Copying Celebrity Chefs Sees a Rise in Personal Injury Claims
According to a recent study conducted by UK insurance company esure home insurance, more than six million people are involved in cooking accidents after trying to copy celebrity chefs that they see on Saturday Kitchen or Great British Menu. These statistics were tracked through personal injury claims that these individuals sent to their insurance providers.
About 14% of the UK population has experienced a cooking injury and caused damage to their kitchen. Of this 14%, a massive 73% identified themselves as “amateurs”, “novices”, or “useless chefs” and still the attempted complex culinary skills they saw on the TV. The damage to homes amounted to more than £5 billion, says the report.
The majority of the injuries and damage came about as a result of fast chopping, deep frying, steaming, tenderising meat, and skewering. Of the dishes attempted, the most dangerous to attempt as a novice chef are crème brûlée and roast peppers because they attempted them with a large-scale DIY blow torch instead of its kitchen counterpart. A quarter of those who attempted such acknowledged the danger of their cooking skills by keeping a fire extinguisher or fire blanket in the kitchen.
62% of the individuals who experienced these incidents did so while trying to create a dish in real-time with the celebrity chef instead of pausing and rewinding. A shocking 25% did not even have a TV in their kitchen while they tried to create the dish in real-time! This means they would have had to run back and forth between the kitchen and the lounge to catch the next step, leaving the stove and other equipment unattended.
If you’re interested in learning to cook like your favourite celebrity chef, do not despair. You can enjoy exploring your skills at home, but it is a good idea to take some safety precautions. By using a mobile device, pausing frequently, and ensuring you have and use the correct equipment, you can lower the risk that you might get injured. You can also make sure you are covered for personal injury claims, should an accident occur.
