Homemade food or ordered meals, which do young Nigerians do more?

All that sounds like fun, innit? But there’s a part that’s usually not so fun: the one where you either have to get groceries and spend time in the kitchen to make the meals; or where you have to place an order online or go through the inconvenience of walking into a physical outlet to get food.

That part is usually not as lovely as what’s described in the paragraph above but it is what it is. If you want to enjoy food, you have to do either of them.

This is why we asked 5 young people which one they preferred – homemade meals or ordered food – and here’s what they said.

Omo, I don’t like cooking at all. I know how to, of course, but it’s usually very stressful for me, please. All the time spent sweating in the kitchen could be spent doing something else. Homemade food is nice o, but abeg, too stressful. So I order or buy food more from outside. If I see person wey go dey cook homemade for me sha, I no mind.

Homemade for me, definitely. You are more certain of the hygienic process of making the food, the environment where it’s made and the ingredients used. But sadly, I don’t know how to cook most of the things I like eating, so I end up buying more. So even though my preference is homemade, I do more of ordering.

Hot take, but my favourite kind of food is party food. See, if I could get party food every day of my life, I wouldn’t mind at all. I think there’s something about party food; whether it’s the jollof, the moimoi, semo, amala, small chops… everything just bangs anyhow! But since I can’t have that, I’d say homemade meals. But I may have to change soon sha, because making food at home is no longer as cost-effective as it used to be. To buy and to cook are almost the same thing now in this economy, so it doesn’t make much difference anymore.

I live on the mainland and work in Lekki. Where is the time to cook except on weekends when I am even too tired to do it sometimes? Thankfully for me sha, I don’t eat much so I live mostly on snacks and junk bites here and there. But I still buy more food than I make. I’m trying to change but I guess it is what it is.

Homemade for me any time, any day. I do my own business so it helps create time for these things. Also, I’m a homebody and my girlfriend doesn’t like going out much either. So I make most of my meals. Even when we spend weekends together, ordering take-in isn’t our style except once in a while.

In the end, it all comes down to choices, lifestyles and preferences. You wouldn’t find many people eager to cook every time, even when they’re great at it. This may explain why more people are embracing the convenience that comes with ordering food through apps like Glovo. Even those who enjoy whipping up tasty meals regularly would love Glovo for the added advantage of discounts that are sometimes as generous as 30%.

Everywhere in the world and particularly in Nigeria, homemade meals will always have an elevated place in people’s hearts and on their taste buds — even though they cost time, stress and plenty of money to make.

Glovo, a Spanish e-commerce company, delivers meals, groceries and other items to you at affordable rates when you simply place an order through your smartphone. Available in Lagos — VI, Lekki, Ikoyi, Yaba, Surulere and Ikeja to name a few — and in Abuja; Wuse, Maitama, Garki, Asokoro and Utako. They’ve also just launched in Ibadan, with more locations coming before the end of 2022. Get the Glovo app here.