Professor Green says cooking is a “great way” of dealing with mental health.
The 36-year-old star – whose real name is Stephen Manderson – has been very open about his own struggles in the past, and he has enjoyed having more time to prepare his own meals during lockdown, while giving himself an escape.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “Cooking is a great way of calming yourself if you do feel anxious. Just getting stuck into the process, instead of ordering because of the easy access and immediacy.
“If there’s anything good that’s come out of Covid, I think people have forcibly had to slow down – which has been of detriment to some people, obviously. I can’t gig, I can’t tour – I’ve lost a huge part of my income. But the positive side of that, is I’ve had to slow down and take time with things. I’ve begun to enjoy the process. I’m reading more, I’m learning more, I’m cooking loads more. I’m enjoying the conversation of, ‘What shall we have for dinner today?’ Sourcing ingredients, actually spending the time with my own hands to put those things together, and to cook things from scratch, is incredibly cathartic.”
The ‘Read All About It’ musician has taken part in the new DNA Dishes campaign by Living DNA and Gousto, which aims to help people learn more about their heritage through food. Through the progress, he discovered he had French and German in his family history, which has encouraged him to explore his ancestry.
He added: “It’s such a clever way to get people back in the kitchen, primarily, and to cook things they wouldn’t otherwise normally cook that relate to their heritage.”
However, despite his own findings, Professor Green admitted he won’t be able to overcome one pet peeve when it comes to food.
He said: “One thing I don’t think I will ever have a taste for is cheese, which is obviously a prominent part of diets in both France and Germany.
“I like mozzarella because it doesn’t taste like cheese. It’s not a texture thing, it’s purely a smell and taste thing. The smell of someone cooking – if someone’s cooking cheese on toast, I gag. If I go out for an Italian meal with my partner and she’s shaving loads of parmesan over her pasta, as soon as it starts to melt, that smell makes me want to be sick. I hate it! My disdain for cheese is second to none – cheese and Trump, right on the same level.”
Curious cooks can sign up for a free at-home DNA Dishes kit at https://dnadishes.com.
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