I disagree about efficiency. I remember living in the dorms, where the communal kitchen was present, less than 100 feet from my room, and well-stocked with equipment.

To use it, you have to transport your ingredients there, trust that the pots and pans were cleaned by the previous users, trust that no-one else is using it at the same time, trust that everything is currently functional, do the cooking, and transport the food back, or store your food there and hope no-one steals it.

The dorm kitchen only had 1 set of equipment (1 oven, 1 fridge, etc). Considering that most people in an apartment scenario would be prepping their main meals around the same time (dinner after work), there would have to be many sets of equipment so they could run in parallel. There would be little gain from shared equipment if you still needed ~5 sets for 10 families instead of 10 sets for 10 families. Also, if you have any specialty equipment (ice cream maker, wok, favorite stainless steel pans, any number of things) you either have to lock it up in the communal kitchen, transport it every time you use it, or just use it on-site in home.

The efficiency of a communal kitchen is too predicated on trust and good maintenance by the community or landlording organization. In practice, it limits people to simpler meals with less prep. It will rarely match the efficiency of individual kitchens.

Sorry I wasn't clear - By communal cantine I meant someone else is cooking. Like a work or school cantine

We had something close... but it folded as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Suppers

Not everything in life is about efficiency. While we’re at it everyone could sleep in barracks like spaces. Very efficient.

I agree, but at some point compromises are going to have to be made. Our current way of living is just not sustainable

There are far greater issues at stake before we need to remove kitchens from people's houses and implement public canteens. Plastic, palm oil, excessive meat consumption, proliferation of cars, climate change etc. etc.

The problem isn't home cooking, the problem is take away, inefficiently packaged groceries, and avoidable car journeys for food delivery or shopping. I think these are exactly the types of issues that can be solved! Shops that allow you to use your own containers, the return of grocery vans, communal kitchens and/or canteens for when you dont have time to cook...

> communal kitchens and/or canteens for when you dont have time to cook

That's kind of what restaurants are now, along with takeout.