Pantry politics

The Kitchen - A new social politics forum?

On arrival to York in October I placed several student cook books on the shelf in my room. Ever since, they have remained pristine, unmoved and slowly become dusty. My first term was mainly spent eating microwaved jacket potatoes, fried eggs and toasties. This term I have experimented into pasta and sauces, but I continue to lack in cookery performance. But don’t let that fool you into believing I can’t cook. The truth is, I just think there are much better things to do than to waste hours cooking a posh dish when a good hearty omelette is just as good!

An observation I have noticed is that student’s eating habits often dictate their background. For example, the three upper-middle class people on my floor have the best equipment, the best ingredients and the snazziest dishes. They have also all been to Michelin star restaurants and are all from London or the surrounding areas. I am not digging them, but I think it’s a funny observation. One of them laughed at my cutlery in the first few weeks, commenting it was “token”. Why thank you for laughing at my comedic cutlery Mr. Student-who-has-Royal-Worcester-crockery, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only student who shops at IKEA!

Whenever they get their huge woks out or leave their complicated espresso makers on the sideboard, it strikes me as all so unnecessary. When did students become so well stocked? It’s a rite of passage to live a cheap student life. And don’t worry, by cheap I don’t mean scummy. I mean live cheap and cheerfully, on a budget and not let it worry you. Students get off on moaning to each other about not having enough money to go out, but then just going out anyway and living life to the full, thinking: “Fuck it, I’m only a student once and I’m never gonna get such good rates on loans like these again!”. Although saying that, some people on my floor don’t even have loans! Why do they shy away from getting loans when they have great rates and are an easy way of gaining independence? Nonetheless, these are moments that we will all cherish when we’re successful adults, looking back and thinking how trampy we used to be. Knowing about how much we have grown, with grown being the operative word.

For me, university is about thriving on the minimum. It’s not about living off daddy’s money (not that I have daddy’s money to live off) but about having to buy everything on special offer, buying vodkat and cheap beer. It’s about pre-drinking loads in order to get drunk on as few drinks as possible when you end up going out. Sadly, it seems, shopping has taken over for many - expense is no longer a luxury but a necessity. University students are no longer forced to live out of a tin can for 3 years, but rely on a silver spoon.

I don’t care if you think I’m crap at my subject, or that I can’t write a good article to save my life, but the one thing that really grinds my gears is people looking at my microwaved lasagne and saying ‘eww’. I don’t need you to judge my food, as my food is an expression of everything I stand for. I am a lazy, cheap and an awesomely cheerful student, and I certainly don’t want you raining on my parade! And whilst you’re at it, don’t shove your salmon truffle platter in my face, it’s making my eyes cry.

But overall, I pity those people that feel the need for everything they buy to be expensive, because when they leave this place and work themselves, being able to finally afford all the things you’ve ever wanted won’t be special anymore, it won’t be a fulfilling existence. So for all you posh bitches out there, I say live independently. Trust me, you’ll have a good time.

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