look at the kitchens of serious foodies and of restaurants and they are crowded with stuff everywhere.

Compare these to the kitchens you see in designer magazines with sleek stainless steel appliances, spacious countertops, etc... Guess which ones get used?

From Smithsonian:

Designer Kitchens and the People Who Don't Cook in Them
Search "kitchens" on Pinterest and you'll find rows of pictures of gleaming marble, rustic country tables and the smooth, taut surfaces of various fruits. Actually, don't do this - seriously, it's a trap, you'll never leave. Worse yet, you'll fall victim to "designer kitchens fever" and start demanding upgrades for everything that isn't stainless steel. Reporting on the epidemic, NPR cited the picky consumer on shows like HGTV's House Hunters who insists that dated cabinets mean the house is not "move-in ready." State-of-the-art ovens are de rigueur for young couples looking to set the stage for grown up life.

But actually using that oven? Well, that's another story. Despite the proliferation of cooking shows and foodie films, Americans aren't so hot on actually cooking. Across income, there is a steady trend away from the kitchen as wealth rises. According to the Energy Information Administration's 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, which uses a sample of more than 12,000 households, 27.5 million Americans enjoy two hot, home-cooked meals every day. Break it down by income, however, and only 2.4 percent of those with a household income of $120,000 or greater report the same. Meanwhile, 6.6 percent of households making less than $20,000 partake in cooking two hot meals every day.

When author Tracie McMillan began researching her book, The American Way of Eating, she wanted to answer the question: if cooking with raw ingredients is supposed to be so cheap and good, why don't more people do it, particularly low income families? Writing for Slate, McMillan concluded:

We tend to think that low-income Americans are flooding McDonald's, while more affluent citizens dutifully eat better meals prepared at home. In reality, it is the middle class that patronizes the Golden Arches and its competitors. (That's because fast food may be cheap, but it's still more expensive than cooking at home.) Indeed, beneficiaries of the Agriculture Department's food-stamp program (officially known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) typically spend far more time than other Americans preparing their meals. (This trend may shift in the future, as some states have begun allowing some subsets of SNAP recipients to redeem their food stamps for fast-food meals.)

Indeed, going out for meals has become more popular over the years. NPR reports, "48 percent of the money spent on food in the U.S. today goes to a restaurant, while in 1955, only a quarter of every food dollar was spent in restaurants."

The 48% number is unreal.

I mean yes, there are a lot of expenses and overhead and profit that make up the price of an entrée but still, I would think that more people would prepare their own meals. I lie at the other end of the spectrum. I do love eating out but I also love to cook -- doing Ahi tonight. Costco sells really nice fresh Ahi and I buy three pieces for $30, freeze two of them and Lulu and I share one piece. $10 for the fish, 20¢ for the rice, a buck or two for the condiments and a veggie and salad and we have something that would sell for $30 each at a Bellingham fish restaurant. Split a $10 bottle of wine ($30 in the restaurant) and there is dinner. Don't always live this high on the hog -- last night's dinner was the fourth dinner for two out of a batch of spaghetti sauce which cost about $6 to make. I upgraded my electric cook-top to Propane and got a new oven two years ago but everything else is original. Same cabinets, lighting, countertops, etc...