This report focuses on the “cooking enthusiast” or those consumers who embrace cooking as a leisure pursuit. Some Americans, especially older generations and emerging minorities such as Asians and Hispanics, regard cooking as necessity of daily living. However, some Americans consider themselves “foodies,” and outfit kitchens with high-end cooking gear, are willing to spend on the freshest ingredients, and generally pursue cooking as a lifestyle statement. This second group is the lifeblood of the gourmet cookware market.

These “foodie” consumers are an attractive target market for suppliers and retailers of gourmet and epicurean foods, as well as sellers of kitchen equipment including cookware, gadgets, and other kitchen tools. They are also a key group to target for home remodeling and voluntary kitchen appliance upgrades, particularly to appliances that feature aesthetics and styling, with a focus on time-saving features such as self-cleaning or convection ovens. While trends point toward an increasing use of foods requiring little or no preparation, many consumers will engage in more elaborate cooking from scratch on weekends or for special occasions.

For the purpose of examining the “cooking enthusiast” Mintel has created a sub-group of respondents who agreed that “I really enjoy cooking” and “the kitchen is the most important room in my house” to analyze trends in food and beverage shopping, cooking patterns, appliance ownership, hobbies and other leisure pursuits.