Toronto Dominicanos: Why do all the males like to cook?

[Fiesta Mama]

My husband is Dominican and has been in Canada now for about 3 1/2 years. When he arrived, he could not cook to save his life. Maybe a fried egg, etc. but he was definitely used to a house of women cooking and doting on him for his every beck and call.

I am a good cook so the cooking issue has never been an issue for us. That's my job of all the house duties and I accept it. I ordered Aunt Clara's cookbook before he arrived to master his favourite dishes and he never complains about my cooking.

I am, however, a little baffled because many people on this site talk about Dominicans and their wives cooking for them and doing everything BUT we have many, many Dominican friends in Toronto (mostly Dominicanos, not Dominicanas since my husband meets tons of guys) and MOST are EXCELLENT cooks. They tell me that their mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, etc. taught them and they love cooking. We have parties all the time where I am the host but do nothing in terms of cooking because my husband's friends want to do it all and love it.

My question is why is it that some Dominicans come from the typical background where the women of the house do the cooking duties and others (as we have seen here), seem to be the cook of the house. Is this just a phenomenan of Dominicans living outside their country and wanting to eat food from home not knowing how or is there a culture of male Dominican cooks in the DR because I have not seen any in all of our time there???

**** Note to moderator: Please change the title to "Toronto Dominicanos: Why do all the males like to cook????

[mamielizabeth]

my male friend in the RD can cook ,we cooked many meals together with him jumping right in ,he seemed to know what he was doing and enjoyed cooking ,,he also did dishes and made beds also... Maybe if there were females around he would be happy to have them do these things,but he is capable and KNOWS how to do them ..

[margaret]

Originally Posted by Fiesta Mama

My husband is Dominican and has been in Canada now for about 3 1/2 years. When he arrived, he could not cook to save his life. Maybe a fried egg, etc. but he was definitely used to a house of, women cooking and doting on him for his every beck and call.

I am a good cook so the cooking issue has never been an issue for us. That's my job of all the house duties and I accept it. I ordered Aunt Clara's cookbook before he arrived to master his favourite dishes and he never complains about my cooking.

I am, however, a little baffled because many people on this site talk about Dominicans and their wives cooking for them and doing everything BUT we have many, many Dominican friends in Toronto (mostly Dominicanos, not Dominicanas since my husband meets tons of guys) and MOST are EXCELLENT cooks. They tell me that their mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, etc. taught them and they love cooking. We have parties all the time where I am the host but do nothing in terms of cooking because my husband's friends want to do it all and love it.

My question is why is it that some Dominicans come from the typical background where the women of the house do the cooking duties and others (as we have seen here), seem to be the cook of the house. Is this just a phenomenan of Dominicans living outside their country and wanting to eat food from home not knowing how or is there a culture of male Dominican cooks in the DR because I have not seen any in all of our time there???

**** Note to moderator: Please change the title to "Toronto Dominicanos: Why do all the males like to cook????

FiestaMama, mamielizabeth, when was the last time you heard someone say "I'm taking a Canadian cooking course." or "I just picked up this great little book on Canadian cuisine with an amazing recipe of venison kebabs, wild rice and baked beans with maple sirup? Most foreign men who marry Canadian women have to learn how to cook to survive. They're away from their mother's they have to fend for themselves especially if they're tired of pasta, primavera, kraft dinner, and chili night after night. I don't want to let the cat out the bag but it's not what we girls do in kitchen that we're reknown for. Just ask the any guy from Buffalo NY.

But once these Dominicanos get in the kitchen they discover how creative it is and rewarding and they indeed they get rewarded for those tostones that they fry up for us. These guys are smart. Plain and simple.

That's my theory... Merry Christmas... tell him Aunt Margarita says "Cook that turkey breast down"! Cheers!

[bob saunders]

Interesting theory Maragret and most likely the truth. I can't count on my hands how many girls/young women my sons have brought home that do not know how to cook. My first wife, an Italian Canadian, was a great cook and loved it. Yris doesn't like to cook at all, although she can. Most Dominican meals are very simple and easy to prepare.

[yess]

well we are not in Toronto but my guy does love to cook. When we were getting to know each other I told him that I was not in the least bit domestic and he assured me that it was not a problem as he would handle it all. We have staff for the cleaning but he does most of the cooking. My only problem is that he prepares every meal as a work of art and meals that are prepped at 5pm may not get to the table until 10pm!

I asked him why he learned as his mother cooked all the meals when he was a child. He told me that when they moved to NYC and she went to work, he had no choice but to create great meals with simple fare. It was either that or a steady diet of Cambell's and PB&J.

[Mr_DR]

Dominican males love to cook only because as a male growing up in a house full of females
as well as a caring mother the kitchen is always a forbidden place where you aren't really allowed to be in. And you better not even try sneaking in when they are cooking because most likely you will get chased out the kitchen in a flash.

The passion for cooking begins when a male moves out on his own and start fending for himself.

And i think that because it was something so forbidden for most dominican man they end up loving it more. Specially since we always enjoy doing what was once forbidden.

[PrincesseEm]

I would have to agree with an earlier poster - Dominican men in Canada seem to prefer to do the cooking simply as a means to survival. My boyfriend is not a fan of very many things that I cook, despite the fact that I am a decent cook. He just likes his plantains, rice, beans and ALWAYS wants "sauce". He used to say he hates cooking and only does it because he HAS to because he doesn't like "gringo" food, but lately he's admitted that he enjoys his time in the kitchen and likes to be creative. I have learned how to cook lots of the things that he prefers, including tostones (my fave) and now we spend quality time in the kitchen cooking together.