New Money Found in the Art of Cooking
More and more men over 60 years old who have never been associated with cooking have recently been seen attending cooking classes and purchasing cookware at specialty stores. The main factor for the growing interest in cooking is that these men have retired and wish to find something productive to do with their free time. However, another contributing factor is that many feel they cannot keep on relying on other family members.
Although the number of 60-year-old men taking classes is still small compared to the number of female or younger students, schools are increasing the number of classes expecting the next wave of male retirees to become potential students. Along with these instructors are specialty shop owners who are stocking up on more cookware specifically targeting this group of male retirees. This is because these men are said to put more emphasis on quality and are willing to pay more regardless of how expensive an espresso machine or brand name copper saucepan costs. For example, with knives, particularly knives for soba (buckwheat noodles) making, those in the 30 to 40 thousand yen price range are selling more than those in the 5000 yen price range.
B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Puget Sound in Washington.