AIBU in not being able to cook

[Wotty]

I cannot cook. Please help. I need a book or some other guide that takes you through the basics step by step. Ideally healthy recipes plus all the equipment I need to buy. Any ideas?

p.s. yes I know this is embarrassing

Delia Smith does basic cookery books.
Readers digest if its still available.
Plenty of basic books but I'd start with Delia, even does a 'one is fun' books for smaller portions.

Delia Smith - How to cook ?
those books look like they are targeted at your level!
otherwise can you find an evening class locally to you?

If you have a charity shop nearby have a look, cookery books seem to be a mainstay of their book offerings.

There are some good recipes on bbc good food which take you through step by step with detailed instructions an older child could follow. The following few spring to mind but just look for what your fancy. The teryaki we also make with strips of chicken breast(not whole as takes too long to cook relative to veg).
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chilli-con-carne-recipe
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/teriyaki-salmon-parcels
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/home-style-chicken-curry
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/italian-broccoli-salmon-bake

Nigella- how to eat and delia- how to cook. Also YouTube tutorials!

What sorts of things would you like to cook?
There's no point in us recommending all sorts of equipment you'll never touch.
Do you have anything at all?

If you're a complete beginner, some books aimed at teenagers might be good.
My teens have used Cooking up a Storm

It's not embarrassing at all . Basics are all online. If you can read you can cook!
I grew up with little to no food some
weeks. then i had a child and had to learn .
I started with basic cookbooks , i went to the library to borrow books I would enjoy to cook and eat and recipes I enjoyed watching on TV. Then when the internet became readily available I did , and still do look online.
I made lemon drizzle cake yesterday .bbc food is my go to .. I'm perfecting the densness lon kemon drizzle
27 years later
I can do what I call hearty food , roast dinners , shepeherds pie , cottage pie , a very basic curry .
It's taken me a long time and my food is OK.

Every day I learn
I watched all the TV programmes. I remember when Jamie Oliver became an TV sensation. Naked chef was my first time i really wanted to knock it up a gear
I still watch cooking shows every weekend
James martin on a Saturday to get inspiration still. But I simplify the dish to as less ingredients as I can manage
Good luck

You need something simple.

Have you got an oven?

Roast legs is very easy.

Try a few simple recipes.

E.g. roast chicken leg

Chicken pasta.

Lots of good recipes on bbc good food. And then branch out.

The HelloFresh book is available on Kindle. I bought it for the recipes but I wasn't expecting the really helpful guide at the beginning with videos and pictures. How to hold a knife properly. What it means when something is "chopped finely" and why this is a different size for tomatoes and garlic, with pics.

I would really recommend that as a starting guide for techniques as well as recipes.

I also recommend Jamie's Dinners as a sort of My First Cookbook, as it has the recipes for all of those need-to-know dishes: roast chicken and roast potatoes, beef stew, omelette, fruit crumble, risotto, soups. Yes he’s an awful man but this is a useful book when you're starting from scratch.

Start with kids recipes
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/kids-cooking-recipes

I think it's awesome that you want to learn a new skill. I'd suggest you also look at some food hygiene courses if that's also an area you don't have much knowledge in.
Just things like what needs to be cooked through thoroughly, how to store things and how long for etc.

Student cookery books are a good call.

Do you like cooking or have you avoided learning because you have no interest?

Not at all - my wife doesn’t cook, I do it in our house.
There's nothing wrong with not being able to, and I’m sure after a few good books you’ll be fine!

Delia Smith/Nigella are great but I would suggest you start off with something relatively straightforward. It's controversial but Joe Wicks has such excellent recipes which don't have tons of fussy ingredients, healthy, delicious and after a while you learn lots of useful tips and tricks.

After this I would then expand to Jamie Oliver before Delia etc. Even though my dad is a chef, this is how I learnt!

There's nothing wrong with not being able to

I was watching John Torode being interviewed on TV recently, and he said that most people who can't cook just don't want to.

I wonder if there is a series of basics? Like 6 programmes that teaches you rice, pasta, how to cook any meat, make a spag Bol?

About 30 years ago, I bought a book called "How to Boil An Egg", by Jen Arkless, which literally starts off with this simple task! You can buy a used copy off eBay from £2-£5, or you can buy it new. It goes on to explain how to make omelettes, Welsh rarebit, cauliflower cheese, & many other dishes. From these simple dishes, you can migrate onto more complex things easily.

Delia Smith "How to cook" it's a white book with an egg on the cover.

How about gousto or hello fresh? Step by step guides and everything provided

Delia Smith made a How to Cook series on TV in the 1990s. She got slated for it because a lot of it was about basic cooking skills.

I still think there is a market for this kind of cooking show though.

If you can afford to or get a money off deal I would order some meal boxes from Hello Fresh or Gousto. The website tells you the equipment you need to cook each meal and then the ingredients are sent out perfectly portioned with a step-by-step photo guide of how to make them. It really is very easy and takes all the stress out of cooking, would be a good way to build your confidence and a repertoire of meals you can make and you can keep the recipe cards and make a meal again with ingredients you’ve bought once you’re confident with it.

Bbc good food have student recipes which tend to be cheap and straightforward. Put an ingredient into search and recipe suggestions come up. Hairy Bikers books have variants on take aways and traybakes. Most packets of rice, pasta etc have recipe ideas and serving suggestions.

What do you like to eat? What facilities do you have access to?

Both BBC Good Food website and YouTube are good. Try to keep it simple to start with.