Are your kitchen creations worthy of being sold in a 5 star restaurant? Over half of Americans think they have a family recipe worthy of such an honor!

In a survey conducted via OnePoll, 53% of Americans say they have a recipe up their sleeves that would impress a professional chef, and 46% think they themselves have what it takes to be a professional chef.

It’s no surprise to us that Americans have been honing their cooking skills in recent months. Lots of people are spending more time at home than ever, and we’ve all been feeling all the 2020-ness of this year. Family recipes that our mom and grandma made for us as kids are especially comforting during times of stress, so it makes sense that people are reconnecting with those recipes as adults.

And boy, do those recipes range in complexity! Some of the recipes reported were as simple as spaghetti or classic as meatloaf, with others as elaborate as bacon-wrapped elk loin (which, by the way, sounds unbelievable!). Some even included ingredients they reported hating as a kid, like asparagus, broccoli, and spinach. By the way, our CEO John hated brussels sprouts as a kid, and now it’s one of his favorite foods!

But even with self-confidence in their cooking skills, people report that they don’t venture out of their comfort zone too often. More than 75% said they cook the same things over and over, and 57% feel they’re in a cooking rut, especially when it comes to breakfast. More than half said it just takes too much time and effort to try new recipes.

We totally get it. It’s a lot of work to try new things, especially with so much change happening these days. Many of the significant lifestyle changes related to Covid-19 reported in the survey had to do with eating and cooking habits. People reported eating out less, cooking more at home, and focusing on eating healthier foods.

But because food at home has become such a big part of day to day life, we asked what one splurge worthy, gourmet grocery item would be. Can you guess what people said?

The answers ranged from everything from Velveeta cheese to caviar, but the most popular answer was some sort of seafood or meat, including special cuts of beef, shrimp, and high quality bacon. One respondent described good bacon as a “must have” for BLT sandwiches. We have to confess, we are partial to BLTs, especially made with our Jalapeno bacon.

Do you have a family recipe worthy of such high praise? Tell us about it in the comments below!