Old habits die hard. Qatari men still look for a cook when they pick their wife

Desperate husbands. In spite of evolving lifestyles mentalities are stuck as Qatari men still expect their better half to be a better housewife.

Is the old saying ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’ still true today? With fast food culture reigning in almost every household these days, many girls now have the luxury to take up cooking as an only optional skill to learn. Unlike in the old days when cooking was seen as a necessary skill that every woman who is wishing to be married should have. 

To find out whether this saying is still true, Qatar Tribune spoke to young male residents in Doha and asked them whether they would be willing to marry someone who didn’t cook.

Muusstafa, a 25-year-old Egyptian expatriate working as a hotel reservation agent  “It will matter if she doesn’t know how to cook. I won’t marry her. I will marry the delivery guy instead (jokingly). She must know how to cook for her children. When we have children, she must know how to care for them, including providing them with good food. Instead of asking the delivery guy to deliver food for her, she must bring something for the kids herself. Right now my mum does all the cooking at home and I expect my future wife to do the same”.

Ammir, 26, an Iranian sports enthusiast “I would like my future wife to be somebody who knows how to cook good food. In case she doesn’t, she can at least try to learn. In our culture, we have a one-year engagement and during this time the woman can start learning how to cook from the family. So she has time to learn. Of course it’s not okay if my future wife doesn’t cook but I’ll be patient with her until she learns how to cook. Because in Iran most of us don’t have maids and everybody maintains their own homes and we prepare our own food. Also, I actually don’t like to eat fast foods or order food from outside. In my country, whenever we go for an outing with friends we prepare the food at home and bring it outside instead of buying food. We don’t know how is the cooking, whether it’s clean or not.”

Farazz, 28-year-old Sri Lankan sales and marketing professional “With the current situation with the guys, I believe they’re not much bothered about finding a woman who knows how to cook because of the lifestyle. But then again it depends on the country or culture they’re coming from. I believe in general, of course it will be a concern. 
In my opinion, they expect that a woman should know how to make at least some dishes. It’s not like 100 percent she should know everything. Fortunately, my wife knew how to cook before we even got married so I didn’t have problems. 
It’s very important to have a wife that knows how to prepare healthy food for the family. People fall sick and a healthy diet is a good way to keep the family protected from diseases. Honestly, we try to cook every five days. Obviously, on weekends we go out for partying or probably lunch or dinner outside, and the rest of the week we always try to spend at home with fresh food. My wife cooks, so we know it’s healthier."

By Lani Rose R Dizon