OAKVILLE, ON--(Marketwire - Oct 25, 2012) - Who's the cook in your kitchen? More often than not, the woman is awarded this role -- finding recipes, shopping for groceries, cooking the meal and even cleaning up. But, how do the men weigh in and what's their role in the kitchen? That's what Moen Canada uncovered in their latest consumer behaviour study. Moen Canada surveyed hundreds of Canadian consumers to learn more about their cooking activities -- and how they differ among couples. Who makes a bigger mess? Who religiously follows a cookbook; or rarely uses a recipe?

"We not only wanted to better understand the differences between men and women in their approach to cooking; but also learn about the types of cooks out there," explained Jack Suvak, senior director of market research and insights, Moen. "The study gave us a perspective on the prevalence of different cooking approaches within Canadian households."

Moen Canada uncovered four cooking categories:

• Family Cook(44%) - Takes care of the family and cooks for other people. They enjoy cooking and do it as often as they can.
• Adventurous Cook (29%) - Tries anything once. Loves creating new and exciting recipes in the kitchen. Their family never knows what to expect at mealtimes. No cooking task is too difficult -- and they rarely use recipes.
• Carry-Out Cook (14%) - Does not like to cook and avoids it as much as possible. They cook when they must. It takes too much time or effort, and these folks end up turning to takeout more often than they like to admit.
• Cautious Cook (13%) - Likes cooking; but it causes concern. They're reluctant to try new dishes and are afraid of messing up. They stick with the recipes that are tried and true and these cooks require a lot of guidance from them.

"In total, more than three quarters of Canadian respondents approach cooking favorably: 73 percent fall into either Family or Adventurous Cooks. More women are Family and Adventurous Cooks; and more men are the Carry-Out and Cautious Cooks," added Suvak. "Our latest kitchen innovations, including faucets with MotionSense™ hands-free convenience, are perfect for these folks who are active in the kitchen. A faucet with MotionSense makes it surprisingly easy to accomplish a variety of routine tasks with speed and efficiency."

Cook Book? Or Internet?
Despite the ubiquity of all things digital, paper cookbooks are not a thing of the past. In fact, while women tend to gather ideas from other sources; a good, old-fashioned cookbook still ranks first as the top source of inspiration. Perhaps it's the comfort of a hand-me-down book that provides a bit of extra reassurance to tackle a tricky dinner dish for a Cautious Cook. Or, maybe it's the handwritten notes jotted in the corner that help give the recipe a little adventurous twist!

Cook at Home vs. Eat Out
Moen Canada found that men like to grab breakfast on the run. Women tend to prepare more meals at home: on average, three to four meals each day. Possibly it goes back to women's multi-tasking prowess -- they can cook while juggling work, kids and more. And men? Well, they just may not be as interested in reading a morning email and frying an egg at the same time. 

Who Does What?
Men and women both agreed that the women tend to be more involved in meal preparation. The details should come as no surprise to most ladies:

• 82 percent of women do the grocery shopping
• 85 percent of women prepare the meal
• 85 percent of women cook the meal
• 76 percent of women clean up after the meal

Men do lend a helping hand, however. They tackle an important task: opening the wine. Fifty-nine percent of men are in charge of un-corking the evening libations.

Who Makes a Bigger Mess?
Another area where Canadian men and women tend to agree is with regard to cleanliness in the kitchen. Males are the messier cooks. Fifty-three percent of males and sixty-two percent of females agreed. "We might chalk it up to those men with Adventurous Cook energy," says Suvak.

Now We're Talkin'
Seems it's true that food brings people together. Once the groceries have been purchased, messes made, food is prepped and cooking... over 55 percent of men and women report that talking to their spouse is the #1 activity done while cooking. In addition, over 35 percent of men and women also have a television on. About 33 percent of men are sampling the meal, and 39 percent of women report also listening to music in the kitchen.

Dreading the Dirty Dishes?
When asked what their least favourite job is following a meal, most Canadians agreed that hand washing pots and pans was the worst; followed by cleaning dishes and putting food away. The majority of all respondents (more than 78 percent) use a dishwasher; and -- despite what some dishwasher manufacturers recommend -- more than 73 percent also pre-rinse their dishes before loading them. Unfortunately for man's best friend, about 70 percent of homeowners don't allow their pets to take care of the pre-wash. (At least they didn't admit it for this survey!)

Both men and women can tackle dirty dishes with more efficiency if they had a faucet that made it easier to do so. MotionSense from Moen can actually sense what the user is trying to accomplish, and with a simple wave of the hand, will immediately respond to his or her needs. 

"Touchless technology is the future of our homes," says Rebecca Kolls, senior director consumer strategist, Iconoculture/CEB. "Moen's MotionSense not only makes clean-up easier, but has far reaching health benefits at home; it prevents cross contamination when prepping foods, it helps prevent the spread of germs and bacteria (great for families with children) and for an aging generation (Boomers are turning 65 years old at the rate of 1 every 10 seconds), it makes kitchen work effortless for aging joints."

Suvak concluded, "Great innovations in the kitchen -- ones that can make prep and clean-up more efficient and convenient -- are welcome by anyone who cooks. That may seem obvious. But Moen always takes their new product ideas an extra step. Our people ask questions and listen to consumers to find out exactly what new features or functions will truly deliver real benefit to their lives. It's part of what makes Moen #1."

For more information about Moen and its products, visit moen.ca.

About Moen Canada
As the #1 faucet brand in North America, Moen Canada offers a diverse selection of thoughtfully designed kitchen and bath faucets, showerheads, accessories and bath safety products for residential applications -- each delivering the best possible combination of meaningful innovation, useful features, on-trend styling and lasting value. In addition, Moen^® Commercial offers superior performing products that deliver lower lifetime costs for today's facilities.

Moen has worked diligently to support, promote and advance sustainability within the organization and the plumbing industry. The company has been recognized with the 2011 EPA WaterSense^® Excellence Award, as well as the 2010 EPA WaterSense Manufacturer Partner of the Year Award, for its work to protect the future of our nation's water supply through the introduction and ongoing support of water-efficient products, programs and practices, while keeping consumers' needs top-of-mind.

Moen is part of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. (NYSE: [ FBHS ]), which creates products and services that help fulfill the dreams of homeowners and help people feel more secure. The company is a leader in the home and security industries and features well-known and trusted brands like Moen^® faucets, Master Lock^® padlocks and security products, MasterBrand Cabinets™, Therma-Tru^® entryway systems and Simonton Windows^®. For more information, please visit [ www.fbhs.com ].