to think loraine pascal is very condisending and everyone can cook

[sarahighseas]

For some silly reason I just watched some food porn, teaching someone that claims no it to be able to cook.

She taught him how to fry peaches and serve with fancy cheese as a salad, fry fish, asparagus and carbs as a main. Then for desert they added pomegranate juice to normal jelly.

Seriously it wasn't hard stuff and the ingredients were hugely expensive. How can no one cook?

Of course everyone can cook if they want to try.

It takes practise though and some people are afraid of making mistakes, for some reason.

There are enough simple recipes and video tutorials on the internet if people want to learn.

In my experience the 'I can't cook' brigade are normally heavily supported by someone who's willing to do it for them, so they don't actually have to try.

Everyone can cook, they just choose not to. Meals don't have to be fancy, your basic spag bol is easy- just sauce, mince, mushrooms etc. Someone who loves to cool could make their own sauce, add wine and a shit load of stuff.

Agreeing with worra about those who can;t cook having either someone who will for them or money to burn on constant takeaways.

She's awful and most of her recipes are putting things together not cooking.

My Mum can't cook, but then she can spell condescending...

You couldn't cook until you learned. No one can.

YABU.

wafflyversatile YOu can teach yourself though and follow instructions on food packaging.

I used to be a bad cook. I was useless. Tried making rice crispie buns once, put them in the oven. Took a quiche out of its foil and placed in oven, burnt instant noodles so badly the pan had to be thrown away, I even once was cooking oven chicken strips for a friend and they were the type that comes encased in plastic. Put them in the bloody oven with the plastic still on didn't I thinking that's how they were done. set two microwaves on fire- once trying to microwave a Yorkie bar, just placed the bar straight into the microwave in a bowl by itself, set on fire. Second time asked my mum how long one of those wheat bag things should be heated for in the microwave, she said ten minutes and I took her literally obviously, set on fire. I was trying to boil water on the hob once, set a tea towel on fire trying to lift the pan off the stove. In cooking class at school teacher thought I was taking the piss with my creations, I'd followed the instructions and yet once an apple pie came out tasting like a mixture between fish and chip shop chips and a Yorkshire pudding .

However underlying problem was nobody ever believed in me or told me I could do it. My mother was forever belittling me, if I ever tried to cook she would just take over after not very long because I wasn't 'doing it right'. Teachers certain I was being naughty because my cooking came out so bad. So I was certain I just naturally was a shit cook and would never be able to do it.

DH came along and taught me the basics, didn't take over from me instead he would encourage and help me. Once I knew the basics I could do anything, I'm the main chef in the house now and I love baking. So yes, anyone can cook if they have self belief and don't have people around them that put them down and always do it for them.

I thought this thread was going to be about Pascale in the Observer Food Monthly today. He photo of the cover has been doctored to the point her left arm looks like a tentacle, and she has one fat leg, and one thin

I watched this too and find her recipes very odd. Extremely expensive ingredients but not much done with them seems to be the common thread.

Her other show featured a dessert using 4 whole tubs of green&black organic vanilla icecream (so that £20) chucked in a bowl on top of sliced up shop bought Swiss roll then re-frozen. I stopped watching after that... The family complained about my shouting.

My DCs think I can't cook, I tend to agree with them, easy life all round

Well, plenty of people really can't cook, and recipes aren't all that easy if you don't know the very basic things.

But I am sniggering a bit at the idea of fried peaches and pomegrante jelly as good places to start learning.

I can't stand her argh. Recipe for sausage rolls; five minutes of her wandering round shop, buy sausages and pastry, take skin off sausages and roll in pastry. I mean come on how does that get on TV.

wafflyversatile YOu can teach yourself though and follow instructions on food packaging.

Yes, so you agree with me. Until you have learnt to cook you don't know how to cook.

Also packaging isn't generally a great way to learn as it assumes you know some basics.

i once worked with a 28 year old who didn't know you needed to put water in with the potatoes to boil them.

Sot of, yes, sort of no. Anyone can cook so saying you can't cook before even trying is wrong. It's like saying 'i can't stand on one leg' you don't know until you've tried. Very different from saying 'I can't cook' when they mean, 'I've tried and I'm shit at it' which can easily become 'i can cook if I use the internet/receipes/common sense.

As for the potato person...severely lacking in common sense there! Mind you, some people really shouldn't be allowed near a kitchen, someone i know put a tin can in the microwave.

They might not cook well but if you can toast bread, heat up soup- you're cooking. Now from scratch but still cooking.

Anyone can cook A newborn?

Anyone can learn to cook, maybe.

It's not hard to understand that when someone says 'I can't cook' this can mean a range of things from I've never been in a kitchen to I've cooked lots of things but they rarely turn out well.

"i once worked with a 28 year old who didn't know you needed to put water in with the potatoes to boil them."

WTF? That's insane.

"Extremely expensive ingredients but not much done with them seems to be the common thread."

Yes, I didn't see the programme, but having read about it here and in the guardian's tv review, that struck me. Surely if someone couldn't cook, you'd start them off with some basic, cheap stuff that taught them rudimentary cooking skills? How to scramble eggs, how to boil vegetables, how to make a simple pasta sauce using onions, garlic and tinned tomatoes, for example. Being able to chop and saute an onion without either burning or undercooking the onion is an essential culinary skill, imho.

I think anyone can learn how to cook

not everyone is a good cook even with lots of practise. my friends cooking is awful, her mother is the best cook I know (they always have a three course meal). her mum has tried to teach her, she does try she makes one good dish frittata it is delicious(has the right pan) if that is not on offer I suggest a takeaway

an ex of mine could not cook I refused to always cook so he had to learn and became quite good and enjoyed it his mother thought I was mean

Of course you are being unreasonable. How can anyone be expected to cook instinctively with zero guidance on preparation techniques, temperatures, seasoning, what pairs with what etc? How would you know that you can cook cabbage but lettuce is best raw, or that raw cucumber not good in ratatouille, whereas courgette is? How would you work out which ingredients to use for a cake? How would you work out what to do with a chicken if someone didn't suggest taking out the giblets or basting it? Common sense things about cookery are often only common sense because you have prior knowledge in the first place.

Personally, I think any cookery programme or chef that teaches people without a clue to confidently prepare even the simplest of dishes, such as pesto or tomato sauce, is doing something worthwhile. If you find it condescending, stick to cookery books and programmes for experienced cooks!

Loads of typos- sorry!

I think many people are appalling cooks because they have never bothered to learn. Like everything else, if you have lessons you immediately realize your shortcomings, and how to overcome them; it is just a matter of following instructions accurately.

I think some people are not cook at putting flavours together so could follow a recipe but cooking from scratch without a recipe they struggle

cucumber in a thai green curry - why would you but this is one delight I have been served

I think anyone can learn to cook, but obviously some people have more of a natural flair (or maybe interest?) than others.
The same as anyone can play football, but we don't all enjoy it, do we?

The more you've been shown / practised, the better you are going to be.

Haven't seen this prog., but I quite liked her prog when she was baking stuff. In that prog. she did always seem to make things with ingreds that were fairly everyday and user friendly.