Can You Be a Self-taught Cook?

You might think that you need to be born into a family of chefs, have a degree in cooking, or have worked in professional kitchens for years before you can step foot into your kitchen and cook like a pro. But it doesn't take much more than curiosity and the willingness to learn. In this blog post, prep Kitchen Essentials will teach you how to get started with self-taught cooking, from setting up your kitchen to trying new recipes, to creating delicious meals. We'll also share some tips on how to make things easier on yourself as well as what mistakes to not do if you're just getting started!

Can you be a self-taught cook like a chef at home?

Do you yearn to get in the kitchen and cook for yourself? Do you feel like it is too difficult, or that you don't have enough time to follow recipes and learn how to cook on your own? You are not alone. Cooking doesn't come naturally for everyone, but if you allow yourself some time to practice, you'll eventually be able to gain the skills to make delicious meals from the comfort of your home!

The thing about learning how to cook is that there's no one way of going about it - just as long as you're determined and willing, anyone can become a self-taught cook.

That being said, here are some tips to help you get started on your self-cooking journey.

Find Your Inspirations

When it comes to your "why", there are a few things to be in order before you start to act on why you want to self-cook.

First, you must have a strong work ethic. If you don't know what the work ethic is like for a cook or a chef, find someone who you know is in the industry, and they more than likely will be glad to help.

Next, something must've driven you to want to cook yourself, whether you recently tasted something and wanted to make it yourself, whether you were tired of comfort food, or you wanted to pick up a new hobby/skill. Make sure that passion keeps driving you through on this journey.

Next, there will be a lot of trial-and-error and hard work while you're teaching yourself how to cook, so make sure you have enough energy and drive to help you create your delicious delights.

Finally, you must willing to practice, practice, practice. No one gets a recipe right the first time, nor does anyone think they can adjust a pre-existing delicious recipe on the first try either. Once you've put enough practice in, you'll be able to make your culinary delights with ease and gain confidence as you start to tackle more complex creations.

Start With a Couple Basic Cookbooks

While it may be tempting to buy all the cookbooks you can get your hands on, we'd recommend grabbing just a few to get your feet wet and learn the cooking basics, especially ones geared towards beginners that teach technique. A few personal recommendations are How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman and Jamie Oliver's 15-Minute Meals.

Keep a Minimum Amount of Kitchen Tools

When you're just getting started in the kitchen, don't go too crazy with your equipment, as you don't need a lot for your day-to-day cooking as a beginner. A Sous vide cooker and a food dehydrator can be very costly (and if not used properly could damage both), so instead focus on basic supplies like a meat thermometer or a food scale for measuring ingredients carefully, as beginners need these accurate measurements to produce quality meals. It is also recommended to measure your ingredients out in advance to save time and money, especially when you make beginner meals.

Go Off-Recipe ONCE You Are Confident in Your Skills

Whereas an advanced chef has the skills and creativity to make recipes from scratch, competent home cooks create variations of their existing recipes, based on their level of comfortability.

As a beginner, it's important to adhere to the instructions and ingredients listed in the original recipe. Once you have advanced your cooking skills, you should be able to adjust your favorite recipes without sacrificing your dish.

Invest in a Set of Good Kitchen Equipment

For all of you beginner chefs, don't underestimate the importance of investing some money into good kitchen equipment. When it comes to a beautiful knife set, you can get by with only one or two good sets - but why not buy better than what's available at your local department store? A chef's knife for chopping up vegetables and meats; a serrated bread knife, and a paring knife are enough for you to get started. And no matter your cooking experience, we ALWAYS recommend you purchase a pair of cut-resistant gloves to avoid any injuries.

When it comes to cooking pans, you should at least have a good set of pans that include a frying pan, stockpot, sauté pan, and cast iron skillet. Make sure that your pans, that they have a coating that gives you the best non-stick cooking surface, such as ceramic. The last thing to worry about while you're learning to cook food is for the coating of the pan to be melded in with your food!

Finally, make sure to invest in various boards for meat and fruits/veggies, and to have them designated to avoid cross-contamination.

Don't Get Mad When Things Aren't Perfect

No matter how advanced you are at cooking, sometimes things come up that unexpectedly ruin the meal. Other times, following a recipe perfectly can lead to an unhappy result when trying something new or challenging for yourself - it's all part of this learning process called "cooking". To continue making progress with your skillset as a chef-in-training take deep breaths and try not to get frustrated; remember there'll always be another day!

Be Mindful of Your Ingredients

Whether you're trying a new recipe or adjusting a current one, be mindful of the ingredients you use to cook your meals, from the basic ingredients to the alternative ingredients to make healthier food options. When you use healthier options instead of "popping a can", not only will your food be "popping" with flavor, but you'll also avoid preservatives and any other unhealthy materials like high fructose corn syrup.

Keep Your Work Area Clean

This goes without saying, but you want to keep your kitchen clean before and after you start experimenting with your various recipes and creating delicious meals. Ensuring every part of your kitchen that you use to make food is clean keeps the area from becoming a disaster.

If you'd like to take your cooking chops to the next level, we invite you to explore the various cooking classes we offer here at Prep Kitchen Essentials. With classes taught by chefs with decades of experience in a professional kitchen setting, we are passionate about taking any eager student who want to be taught the basics of cooking, or the self-taught chef who wants to improve their skills, and discover a passion for/improve on their art of cooking. You can find all of the information about the various cooking classes we offer, as well as our other services, on our website.