A kitchen refers to an area or space that meals are generally prepared and in some instances acts as a dining room, especially with UAE. It is an area where utensils such as knives, plates, cups and other cooking ingredients are stored and used. In UAE, the community is highly regarding the kitchen as one of the vital rooms within a home as it performs various functions. It is a place where a mother or anyone within the family or out can come and prepare a meal. Some people prefer taking their meals within the kitchen after the meals are ready. The UAE culture thus regards kitchen as a special place. With such an interest in the kitchen space, I have been prompted to carry out some interview. I will interview a mother within UAE and try to get her views with regard to the kitchen and her overall suggestions to have a better understanding how others within our community view such a space.
Some of the interview questions that I will ask the mother are as follows:
- How often do you visit and clean the kitchen?
- Do you think there are better designs for the kitchen than those that are there currently?
- Are you always comfortable or at ease whenever you leave your younger ones in the kitchen and walk out?
- What are some of the safety precautions that you undertake while preparing meals in the kitchen?
According to the mother whom I interviewed, she says that kitchen is a very important place within the home. She doesn’t give any figures for the number of times she visits the kitchen, but she says that whenever she is within the house, she can go to the kitchen anytime. She points out that in the kitchen there are a lot of things taking place and whenever one is within the house he or she has to eat and food is only kept in the kitchen. She says that whenever she finishes preparing meals she has to keep the kitchen clean.
According to the kind of design of kitchens, the mother has no much objection to it. She commends the design and the beautification of the kitchen. However, she still believes that there are better designs of how the kitchen can look like.
The mother says that she is not always at ease whenever young kids are within the kitchen, and she is a way. She feels a kitchen is a sensitive area where kids need to be monitored.
Within the kitchen, the mother says that she observes cleanliness when handling food. She must ensure that her hands are clean and do not touch food mostly with her bare hands. She also ensures that her hair is covered or tired back whenever she is in the kitchen preparing food. She has to ensure that she is also fully dressed in her kitchen attires and not having loose clothing. She always keeps the knives and sharp objects in safe areas such as in drawers.
Cultural capital and economic capital plays a big part in how a kitchen design is to be and the transformation it will have over the years. Cultural capital is acquired depending on the society, period, and social class (Bourdieu, 2008). The kitchen will be influenced by the cultural capital as it will determine the design of the kitchen and what to include in it. According to Polanyi, the patterns of governance and institutional arrangements determines the way we do our activities within the community (Polanyi, 2018). The UAE community has a culture that values the kitchen and has an arrangement for it. It has shaped how people live within homes.
In conclusion, a kitchen is an essential component in a household. It needs to be used for the right purpose depending on the values and cultures of the people. Safety measures need to be observed while in the kitchen.
References
Bourdieu, P. (2008). 15 the Forms of Capital. Readings in economic sociology, 4(280), 280-291.
Polanyi, K. (2018). The economy as instituted process. The sociology of economic life (pp. 3-21). Routledge.