Martha Stewart and Jamie Oliver can keep their home cooking – there’s always time for a tasty, guilt-free takeaway

I consider cooking a joy and not a burden, but there are times when making dinner is too much of a pain to bother.

Food advocates encourage us to cook more to fully appreciate the social, nutritional and financial benefits of eating at home. It’s good for family bonding, it’s better for you and it likely costs less than ordering pizza.

Indeed, a lot of people I know enjoy entertaining and hosting dinner parties. Cooking for friends is a natural expression of love and appreciation. Some even say to eat with someone is more intimate than having sex with them.

Unfortunately in Hong Kong, this mode of affection is not always easy. Most apartments are small and you cannot assume that everyone has a proper, full kitchen. Some of us do not even have a multi-burner stove top, let alone a working oven.

I, for one, just have a single electric cooker and a tiny toaster oven. Half a dozen chicken wings is roughly its capacity. Counter space is also at a premium, so the simple suggestion on cooking shows to have all your prepped ingredients ready and nearby is not so simple.

Lately I’ve been wondering whether we romanticise home cooking too much. Some sociologists have suggested the idyllic home-cooked food model we are often presented is an elitist proposition. In a way, it’s true.

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When I see Nigella Lawson or Martha Stewart, I don’t think, “Right – a middle-class housewife”.

Firstly, it assumes everyone has the time to cook. If you work long office hours, that is already a major hurdle. Then, there’s the pressure of grocery shopping – which can be daily if you have no storage space. Also, there’s the dilemma of, “should I buy that whole jar of coriander seed just to use a pinch, or a bunch of parsley just for a few sprigs?”

When you do get home, you have to rush because the family is already hungry and cannot wait another 40 minutes for the chicken to roast. But the ultimate stress is to measure up against the appetising – and supposedly easy – dishes of Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay. Pantry envy, anyone?

Studies reveal that many people do want to cook more but they not only lack the time, but the money to afford better and organic ingredients (have you seen how much organic broccoli costs compared to the ordinary variety most supermarkets carry?). There’s also the need to please everyone’s tastes. Spare a thought for the mom who tries to feed her child healthy vegetables but the brat has a screaming fit because he wants McNuggets.

Look, I’m a guy who often has the time and means but sometimes I don’t really feel like cooking, either. It’s all about personal convenience. Whipping up a simple pasta or grilling a pork chop is fine, but I’m not ambitious enough for complicated, messy recipes.

I’m not going to grill a steak inside and smoke up my entire apartment. I’m not pouring an entire vat of oil into a pot to fry some chicken when ordering a bucket is a quick phone call away. The reward is not worth my effort to buy all the different herbs and spices to make chicken tikka masala or laksa when a place down the street sells it for HK$70 (US$9).

Other things I’m likely never going to do include sous-vide any meat in a warm bath for hours, or attempt a 10-hour pork bone soup or 12-hour broth to rival my favourite ramen and pho place.

I firmly believe there’s no shame in eating out, and no mom ever needs to apologise for going to Pizza Hut to just shut her kid up.