"Monopoly of the kitchen" is historically and culturally attributed to women and mothers. To care for their families, they select and buy food, and cook and serve it. They sustain commensality. In contexts of HIV/AIDS, when mothers die, the daughters become responsible for such care. What do the girls think of the caregiver's role that they prematurely have to face? What do their brothers think about this? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 young orphans. The data were analyzed as proposed by Mills (2009). The young women did not show any dissatisfaction with the new tasks that they were doing, but deplored the fact that this impeded them from studying and having a life beyond the home. Their brothers viewed dealing with the kitchen as women's business and rarely collaborated. These young women need care directed towards the vulnerable situation in which they live. Public health policies could seek macrostructures that would act on this demand.
Commensality; Care; Orphanhood; Aids; Young people
