Do You Love a Man Who Cooks?



We all know how men love those huge, fancy grills, not to mention cooking on an open campfire, right? (I can hear Tim Allen grunting now.) Usually you will find men cooking some sort of meat, the red kind with lots of fat. Maybe a hamburger or a high quality steak. Either way, it seems like a primitive, he-man kind of thing, doesn’t it? He’s providing for his woman.

I love it when my husband cooks for me, and he’s highly skilled. Chili and the best steak I’ve ever eaten are his specialties. I can’t even eat steak at restaurants anymore because it’s always disappointing. He’s spoiled me. I’m craving one now!

The hero of my latest release, Kilted Lover, grills for the heroine... and he's wearing a kilt at the time. He’s saved her life, hidden her away on a small motor yacht, it’s nighttime, and… well, they have to eat, right? He wouldn’t want her to starve after all those high-speed car chases, getting shot at, etc. Besides, he’s had the steak marinating for a long while and it’s guaranteed to be tender and delicious. Needless to say, the heroine is impressed with his cooking skills and enjoying eating the food he’s prepared. But she’s wishing she could nibble on him instead. He’s trying really hard to be a good boy.

Excerpt from Kilted Lover:

“I’m sorry I’m putting you through so much trouble. I’m sure you’d rather be someplace else.”
“No. I was planning to stay here tonight anyway. Are you hungry?”
She blinked at his rapid-fire words. “Actually, I am.”
He opened the fridge. “What would you like? How about some grilled shrimp and steak kabobs?”
“Sounds good.”
She’d always loved watching a man in the kitchen, doing domestic things. But watching one of Scott’s size and athletic build, while he wore a kilt, was sheer fun. His broad shoulders fascinated her.
“We’re safe here, right?” she asked, washing the potatoes he’d set out.
“Sure. I don’t know how they’d know we were here.”
Thirty minutes later they sat above deck while Scott grilled. She wanted to tie him to a bed and pretend he was a giant chocolate éclair, yet she was shocked at how little she knew about him.
She’d just learned he was a log home contractor in the mountains of North Carolina.
“Mmm, that smells good!” she said, eyeing the food and then him. What would it be like if he fed her? “I’m starving now.” Starving for more than food, actually.
“I think it’s done.” He placed a kabob on her plate. “Try that.”
She blew on it, and then took a bite of steak, moaning while she chewed. A yummy man who could make yummy food. What could be better?
He frowned, watching her with a heated expression.
“It’s delicious.” But not as delicious as he would be.
They sat above deck in the cooler night air while they ate. She was enjoying their conversation with its slight flirtatious undertone a bit too much and felt a pang of guilt. But simply talking to another man wasn’t cheating. She had nothing to feel guilty about, except for an overactive interest in him and an intense attraction which she had no control over. Even the way he chewed and swallowed was sexy, and the flexing muscles of his jaw and throat. Kissing him on those spots would be so hot.
A moan reached her ears.
“What was that?” she whispered, glancing around through the night at the other boats, the dock and harbor.
Nicole North – Kilted Lover

What about you? Does your husband/ boyfriend cook for you and if so do you find it sexy?

17 comments:

Gwen Hernandez said...

My husband actually taught me how to cook. He's good in the kitchen and with a grill.

I always seem to find a way to get the hero cooking in my books too. Definitely sexy.

Carly Carson said...

Okay, I'll bite because controversy never hurts a blog. I don't find it sexy. I figure I'm probably the only woman who doesn't though. I just can think of 100 other things I'd rather see a man do-play hockey, knock down a computer virus, get us to the head of the line at Disney, etc. (I'm keeping it clean, you see.)

Good excerpt though.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if I find the actual cooking itself to be sexy, but I do find it sexy and romantic that he wants to do something for me or is trying to impress me.

Of course, he could turn the sexiness up a notch and wear a kilt like Scott or walk around in a pair of skivvies if he doesn't have a kilt. I'm all for that! ;)

Terry Spear said...

I find a man that cooks lovable.

Kathleen Bittner Roth said...

Oh, Nicole, I moved into my husband's home a couple of months before the wedding to save my rent $$ which meant a long drive after work from the office. He had been out riding (English). I opened the door to the rich smell of boullabaise (the best I ever tasted) and walked into the kitchen and there he stood in his tight riding pants, high-top black boots and stirring with muscles flexing. Sexy? Gawd, barely made it through dinner!

Nicole North said...

Gwen, how cool that he taught you how to cook! Cooking lessons with the right man would be sexy!

Carly, girl, I'm shocked! :) Has your honey ever cooked for you? When I was writing this post, I wondered if the ability to cook was an alpha or a beta male trait? Often we see cooking as woman's work. But some of the top chefs in the world are men... very masculine, macho men. I think it might very well be part of the ancient survival instinct that goes along with hunting in some men.

Nicole North said...

Casey, yes, it's so nice when a man wants to take care of you and provide something as basic as food he made with his own hands. Scott gets extra sizzle points for cooking in a kilt. :) Thanks!

Terry, I think so too! It's another way to show he cares, even if he's not ready to say that yet.

Nicole North said...

Kathleen, wow that does sound sexy!!! Hope you took pics. LOL A man like that deserves to be tackled. :)

Carol Ericson said...

Nicole, I found the first half of your post so funny because it doesn't fit my guy at all! My husband is a vegan - wouldn't touch a steak now with a ten-foot pole! However, since becoming a vegan, he does all his own cooking because there's no way the boys and I could eat the way he does - no animal fats at all, no cheese, eggs, oil, milk, etc. So I don't really find his cooking sexy, since he's not really cooking for me! Maybe once the boys are out of the house, I'll eat his food. I'm also the one who barbecues, and did so even before my husband turned vegan!

Nicole North said...

That's very interesting, Carol. He sounds like a smart man, taking care of his health that way! I'm sure he's become a skilled vegan chef by now. Maybe one day, he'll cook a meal you'll enjoy too!

Gossip Cowgirl said...

It's hard to know what I find sexier... a man in a kilt, or a man who cooks. (A man who does both, is obviously the sexiest, for me.)

I am a foodie (love the Food Network, love to cook myself, own all the gadgets and tons of cookbooks, cook all the time), so it's natural that I would find cooking sexy. Mostly because I enjoy it, I love to do it with my boyfriend. I don't need for him to be "good" at it, necessarily, although that's a bonus. But I find it so hot when a man has good knife skills and knows how to handle himself in the kitchen.

I'm gonna have to buy my very un-Scottish boyfriend a kilt, now, and set him loose in my kitchen...

Nicole North said...

Rebecca, LOL! I agree with you. I'd love to get my husband into a kilt and let him cook. Oh yeah, good knife skills are hot too!

PinkPeony said...

Hi Nicole!

Yes! I love a man who cooks but I love a man who cleans up afterwards even more!

I believe when someone cooks for you, they're giving a part of themselves. My husband doesn't cook much but when he makes me coffee on the weekends before I get out of bed, I'm most appreciative!

Cheers!

Jen T.

Julie Robinson said...

When we were getting married, my Dh cooked for our wedding rehearsal night. And the only person he knew was me, his best man, his mom, and his sister, because he had come to Louisiana from Connecticut. Our 4-mth whirlwind courtship didn't allow for much family socializing, especially since we were in grad school. Since the groom's family is supposed to take care of that dinner, he decided to cook for everyone instead, making a great impression on everyone---even his mother!! :-)
Julie

Gossip Cowgirl said...

Julie, I *love* that story!

Nicole North said...

Jen, Yes! For the man to clean up afterward is a must. Scott in Kilted Lover cooks AND cleans up. He does get a reward afterward. :) That coffee in bed sounds romantic!!

Julie, that's very cool that your husband cooked for such an important event, and for so many people!! I'm impressed too!

Pat McDermott said...

Interesting blog topic, Nicole. Alas, I'm the cook in the house. My husband does chicken wings. Needless to say I always have some in the freezer, even if I do have to spend most of the meal telling him how wonderful they are! I did create a character who cooks quite well, however. Not a main character, but a nurturing sidekick sort who eventually got his own romantic subplot. After reading your post, I'm thinking of giving him his own book :-)