Yahoo News Modern 'man cave' is the kitchen as men drop DIY and opt for baking
Men are putting down their hammers, screwdriver and spirit levels and picking up blenders and blowtorches.
According to a study released today men are more comfortable whipping up a spaghetti bolognaise than they are changing a lightbulb.
Research shows that just one in four men aged between 16 and 34 are confident in their ability to take on basic DIY, compared to almost half of those aged over 65.
Instead, the modern man's new domain is the kitchen.
A survey by researchers Mintel found that 40 per cent of men are confident about cooking a meal from scratch while just 32 per cent are very confident about household DIY.
Experts said the attractions of new technology meant the "man cave" had moved indoors.
Jack Duckett, senior consumer lifestyles analyst at Mintel, said the introduction of kitchen tech had made it a more desirable space for men.
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The rise of kitchen gadgets as popularised by stores such as Lakeland has made the kitchen a more "exciting" space, and aspirational advertising of kitchens had made men more interested in cooking, he said.
"Kitchens are now much more exciting, they're seen as really aspirational.
"Cooking is seen as a project - they get to build things and be creative.
"It's a whole new area and set of skills for them to assume - and it's also seen as a way for them to mark themselves out as a bit different," he said.
The kitchen is slowly getting even more high-tech thanks to the infiltration of "internet of things" devices such as smart toasters, cookers and hobs.
Analysts said that cooking had also shed its feminine image thanks to shows including The Great British Bake Off and Masterchef.
The statistics also revealed that men are increasingly comfortable in a field that is traditionally even more feminine - baking.
Almost one in four men aged 16-24 are very confident about their baking skills, compared to just 12 per cent of those aged over 65.
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And young men are catching up to young women, one in three of whom say they are confident about their ability to whip up a Victoria sponge.
The figures revealed that Londoners were particularly handy with a spatula.
One in five were confident about their baking skills compared to just 12 per cent of those in Scotland, the South East and East Anglia.
Bake Off host Paul Hollywood, who will stay with the show when it moves to Channel Four, is seen as a more masculine example for men to follow into the world of bread and cake. The show has also had two male winners.
Shows such as Masterchef are also widely watched by men. The popular BBC cooking show has had many male contestants and winners - and in some years, too many.
Masterchef: The Professionals was criticised in 2015 after all ten contestants who reached the final were male.
The research also suggests that milennial households might be left at a loose end if a fuse needs changing or a picture needs hanging.
Both young men and young women lacked confidence in their ability to carry out basic DIY, with just 13 per cent of women saying they were confident with household maintenance.
