Belgians spend nearly 6 hours a week in the kitchen

Belgians spend on average 5.9 hours per week cooking. Women in Belgium spend more time preparing meals than men, with an average of 6.7 hours, compared to 4.8 hours for men, according to a study by market research organization GfK. For the study in 2014, GfK surveyed more than 27,000 people in 22 countries, not including people who never cook at home.

The study shows that the international average for time spent on cooking every week is slightly less than 6.5 hours.  Women spend on average 7.5 hours per week in the kitchen, while men spend only 5.

Age also plays a role in the amount of time people devote to cooking. Young Belgians, between the ages of 15-19 and 20-29, cook for about 3.7 and 4.5 hours per week, respectively, while the over-60s spend as many as 7 hours per week cooking.

In Belgium, 19% of respondents say they enjoy preparing their own meals, which puts Belgium near the tail end of the list of countries surveyed, behind Poland, Sweden and Russia. South Korea scored the lowest, with only 13% of respondents reporting that they like to cook. The Italians, meanwhile, scored the highest in this category, with 43% claiming to be "very passionate" about cooking.