To ask how you learned to cook?

[MotivationSuchAnAggrivation]

I really want to learn how to cook. Classes are not a realistic option at this point.

Anyone here taught themselves to be a really good cook? If so, how?

Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food cookbook. Lots of great starter recipes across a range of cuisines and very simple explanations of how to make them.

I’m self taught. Neither my mum or he mum cooks. I started at university, 20 years ago. I watched TV cooking programs and follow recipes. The easy ones. And it’s not hard, basically it’s being able to follow a set of instructions. And seeing how things are done on TV makes it easier to understand what the written words mean.

I still cook with recipes now but I can understand what the writer means and never follow the recipes 100%. I’m confident in adjusting and changing things.

I see Jamie Oliver has been suggested. I watched him with the naked chef serious all those years ago. And Nigella Lawson. I learned to bake with her domestic goddess.

OP do you have any family members or friends who cook? If so ask them if they wouldn't mind you watching them prepare a few meals.

Take along a nice notebook and pen to write down tips and basic recipes, and a good bottle or two of wine to share with the "tutor".

I really learned to cook when ds was weaning. It started with a notebook and writing down recipes I found online that I liked. When I could afford it I got a good food subscription and still get it now. I really enjoy cooking and doing it regularly you soon learn what flavours go together, how best to cook certain things, and how to throw together a meal with whatever is in the cupboards.

Never cooked at home, DM too obsessive about mess in her kitchen. When I left home my home cooked meals were very basic to say the least. I learned from TV, magazine recipes, asking friends, simple cookery books, and these days seeing something on FB. I wish I enjoyed coming but to me it's just a chore. Eldest DD and DS love cooking and cooking great dishes.

My Mum wouldn't/couldn't cook, my Dad could but we were never allowed in the kitchen and he cooked traditional British food. I like a more Mediterranean diet. We never ate pasta at home.

I learnt basics before going to university, then more from cookbooks (late 90s) when Dh and I first moved in together.

YouTube is fantastic because you can see what it is meant to look like at each step of the way. We like Tasty, Sorted, Food Wishes.

The main reason I learnt to cook was having Ds1 and cooking for him, so Annabel Karmel books. I still have her After School Meal Planner and use her spag bol recipe and her chilli recipe.

We tend to try a new recipe (Pinterest is good for suggestions) and then we rate it out of 10 as a family. We tweak it and see if we can improve it to what we like.

Practice, practice, and more practice. You literally cannot mess up spaghetti bolognese if you follow a recipe. What can be helpful for this type of dish is if you have one pan for putting the cooked items in, and one for the cooking, so you don’t get overwhelmed by having a lot going on etc. So for example cooking the onions, chucking them into the ‘done’ pan with the heat off. Then do the same with the meat etc etc. One ingredient at a time until all ingredients are cooked through. I’m saying this with the assumption that you’re not feeling confident and need to build up your basic skills? So cook each individual element and then put them all together, then turn the heat on and slow cook the whole sauce for as much time as you have. Practice makes perfect, I promise you! My husband and I both cook a lot, we do the same dish in different ways/different orders and neither are wrong except him but you start to get a feel for the way you like things, and the more you make the same dish the more comfortable you’ll become with modifying it and throwing it together whenever. I’ve been cooking spaghetti bolognese probably once a fortnight for the last ten years, and only in the last few months have I started adding a splash of balsamic vinegar in at the end of cooking. It improves it, but nobody else has even noticed! I chuck spinach in it aubergine or anything else that needs using, nobody notices! It hides a mulititide of good stuff and sins, and simply cannot be messed up.

I just googled everything I wanted to make and learned that way. If I still didn’t get the hang of it I watched YouTube videos or asked my mom.

Watching Ready Steady Cook every day as a teen and then being allowed to experiment.

Me too. 😂

I learned a few recipes from my mum, who is a decent store cupboard cook, and then bought some Delia books and some Nigella books and it really took off. Went back to my mum's recipes and did some tweaking (mainly fresh herbs for dry, and stock for powder, and leg meat for breast, that sort of thing). I can do something fancy if the mood takes me but I'd say I am a decent home cook rather than a cheffy person. I do bake pretty well too.

I get a lot of recipes online now and anything we really like I write down in a special notebook I keep, so I am sort of forming my own recipe book.

I first started learning from my mum and granny. Later, I was so interested in cooking that I read loads of cookbooks with great attention to detail.

I would say that you should consider your personality type and how committed you are to this. (Do you have loads of time to read?? Are you interested enough to pore through cookbooks and follow the steps very carefully? If not, cooking shows might be the best option!) I also agree with a PP that being shown by a friend might be the most fun / efficient way to learn some basic skills.

I learnt to cook at uni. I realised that I could eat eggs and beans forever or learn how to cook. So initially I learnt from watching my Dad. And getting him to write down recipes.

Then cookbooks. I love cookbooks. I have far too many.

Delia and Jamie are rock solid imo. Their recipes always turn out well. Hugh Fernley Whittingstall’s Meat book is a revelation. It took me to another level as a cook.

Practice, practice, practice. Try things out. Mix it up. Let yourself fail. There’s a wealth of resources out there so go for it.

I learnt some from my Mum. Then, I cooked a lot, so dinner would be ready when she came in from work. Then, she wouldn’t get stuck into the sherry and follow me around abusing me. Mum is what you would say is not actually a horrible cook, but very 1970’s. Peas and carrots in lasagne, that sort of stuff. Cookbooks. My husband, who is a great cook of Asian food.

I taught myself to cook at 20 by reading books, looking up recipes online and watching YouTube vids. I’m pretty decent now and I’ve never had a real disaster.
I have no idea how people say they can’t cook, if you follow a recipe properly then surely it’s not going to turn out too badly.

Learn the basics, i.e. sauces, salad dressings, potato dishes, vegetable sides and how to roast a nice bit of chicken. Also, basic meat recipes like ragu, roast beef etc.

Buy a copy of "Flavour thesaurus" and start combining new flavous, experiment a bit.

delia smith

Her recipes are classic and simple and never ever fail. Not very trendy but if you want to learn the basics get her “how to cook” big book and start from there. Learn 10 good dinners and repeat them often.

Spaghetti Bolognaise
Shepherds pie
Lasagne
Chicken Basque
Salmon en croute
Beef Wellington
Coq au vin
Hunters stew
Roast chicken
Leg of lamb

Once you know these dishes you will know SO MUCH about how to cook.

Delia- she won’t let you down.

My mother's cooking is so appalling that I taught myself from books aged about 8, in self defense.

I did Home Economics st school but despite getting an A grade - I didn’t learn to cook anything useful, the skills my teens are learning for GCSE are much more advanced. I was veggie for most of my adult life and then decided to eat meat - a thermometer was a handy tool while I was learning the basics - meat was cooked to a safe temp and not over cooked. I like eating good food and I like reading for food, it’s part interest part greed that drives me to learn more. I’ve used YouTube for explanation of basic skills like jointing a chicken or kneading bread but I find it too annoying for recipes, I’d rather just read recipes from a screen or a book. Just learn to cook something you like eating - cheat a little if you need to but don’t be scared to try doing it yourself. Mum makes the best spaghetti Bol ever and she uses a jar to flavour it - it doesn’t taste like jarred sauce, maybe it’s just someone else cooking for you - everything tastes better if you haven’t had to make it.

Left home & spent a lot of time on the phone with my mum telling me what to do. Cooked my first Sunday dinner over the phone with my mum. Picked the rest up as I went along.

Watched my mum, then left home at 18 so had to. Now I’d recommend Delias’ cook books, bmdwtsikes, clear and cover all the basics. Also you can find most things on YouTube too. No excuse these days!

Mainly baking from DM. The rest I've taught myself from recipe books and online. As well as BBC Good Food, there is a food section on the BBC website. This has videos showing various techniques, which I used to joint a chicken.

www.bbc.com/food/techniques

You don't need to do anything too fancy for it to be good. If you buy good quality fresh ingredients -I always sniff the tomatoes and won't buy them if they aren't fragrant (probably look a complete tit to other shoppers) - it makes a huge difference. Along with good basic skills and understanding the best ways to cook to bring out the flavour, adequately seasoning etc.

Agree with Cyborgseadog re the Flavour Thesaurus, it’s such a useful book and quite inspiring.

As mentioned by a PP if you have learnt to cook a decent bolognaise and how to do a white sauce, you can transfer this to other recipes - shepherds/cottage pie, macaroni cheese, moussaka, lasagne.
If you’re big meat eaters learn how to roast a chicken, leg of lamb, beef joint and pan fry fish. The fundamentals. Look at vegetarian/vegan recipes for some inspired vegetable dishes to pair with the meat/fish. Or homemade coleslaw, Waldorf salad etc.
I remember the first time I roasted a chicken I stuffed it with lemon and tarragon which was tasty. I served it with homemade coleslaw and jacket potato. Nothing overly complicated, but it was a good dinner. The leftover chicken and coleslaw went into sandwiches.

Well, my mum taught me the basics, then I did some classes age 14 in summer and then I just experimented... got some recipes up (try BBC GOOD FOOD OR OLIVE) and tried them until they were right.
Also, the book SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT explained to me WHY certain things work (like why you need salt in pasta water or vinegar in Ragu)

I taught myself to cook at the age of 37. I was making purées for my first baby and followed Annabelle Karmel's book to the letter. In making all the basics from her recipes it taught me how to scale up and make adult meals. I think she said most of her baby/weaning recipes had been adapted from her adult recipes anyway. I'm a pretty good cook now and it taught me the benefit of using fresh ingredients and making sauces etc from scratch. Me and DH used to taste all the purées and realised how good they were!