Bringing It Home - Why Eating In Is The New Eating Out !

Eating in is the new eating out.

Have you ever asked yourself why hundreds of Britons head down the local "Caff" every Sunday morning in order to treat themselves to a slice of fried pig's bottom in lard whilst being surrounded by alcoholic, chain-smoking grannies with rollers in their hair ?

So have I !

This rather erratic behavior is usually followed by a day of "telly" (also known as the electronic income reducer),"footie", shopping, more coffee at some sort of coffee chain, and an evening out at a "nice" restaurant. Out comes the credit card, up goes the debt, and yes, we have had a marvelous time !

By the way, the diet starts on Monday...

It seems to have become some sort of weird social obligation to dine out at least three times a week.Cooking in one's own kitchen is now being regarded as boring, tiring, stressful and unnecessary. On the contrary, sitting in an overpriced restaurant next to a bunch of random estate agents with clicky heels and cheap suits who spend half of the evening on their mobile phones is now seen as cool. Hello???

Furthermore, the times when one would just visit a restaurant because the food was particularly good seem to be over, too. When I was recently served a single "Raviolo" on a "bed" of two lettuce leaves in a well respected London restaurant, I quite frankly had to ask myself whether this meal had been prepared by a genuine chef or a florist coming down from an ecstasy trip.

I keep wondering whether it had all been an evil plot, secretly designed by my weight watchers leader Terace. Surely a meal of one "Raviolo" and two lettuce leaves would make me lose weight more quickly?

Hmmm...suspicious...but I am losing the plot here - what was the subject ?

Aaahh...eating out. It now is as fashionable as fashion itself. Got it.

Let's look at an example:

My flatmate Fred recently spent £1000 in just a week - yes, that's right, £1000 in ONE week - on wining and dining an apparently "fit" female lawyer at "cool" restaurants (his words not mine)- she certainly wasn't fit enough to head down the local supermarket and buy her own pasta!

Gone were two thirds of his monthly wages. He then proceeded by wasting more of his money on some sort of on-line gambling nonsense - a great strategy if you want to end up broke, busted and disgusted.

The poor boy is now trying to save some money by buying Easy 4 Men aftershave and Easy 4 Men styling gel - Easyjet's home brand by the way - which I in my snobby ignorance didn't even know existed !!

But a girl has got to learn...unfortunately it smelled like a rather sickening mixture of toilet duck and cider vinegar.My friend Reetan made matters even worse by suggesting that Fred should convert to the Ryanair range.

But why go through all the stress of having to downgrade to Easyjet toiletries?

It's totally unnecessary. And let's face it:

Eating out five times a week is the same as declaring yourself socially and emotionally bankrupt.

What on earth is wrong with having people round your house and having a bowl of Spaghetti or a salad, combined with a bottle of wine and some good, inspiring conversation?

The answer is nothing!

I have made it a habit to have one dinner party a month at my house - all my friends absolutely love my parties and think that I am the greatest hostess on the planet. And I can't cook THAT well ! Plus it doesn't even matter - we eat food to stop ourselves from being hungry ( have you ever tried that ? It works!!!), and it's all about the company.

Therefore, the focus isn't on some weird food such as "ragout of giraffe a la hairdresser", but on real conversation with real people.Even though my flat is on the small side, I have successfully entertained Brazilian artists, Scottish diplomats, Austrian geologists, as well as work colleagues, family members and more.

It's great fun - and it doesn't cost a lot of money. There are no credit cards involved, and I certainly earn a lot of interest - spiritually, emotionally and intellectually.

Above all, it reminds me of the fact that I am alive.

And incredibly lucky.

Lucky to have such great and interesting friends.Lucky to have a nice home to invite them to. And bloody damn lucky to know what really matters in life.

It's pure happiness baby.