I couldn't have come up with a more accurate description.

This Barnes guy must be a great friend of BB. Or he could be BB in disguise!

And apparently, "Gastrosexual" is the word to describe a man who takes pleasure, and excel, in cooking.

"What's the psychology behind a man wanting to be alone in a kitchen? For Julian Barnes, the appeal lay in pedantry: an academic consultation of reference books followed by scholarly research for authentic ingredients. Then, exacting reproduction of recipes with precise timings and flawless reproduction of a premeditated result."

--- p.58, Waitrose Food Illustrated, October 2008